Is this noise level normal / acceptable?

[xbeginnerx]

I need to do a voice over for a video project, so I bought a Behringer Podcastudio since it seemed a good deal and promised excellent audio quality.
However, the recordings seem extremely noisy. I set the gain controls so it wouldn't be too low but no clipping either. There is audible noise on the monitor headphones, and the .wav file I ended up with also has this noise. Listen to the .wav for yourself:

http ://hyperfileshare .com/d/f5a1a728 (delete the blanks)

Is this amount of noise "normal"? Or is my recording gear broken?

Thanks

 

[xbeginnerx]

Oh, and the room was quiet. The A/C was off, no appliances were running, everybody but me was asleep etc. I recorded the digital signal using an external ADC and a laptop whose fan is almost inaudible, plus I placed the laptop "behind a corner" to further reduce any noise.

Sorry I had to break up the link to the .wav file. You will have to copy/paste the URL and remove the two blanks in there.

 

[Bulls Hit]

I didn't listen to your file, but if you're getting any audible noise with modern soundcards, then yes there's a problem with it, with its drivers, or something in your setup.

You should not be able to hear any noise over and above what you're recording

 

[xbeginnerx]

I can hear the noise even if it is not hooked up to the computer, just the mic and headphones connected to the mixer.

I guess I will have to return it to the store.

 

[kubeek]

That level of noise is definitely a problem with your setup or the soundcard. How high was the gain setting? What mic did you use?

 

[punkin]

Try splitting the problem up into parts. Disconnect the mic, and press record. Turn the preamps all the way down and try again. I'm not familiar with the interface on this but, if the mixer has audio connections to the interface, disconnect that too.

A dead air recording should be pretty much silent.