rob aylestone
Moderator
Trouble with XLR USB devices that claim to give phantom power is that as they obtain their power as 5V from the computer, they have to convert it to 48V, and many just can't do it with the required current (as per the 48V phantom spec) - so as many, but by no means all, phantom mics can work down to around 9V, sometimes they get away with it. In virtually all cases, 9V instead of 48V does result in worse audio performance, but some mics just don't work. These devices also often are optimised (and that's even a dodgy word to use) for people talking loudly, close up, into them - and any attempt to record quieter or more distant sources fails miserably. A proper device that does in AND out makes a huge difference.