Phantom power/focusrite 2i4 issue

M

Mogalot55

New member
HELp!!!! I am currently setting up a very small setup for acoustic and vocals mainly.

I have got my guitar coming through the 2i4 fine. The problem is the mic. It is a condenser mic so I use the phantom power. But every time I use it my USB light flashes and the sound goes in and out???

I am a real beginner and as far as I know I have installed everything ok (im using ableton live 9 lite).

I am using a 4gb ram laptop and 1tb which is dedicated to recording alone? I am at a loss?

Any ideas what the issue is??

Cheers

Lee
:mad:
 
I am just looking at it and I don't see an input for a power supply - is it bus powered from the laptop's USB?

If so, you can go into windows and mess with the USB port settings (if you're running windows) and that might help...maybe? Can't remember how to get there but if you can get to device manager, right click on the USB port(s) shown and there should be something about power save or something like that - deselect that and give it a go.
 
This question has come at an opportune time since I have just purchased two "Chord" brand 2 chan' phantom power boxes.

They are quite well made for the price, £34 inc postage, and are very quiet. However the internal 48V supply is poorly regulated and droops on load. They only delver for instance around 1/2 the current my ZED10 mixer XLRs do.

This might not be an issue for most modern capacitor mics, they mainly seem to draw less than 3mA* but the OP's mic seems a bit more power hungry since this is the first time I have read of a spook juice issue with the 2i4?

I need to check the current delivery of my Behringer Xenyx 802 mixer but it would seem that a cheap mixer might be a better buy than a cheap PPower unit?

*A more cynical person than moir MIGHT think that they all use the same electronics?


Dave. (Oh yes! We need that mic model #)
 
Thanks for the suggestions thus far guys. Really appreciate it. Im using a Rode NT1A. I run the 2i4 from the laptop too. Is it possible that it is getting overloaded?

I am yet to try and mess with the USB suggestion from earlier in the thread as I am at work now but will give it a try later.

Thanks

Lee
 
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That link takes me to the NT-1 not the 1a. I know that the NT-1 draws 5.7mA from a 48V phantom supply and that is about twice the current of most of the popular capacitor mics (although it is still well below the maximum specc' of 10mA) I do not know the current draw of the 1a.

Dave.
 
ecc83 said:
That link takes me to the NT-1 not the 1a. I know that the NT-1 draws 5.7mA from a 48V phantom supply and that is about twice the current of most of the popular capacitor mics (although it is still well below the maximum specc' of 10mA) I do not know the current draw of the 1a.

Dave.
Click to expand...
Where did you find the current draw for the NT-1? I own an NT-1a and an NT-2a and neither list the current draw in their manuals.
 
The link lead to the NT1-A for me. If the above suggestions don't work, I know it sounds silly but sometimes the simplest things fix the issue. For example, someone suggested trying a different port, did that help? How about messing with the USB settings?

And often, signals cutting in and out could be due to faulty or cheap cables. Does the USB cable you're using work fine on other devices or phantom-powered mics? Do you have other USB cables to try out instead? Does your current mic and USB cable work fine on a friend's interface?

Try all of these suggestions. Above all, it's important to really isolate the problem before trying to resolve it. For example, is it the cable? the interface? the mic? etc. Then, if none of the suggestions here help you fix the problem, you'll know which brand/support team to reach out to for help. I know Focusrite generally has great support, but I wouldn't bother reaching out to them unless you're sure the issue is related to the interface.

Hope that helps. Keep us posted.
 
calimoose said:
The link lead to the NT1-A for me. If the above suggestions don't work, I know it sounds silly but sometimes the simplest things fix the issue. For example, someone suggested trying a different port, did that help? How about messing with the USB settings?

And often, signals cutting in and out could be due to faulty or cheap cables. Does the USB cable you're using work fine on other devices or phantom-powered mics? Do you have other USB cables to try out instead? Does your current mic and USB cable work fine on a friend's interface?

Try all of these suggestions. Above all, it's important to really isolate the problem before trying to resolve it. For example, is it the cable? the interface? the mic? etc. Then, if none of the suggestions here help you fix the problem, you'll know which brand/support team to reach out to for help. I know Focusrite generally has great support, but I wouldn't bother reaching out to them unless you're sure the issue is related to the interface.

Hope that helps. Keep us posted.
Click to expand...

I don't think its the leads as I have two and they are both brand new and they both do it.

Done all the obvious stuff like try another port etc. Guitars are fine through it so I do think it is the USB power that is the issue. Will try when I get home.

Thanks as always guys

Lee
 
Using an inexpensive powered USB hub might help. The power then comes from the hub and not the laptop.
 
"Hi Dave,


The current draw for each state is:

5.7mA 48V phantom powered

4mA 24V phantom powered"

I asked Rode Mics and a guy called Timothy Tan gave me that reply.

It is a shame that Rode to not give the currebt draw of their mics as a general specification but they are FAR from alone in this!

But then I suppose the mic men could argue that so long as their products were inside the phantom power speccs, it is not really their problem? The fact is that a great many mic amps, especially those in bus powered interfaces, do not meet the 10mA rating. I do not ever recall reading a review that checked this!

Dave.
 
"Sort of wish interface manufacturers would put a wall wart jack in interfaces as an alternative way to power rather than relying on a USB which may not cut it. "

May not help much Mark. I have just run some tests on my Focusrite 8i6 (separate 12V rat) Results are:-

V oc 46
V into 2X 6k8 22.89 (nearly perfect)
V into 2X 6k8 with 1k5 load on other chann' 20.6 (not so good)
V chann' 2 1k5 load 12.61

That last figure shows that the AI can only deliver 8.4 mA and not the specified 10. However the low open circuit voltage will account for some of this

Even worse however is my KA6! This otherwise superb unit has appalling phantom power delivery.
V oc is just in specc' at 44V but even just the 6k8+6k8 load delivers only 8.45V (should be 22V) and loading the other channel gives a very poor 3.55 whilst the load across the 1k5 is just 2.18 volts! This is NOT due to USB "droop" since I have built a breakout box to check it and USB volts were maintained at 4.8V, nothing like enough drop to account for that poor performance.

All that said however I have recently used the KA6 with two AKG P150 (about 2mA apiece) and a P150 and a Sontronics LDC the STC-2 (current draw unkowm) As far as son and I could tell all mics were working fine.

If anyone here with a KA6 could repeat my tests I should be obliged since I do not want to shout at NI if I have an untypical sample! If you need the test loads PM me. (UK only, be easier to send you 20 bucks!)

My next move isto find a 5V to 48 V DC-DC converter and do some tests with that. I have already used 5V to 10V converters and their output regulation has been impeccable.

Dave.
 
Rode Nt1, Phantom power requirement with Focusrite Scarlett 2i4

Friends. I recently purchased a Rode Nt1 and I am connecting the same to my MacBook Pro using Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 (2nd Gen). BUT The response fluctuates.
The green Halo in Focusrite Scarlett input 1 turns off continuously and hence the recording is intermittent (stops at regular intervals).

I am unable to understand what the problem is.
Is it because i am not using phantom power ??? Although there is a tiny red button on Scarlett sayibg 48V, Is that power sufficient to power my Rode Nt1 ??

Also, the mic is responding in Garage Band but not in Logic Pro.

Kindly help me. M very new in this field. Please reply. Its necessary !
 
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