dianamchahine
New member
Can anyone help me "diagnose" my USB mic's background noise/hissing? PLEASE HELP!!
Hello all!
I've spent hours and DAYS trying to figure this out and it's become so very frustrating! I hope y'all can help me!!
I've been having a lot of trouble removing background noise/hissing from an Audio Technica 2500xUSB Cardioid Condenser mic. I actually bought TWO of them, both brand new, and they both have this problem.
The room has been deadened, the mic has a shock mount and pop filter, I've tried muting the mic levels etc. and nothing has helped. I've been using Audacity and even the noise reduction effect hasn't helped. The background noise gets louder the quieter the piano/vocals are. I've tried plugging it into different USB ports, unplugging the power cord, deactivating my antivirus programs, and tried both mics on another laptop as well; and nothing has helped.
Is there anything else I can try? I'm not sure if the problem is with the mic, the USB connection, HDD noise etc. Would a ground loop eliminator help? Is there specifically a way to lower the gain, other than just reducing the input levels on a laptop/Audacity?
I was advised to buy an XLR mic with an interface instead, which I might have to do although I have no idea where to even begin with that!) but if there's a way to eliminate the noise with the USB mics, that would be my priority!
EDIT: Here's a sample of the noise I'm referring to both with audio, and as complete silence:
Sample Audio
I noticed there's a difference when I change between different Audio Hosts, but both still have a background noise. Here are 2 samples, both with silence and recorded voice, and on either the MME or Windows DirectSound Audio Hosts.
Windows DirectSound
MME
Here's how pure silence sounds in a 24-bit downloadable WAV format:
Sample Silence
Thank you in advance!
Hello all!
I've spent hours and DAYS trying to figure this out and it's become so very frustrating! I hope y'all can help me!!
I've been having a lot of trouble removing background noise/hissing from an Audio Technica 2500xUSB Cardioid Condenser mic. I actually bought TWO of them, both brand new, and they both have this problem.
The room has been deadened, the mic has a shock mount and pop filter, I've tried muting the mic levels etc. and nothing has helped. I've been using Audacity and even the noise reduction effect hasn't helped. The background noise gets louder the quieter the piano/vocals are. I've tried plugging it into different USB ports, unplugging the power cord, deactivating my antivirus programs, and tried both mics on another laptop as well; and nothing has helped.
Is there anything else I can try? I'm not sure if the problem is with the mic, the USB connection, HDD noise etc. Would a ground loop eliminator help? Is there specifically a way to lower the gain, other than just reducing the input levels on a laptop/Audacity?
I was advised to buy an XLR mic with an interface instead, which I might have to do although I have no idea where to even begin with that!) but if there's a way to eliminate the noise with the USB mics, that would be my priority!
EDIT: Here's a sample of the noise I'm referring to both with audio, and as complete silence:
Sample Audio
I noticed there's a difference when I change between different Audio Hosts, but both still have a background noise. Here are 2 samples, both with silence and recorded voice, and on either the MME or Windows DirectSound Audio Hosts.
Windows DirectSound
MME
Here's how pure silence sounds in a 24-bit downloadable WAV format:
Sample Silence
Thank you in advance!
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