Phantom Power Supplies??

  • Thread starter Thread starter boblawblaw
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boblawblaw

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I konw that it is neccesary for the Apex 435 to have it but could i just buy a xlr to usb cord and use my computer as the power supply?. thanks :)
 
So Solly, no way. Not only does a USB not provide compatible phantom power, but there is another obvious reason that won't work. Namely, the 435 is not a digital mic, and does not send data by USB. Real microphones *don't plug into computers*. What you need is an analog to digital microphone interface, one that provides phantom power, and has a mic preamp in it. If you are doing something wicked simple, like podcasting, and don't need to listen through headphones while recording, you could use an in-line cheapie, such as:

Marshall Electronics MXL Mic Mate / USB | 8thstreet.com | Call 1-800-878-8882 | Free Shipping on most orders!

If you are recording music, you will need a headphone jack and other features for playback through speakers, such as:

M-Audio Fast Track Pro | 8thstreet.com | Call 1-800-878-8882 | Free Shipping on most orders!

Good luck-Richie
 
Phantom power is 48V as in volts. Your sound card probably provides in proximity of 3V power via the mic port, if any volts are supplied (depends on the card). Your USB bus only provides 5V. With obvious compatibility issues as well. You can buy devices that ONLY provide phantom power, but you've still got to connect it to something to record from it. And you'll likely need some additional gain to get a decent level to record. Microphone preamp, mixer, and some interfaces take care of this issue in a lot of cases. Your stock sound card probably does not.
 
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