Urgent - Viability of Asus Xonar Essence ST

[CharlesAudio]

Dear enlightened users of Homerecordings.com, I have a question which I hope someone can answer for me.

I have recently invested in a high quality audiophile grade sound card - The Asus Xonar Essence ST. However I did not check beforehand whether it supports condenser microphones. I assumed it would because of its high price and target market. However I haven't been able to find a definite answer despite a thorough search on various forums.

The clearest post that I had regarding the issue was from Fotios on DIY Audio who stated:

"Well, for each one who is interested: The analog input of Essence STX, is a usual TRS (1/4") stereo input for analog signals as well a powered mic input for electret condenser mics. The mic input is managed by a cheap (AC'97 codec) DJ100 IC, while the line input from the top ADC of Cirrus Logic CS5381."

However I remember him stating in another forum that he made certain modifications.

I've noted that similar PCI/PCI-E cards such as the AUZENTECH X-Fi HomeTheater HD Sound Card apparently state that they have the function to:

Connect Stereo/mono unbalanced condenser microphone and input, record audio from the MIC through the audio card. Also, connect to Balanced Dynamic Microphone through the jumper setting of this audio board.

I have checked the spec sheet of the Xonar, but I really don't know what to look for. I know phantom power indicates the need for 48 volts to go through to the microphone. On the Xonar spec sheet it states the card has 2 Vrms (5.65 Vp-p). I don't know if that necessarily means anything.

I don't know much about this issue, so I hope those who are more knowledgeable can give me an informed answer. I don't really feel like spending another 200 dollars to get another card or power supply. Please Help.

 

[MOFO Pro]

Sorry Charles... you should have asked here before you bought.

It's a great card for watching surround movies... and it'll be fine for recording quality audio on one channel, but you're not going to record a condenser without a preamp with phantom voltage. The voltage mentioned in the card specs is just for a cheap electret PC mic.

 

[ocnor]

 

[CharlesAudio]

Thanks

Well, if that's the case, I guess I'm left with a few choices:

1.) To get a pre-amp with phantom power and then a condenser mic (expensive option) - would that then connect directly into my Soundcard audio in or do I need another audio interface to connect it to my computer via firewire?
2.) To get a condenser usb microphone from Samson, Audio Technica, Blue (cheap option)
3.) Get a dynamic microphone (same price as 2)

I'm looking to record vocals but I also don't have a microphone to use live. I wonder if a dynamic microphone will suffice as a decent compromise. However, I heard that they aren't generally that good for studio recording unless you really yell into it.

 

[mshilarious]

Dynamic mics are fine for studio use, but they also need a professional preamp. So your choices are:

1) buy a preamp & mic, and connect that to your interface
2) buy a different interface with internal preamps & mic
3) buy a USB mic

Given that you want the mic for stage use, I wouldn't go for #3.

 

[CharlesAudio]

Thanks again

Oh, I wasn't aware that a pre-amp was a direct requirement to use a dynamic microphone. I thought that unlike a condenser mic, they don't need a direct current running through. Is a pre-amp for a dynamic microphone just to improve the performance or actually a necessity?

Is a pre-amp and phantom power essentially the same thing? Or will I need to buy both?

 

[mshilarious]

Oh, I wasn't aware that a pre-amp was a direct requirement to use a dynamic microphone. I thought that unlike a condenser mic, they don't need a direct current running through. Is a pre-amp for a dynamic microphone just to improve the performance or actually a necessity?

Is a pre-amp and phantom power essentially the same thing? Or will I need to buy both?

They are different, but they usually come together (preamp with phantom power). Phantom power is a DC power supply to run an amplifier that is inside a condenser microphone. The resulting output is usually fairly healthy, -35dBV output @ 94dBSPL input or so.

Dynamic mics don't need an amplifier inside, but their output is low, more like -55dBV. So the problem is noise--a line-level input will often have a noise floor around -100dBV. So if you run a dynamic mic straight in, you get a rather poor dynamic range of 45dB.

A mic preamp will add gain, such that the level is more like -10dBV (or more). Mic preamps have much lower noise, ideally -125dBV or less, which will yield 25dB more dynamic range. So you need about 45dB of gain for a dynamic, depending on what you are recording.

Probably a good choice since your soundcard appears to have a reasonable quality line input would be the M-Audio DMP-3.

Side note: you will see some people connect a dynamic mic to a line input via an inline "impedance adaptor", which is just a step-up transformer. That works somewhat, but the quality is poor because the cheap inline transformers on the market aren't the correct ratio for that job (they are designed to feed a mic into an instrument amp, which is different than a line input), and if they were the proper ratio, they wouldn't provide enough gain. So resist the temptation to do that, unless quality is not important.

 

[CharlesAudio]

Thanks Mshilarious for sharing your wealth of information with me. I think that your suggestion to purchase the M-Audio DMP3 is a good one. I didn't want to spend money on purchasing another sound interface that would replicate what I could already get from the Xonar Essence; for example: EMU0404 USB. But even so, it still appears cheaper than the DMP3. Just to comfort myself, I hope that my Xonar Essence produces better sound output than the EMU0404 on my Shure SE530s

A pre-amp with Phantom power such as what you suggested seems like a good idea. It is however quite expensive here in Australia. I wonder if I could get away with something cheaper which is more or less the same quality. I take it that the pre-amp would then directly plug into my computer via firewire, or USB than the line in on the soundcard. Some tutorials have shown the need for powered speakers as well to plug into, is that necessary?

Again, thanks for the information. And at least now I know that I will at least need a new amp and if I do that, then I might as well get a condenser microphone for vocal recording.