New to XLR mics. Please help!! Thank you

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The UCA202 Interface costs about $70 to buy down here. The single chip that represents a sound card in most laptops is generally worth less than a dollar to the computer manufacturer. Perhaps your HP has something extra special but the Realtek stuff that's in 90% of lap tops now is total rubbish for recording. It's designed for Skype phone calls, not serious recording (and that's no matter how carefully you set levels). They suffer from noise and from extremely limited headroom.

This is before you get into the joys of using any decent mic on a 3.5mm connector, nowadays often a single connector for in and out.
 
Bobbsy said:
The UCA202 Interface costs about $70 to buy down here. The single chip that represents a sound card in most laptops is generally worth less than a dollar to the computer manufacturer. Perhaps your HP has something extra special but the Realtek stuff that's in 90% of lap tops now is total rubbish for recording. It's designed for Skype phone calls, not serious recording (and that's no matter how carefully you set levels). They suffer from noise and from extremely limited headroom.

This is before you get into the joys of using any decent mic on a 3.5mm connector, nowadays often a single connector for in and out.
Click to expand...

Yes but. There is a lot more to the 202 than just the chip, case, conns, HP amp and pot, VC, S/PDIF optical out. If anyone knows the exact number on a MOBO audio chip I am prepared to open up my 202 and see what's in there and I would not be at all surprised if it was the same chip or a variant thereof?

Then, as we ALL know in this audio game, it is very often not what you got but what you do with it that matters!

Dave.
 
Well, for a start the UCA202 doesn't pretend to have any form of mic pre amp for the money--while that's a key element of what an onboard sound chip tries to do.

If your experience is good, then great--but I've yet to find a laptop (and that includes Macs) that could do a decent recording whatever was feeding it or how carefully you set things up. (Indeed, for about a year back in the UK, I earned beer money using Audition noise reduction on recordings made by a Mac-fan acquaintance who couldn't figure out why all his recordings were noisy. I suppose I should have suggested a USB interface but I did enjoy those free beers!)
 
Bobbsy said:
Well, for a start the UCA202 doesn't pretend to have any form of mic pre amp for the money--while that's a key element of what an onboard sound chip tries to do.

If your experience is good, then great--but I've yet to find a laptop (and that includes Macs) that could do a decent recording whatever was feeding it or how carefully you set things up. (Indeed, for about a year back in the UK, I earned beer money using Audition noise reduction on recordings made by a Mac-fan acquaintance who couldn't figure out why all his recordings were noisy. I suppose I should have suggested a USB interface but I did enjoy those free beers!)
Click to expand...

Right! I am going to buy another one and send in a demo! Just in case noobs are watching? I am NOT suggesting for ONE moment that integrated sound is remotely ok for any "serious" sort of music work. Get an AI and a decent XLR equipped mic.

This is just between me and 'IM!



Dave.
 
Bobbsy said:
If your experience is good, then great--but I've yet to find a laptop (and that includes Macs)
Click to expand...

Backing up your point, there's literally no difference.
Same manufacturers, same hardware....

My mac pro, for example, has Intel HDAjust like many other computers.
I'm not sure what the macbook has but it's most likely Intel HDA or Realtek...

No different to dell/HP/compaq/whoever.
 
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