Budget Microphone advice

H

herpderp

New member
Looking for a microphone around 60-100 dollars. I've been recording guitar and vocals on a decent microphone with a 3.5 mm outlet, which connects to a walkman for power, which then connects to my PC. Sounds dodgy but it actually works out quite good. I need a better mic though, and I was mainly looking at getting a shure sm57 or an Audio Techica At2020 XLR version. I could buy the USB version, but I've heard it's sound quality isn't as good and it's more expensive anyways. My idea was to buy the at2020, and a female XLR to 3.55 mm cable, so that i could simply connect the at2020 to the walkman like I used to with my other mic. Is this a good idea? Will it work like the other mic? This would cost me about 80 dollars at the most and maybe less. I'm just worried that connecting the mic with my Sony walkman, then to my PC wont work, or the sound quality will be much worse than if i had a mixer or something. Appreciate any help i can get.
 
Won't work, the Walkman supplies low-volt plug-in power rather than the phantom power the AT2020 requires. I'd just buy the USB version myself, but that is heresy 'round these parts. They will all tell you to spend much more money.
 
Because the circuit in the AT2020 is designed to accept high-volt phantom power, and will get amazed and confused by the few volts the Walkman (or actually likely your computer directly from its mic input) will dribble at it. Whereas the mic that was designed for the Walkman would probably get destroyed by high-volt phantom power, if you found a way to patch it together

Now, strictly speaking the AT2020 *could* run on Walkman power, but you'd need some 1337 haXXoR soldering skilz to pull that off.

It's also possible to make a mic that will run off of either type of power, but not too many manufacturers consider that a useful feature, so . . .
 
Okay, that sucks. The other mic is a Sony ECM-DS70P Electret Condenser Stereo Microphone by the way. Thanks for the help, looks like I'm going to have to buy the USB version.
 
What about buying blue microphones icicle xlr to usb preamp? If i do buy it i can buy an at2020 xlr with it for around 100 dollars all up. Or maybe a different mic, either way it's a good price. Would this be a good option?
 
herpderp said:
What about buying blue microphones icicle xlr to usb preamp? If i do buy it i can buy an at2020 xlr with it for around 100 dollars all up. Or maybe a different mic, either way it's a good price. Would this be a good option?
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Well, it's not ideal, but at least it's *compatible*. It has another clear advantage- when you finally break down and buy a proper USB interface, you'll still be able to use the AT2020, and the icicle may find uses for podcasting with a laptop. If you're going to buy a cheap mic and a cheap interface, it's to your advantage to have them be separate units. Immediate downside to the icicle- no headphone jack. Good luck-Richie
 
Yeah the headphone jack is useful, although it depends on the quality of the headphone out on the device in question--if it's not better than the line out on your computer (which normally aren't great for headphones, but they work), then I wouldn't pay extra for that feature.

Shure's USB amp is probably worth a look.
 
Thanks for the response guys. I'm definitely going to buy the at2020 xlr, but I'm really unsure what to buy to connect it to my PC; this is because I'm a noob. What do you guys think is best? A cheap USB preamp like a M-Audio Audiosport Quattro 4x4 USB Audio/MIDI Interface, a cheap adapter like the icicle or an expensive one like the shure x2u, or a cheap mixer?

An expensive adapter, cheap mixer and cheap preamp are all relatively the same price. The icicle is only about 35 bucks. Suggestions?
 
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