No XLR ins, advice?

[Abb]

Hi guys, first of all: It's nice to meet everyone, this seems like a nice place.

Anyways, I have recently purchased a Tascam 414 tape recording unit, and I am not quite sure how to deal with the microphone situation. The unit does not have any XLR ins, just 1/4 inch. So far I have just been using a P.A. mic to do some recording (using an XLR 1/4" adapter), and I have gotten decent results, but something tells me this isn't the "right" way to do it. So, my question to you folks has two parts:

1) Does an XLR to 1/4 inch adapter work, or should I look into picking up a few preamps, or maybe a small mixer? The mixer or pream would also be nice if I wanted to use a phantom powered mic.

2) I am getting ok results using a few simple dynamic mics, if I were to get any new mics, I can;t really afford to drop any more that maybe 150 CDN. Would that kind of semi-low end mic be worthwhile, or would it be smart to save up some more cash?


Anyways, thank you for your time.

 

[Shadow_7]

There are XLR to TRS (1/4") cables. The real question is what type of input does that unit require? Mic level or Line level or other? A DMP3 in the middle might bridge the gap and not bust the budget (used), if you need extra gain. Although cables can get a bit costly in themselves.