Help me choose a mic preamp?

[be7]

Based on a reply to another post of mine, I'll skip getting a USB microphone for my podcasting plans. Can you guys help me choose a preamp?

1. I don't have a soundcard, so I think I need a USB preamp.
2. I think I want a dual channel model so I can do interviews.
3. Having a headphone output for monitoring is great.
4. Having UV dials would be cool.

The guys at This Week in Tech recommend the M-Audio Fast Track Pro USB. Anything else I should consider? Are there drawbacks of going USB?

 

[MG Eddie]

I would also say that the FT Pro is a good choice. If you do interviews then you'll want to consider getting a head phone splitter because the FT Pro only has one head phone out. Also It doesn't have a VU(I assume that this is what you meant) but it does have a green indicator light that comes on when your peaking, which I think would be hard to do when podcasting. The main drawback to any interface your going to get is the number of headphone outputs. Also this one has phantom power in case you chose to use a condenser mic. Usb interfaces are basically an external soundcard.

 

[be7]

Yes, I did mean VU dials. You can see how much of a noob I am!