Is a mic and pre amp enough? Or should I upgrade the sound card

[get known]

I have an ART pre amp and a MXL 990 mic. This will run into the standard motherboard line in on my pc. Will I lose quality going into the line in or should I upgrade to a sound card that has RCA jacks to keep the sound quality. I heard going from a 3 pin Pre amp into an RCA will reduce the quality. What is the best cord or connection to make between the mic pre amp and the sound card?

 

[jcmastering]

Use a professional computer audio interface with XLR inputs or at least 1/4" TRS inputs.

 

[Shadow_7]

XLR connections are best. If you have to hot plug them, no pop. TRS is roughly equivalent, but pops when plugging and unplugging, if connected to something that's already on.

If your computers interface doesn't have either of those to start with, it's probably not ideal. I think it's more of an introduction of impurities than the connection. Integrated soundcards are notorious for lots of self noise (hiss). And it may not be full duplex so if you want to record a second track in parallel with an existing track, you basically can't do that. Well sometimes you can, but the bleed over of output into the input channel is hideous. Factor in hiss x2 in some cases. Given another option (any option) take it.

RCA is better than a stereo jack for stereo recording in that left and right are on separate channels. But the cables are unbalanced and probably lightly shielded. aka Turn off your cell phone. It's an option of course, but certainly not a preference. At least not for me.

 

[Weasel9992]

I have an ART pre amp and a MXL 990 mic. This will run into the standard motherboard line in on my pc. Will I lose quality going into the line in or should I upgrade to a sound card that has RCA jacks to keep the sound quality. I heard going from a 3 pin Pre amp into an RCA will reduce the quality. What is the best cord or connection to make between the mic pre amp and the sound card?

Well, I mean...yeah. Sure it matters. You're converting an analog signal to digital using a soundcard that's probably entry-level consumer quality at best. The quality of converters makes a TON of difference; the cheaper the conversion, the harder time it has clearly representing low end, high mid and high frequency information. You end up with that "blanket over the speakers" sound everybody loves so much.

I agree that you should upgrade to at least something like a Presonus Firebox or something; That'll make a positive difference, and it'll last you ua while. Really good converters will cost you more like $1,200 for eight channels or so, and really great converters will cost you more like $1,200 *per channel*.

Frank

 

[TimOBrien]

Still using a built-in soundcard?? Unfortunately, those are made with less than 50cents worth of chips for beeps, boops and light gaming (not to mention cheapness for the manufacturer) and NOT quality music production.

#1 Rule of Recording: You MUST replace the built-in soundcard.

Here's a good guide and tested suggestions: http://www.tweakheadz.com/soundcards_for_the_home_studio.htm

 

[darrin_h2000]

The Line6 UX2 is a good USB replacement for your sound card....and the A-D and D-A are the same as the apogee units.

Look into this peice.

 

[get known]

The Line6 UX2 is a good USB replacement for your sound card....and the A-D and D-A are the same as the apogee units.

Look into this peice.

Thanks everyone for the info, I learned a lot!
Any other recommendations for getting the sound from the pre amped mic to the PC? It's only for recording voice for Pod casts and Educational CD's.

I have no idea what is a good interface to get for my setup. So any ideas on what is that bit of hardware I need, to get a good sound into the PC?

Thanks

 

[tdukex]

The connection from your mic preamp to you sound card is line level. 1/4" TRS (balanced cable) is perfectly suitable (and professional) for this connection. In fact, most line level connections between equipment are made using TRS because they are less expensive, take up less space, and are easier to connect and disconnect. There is no signal quality improvement from using XLR. XLR is just a stronger connection that won't accidently be pulled loose from hard to reach and see places, and XLR is definitely a must for mic to mic preamp connections.

There are a lot of very good, inexpensive sound cards that will improve your recordings ten-fold over your motherboard sound. M-Audio Delta-44 ($150) or Audiophile 24/96 ($100) are both excellent. The EMU 1212m ($150) or 0404 24/96 ($100) are excellent choices as well.

 

[get known]

The connection from your mic preamp to you sound card is line level. 1/4" TRS (balanced cable) is perfectly suitable (and professional) for this connection. In fact, most line level connections between equipment are made using TRS because they are less expensive, take up less space, and are easier to connect and disconnect. There is no signal quality improvement from using XLR. XLR is just a stronger connection that won't accidently be pulled loose from hard to reach and see places, and XLR is definitely a must for mic to mic preamp connections.

There are a lot of very good, inexpensive sound cards that will improve your recordings ten-fold over your motherboard sound. M-Audio Delta-44 ($150) or Audiophile 24/96 ($100) are both excellent. The EMU 1212m ($150) or 0404 24/96 ($100) are excellent choices as well.

Is it better to just get an audio interface such as the Lexicon Alpha since I only need to record 1 track and only voice.

 

[Shadow_7]

It would be a step up from the integrated soundcard.

I've got a Mobile Pre and a Delta 44. I prefer the Delta 44, better converters. But then again I've got a Korg MR-1000 that makes my Delta 44 seem cheap. Go with what you're comfortable spending the cash on. Unfortunately my Delta 44 is just converters. So for me to use it as a normal soundcard requires a few extras, about $200 in cables + adapters and $200 in external preamps (headphone / microphone). At the time I thought that I was getting a $250 soundcard for $100 on craigslist. It's a good card, and I would have needed many of these extras for professional recording anyway. I just wasn't expecting to be this vested this quickly.

If you're not as vested in cables, adapters, and preamps, you might consider something like the Alpha or Mobile Pre or 0404 or UA-25 or any number of options. If you're not going to require anything better than video or CD quality, then those should suffice. Just know that there is better stuff. But you could easily spend $1k per component to get the better stuff. Mic + Preamp + Converter. An interface is nice in that it combines multiple components, at a fair price. But it's all a compromise of sorts.

 

[tdukex]

Is it better to just get an audio interface such as the Lexicon Alpha since I only need to record 1 track and only voice.

As Shadow mentioned, there are a lot of choices, and you need to decide what you need. Personnaly, I think you get better converters for your money with PCI soundcards. However, a lot of the USB or FW interfaces come with good converters, headphone amps, and mic preamps with phantom power--if that's what you want. Since you already have a nice mic preamp, I don't think you need to spend $ on an interface that comes with mic preamps and phantom power that you won't use. On the other hand, you may feel the convenience of a built-in headphone amp is worth paying for. I listen on monitors so don't need a headphone amp, and if I did I would buy one separately for $50. That's just my preference. It doesn't make it right for anyone else.

All interfaces are going to be at least two channels. The Audiophile and the 0404 PCI are two channel for $100. There is also an 0404 USB and a lot of other USB devices if they fit your need. It's really just a matter of deciding what you want.