M-Audio Fast Track II with Phantom Power on Macbook Pro

[LastR]

Hey Guys

I bought a condenser microphone, it's a behringer c1, and I tried to connect it to my M-Audio Fast Track II with phantom power and Macbook Pro, the result is a sound full of noise. I've asked in a forum before, and the doubted the problem comes from the usb port (not enough power for phantom power). In another forum they say a 48+ V phantom power just needs about 5V from USB port, but some needs 12V. Macbook pro provides 5V. What I'm asking is, how many V does fast track II needs for its phantom power? İf I buy another 5V, will it be enough?
Thanks before..

 

[ecc83]

USB power is a closely defined parameter. It is unlikely that Apple would ***k with it (but ya never know!).

USB 2.0 ports only ever deliver 5volts and USB 2.0 up to 500mA. USB 3.0 can deliver 900mA i.e. nearly an amp. The limited features on the FTP 2 will not require anything like 500mA so everything points to the mic being faulty. The Behringer C1 does not seem to attract the vitriol of many Behringer products and is said to be quite good for the money...However! B's are not known for super Q control or reliability and thus the mic is the prime suspect here. (in any case, low spook juice would tend to make the mic distorted or pack up altogether. not noisy).

Try the rig on a PC, ANY PC! They will all work and are very common you know! 'Tis my belief that everyone should have an old PC spare, about the place. You can pick up an XP tower for £10 at a charity shop and a W7 rig for not much more. you can even put the XP machine on the web for short periods, just don't do internet banking on it!

Dave.

 

[rob aylestone]

Yep - you need to simply plug it into another computer before you do anything. This rules out your PC. Things to check. In system preferences/sound, does the M-audio actually appear, and is selected?
If it is, then turn to the M-Audio. I assume you can hear the hiss? does it stop when you turn off the 48V button - it sometimes makes a click and then tails off after a few seconds. Is the hiss still being produced? If it carries on, the the hiss could be being generated inside the interface. If turning off the 48V removes the hiss, then you are left with the cable and mic. Just check one thing - you have the mic connected with an XLR to XLR cable, not an XLR female mic end to a ¼" jack plugged into the combo connector. I frequently get ebay buyers say the mic they just bought is dead or hisses like mad - and in every case, they are connecting to a combo connector, which doesn't supply phantom power, and is of course instrument/line level. They turn the gain up because they hear nothing and just get hiss - which is perfectly normal. You haven't done this, have you? Next stage, if the XLR cable has a 3 pin plug on both ends, is to check it. Do you have another, or can you borrow a meter and check for open circuits or shorts? If the cable is ok - then all that is left is a duff mic, which frankly is very, very rare.

Somewhere to start.

Mac USB ports can power these interfaces with no issues at all.

 

[LastR]

Well thank you for your answers guys

I tried in another laptop, the result is the same
PC? Problem here is I'm studying abroad right now, and not possible for me to buy a PC, unfortunately

The input is a male microphone jack input with 48+ phantom power, the setting is correct (I'm sure of it cause I know computer quite well, hope I'm right), hear my own voice but it's full of noises and so low, eventhough I speak like about 5cm in front of the mic, I believe a condenser can caught voices from every corner of a bedroom, right?

If the fault comes from the mic, what should I do? Buy a new mic or what?