I need - Microphone Amp

[OdiN]

I have an "okay" microphone - just want to use it for some recording for things on my computer.

It's just a Radio Shack with a 1/4 jack.

It's not working so well with just being plugged into my sound card - it worked okay with a different sound card, but not this one.

So I just need a simple amp for it to get the sound level up. Nothing extravagant. I have a headset but audio quality is horrid for use in a video tutorial.

Any suggestions?

 

[Rubycon]

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[OdiN]

Originally posted by: Rubycon
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And at what local store can I buy one of these and plug my equipment right in?

 

[Rubycon]

What is your budget?

The best sound will be afforded by a large diaphragm condenser mic (start at about $100) and a preamp with phantom power (48V) with balanced and unbalanced outputs. You'll need a DI box to connect the balanced (Neutrik XLR) to your unbalanced line inputs.

You said the mic worked ok with one sound card but not your current one? Perhaps the sound card has a mic amp but is disabled? Any 1/8" min stereo type mic for PC use SHOULD work with a PC sound card MIC input. Sound may be just adequate for voice or it may feature wideband (20-20k) response. With the aforementioned setup you will have the latter, however it's overkill for entry level narrative tasks.

A USB mic will also suffice and is popular in the gaming community for teamspeak, ventrilo type applications.

 

[OdiN]

It worked on the old sound card but just "okay" - I had to have the mic really close and speak loudly.

I don't have any particular budget but want something that will do what I need without having to spend much because I don't need this to be super high quality. I'm not selling it or anything. I just need a plug and play solution.

The mic I have has the 1/4 plug with a 1/4 to 1/8 adapter so it will plug into my sound card. I spent maybe $25 on it. It's a basic mic, probably mainly used for PA systems and such. I don't need anything better than that.

I don't need 52345 boxes. I need one amp. Nice and simple.

I have a USB headset with a boom mic, but it does not work for my needs. Sound quality isn't that great.

 

[Rubycon]

You may want to look at camcorder or general purpose recording mics. These may take a small button cell such as an LR44 and will have a decent enough noise floor and sensitivity for PC applications.

 

[OdiN]

Okay...I already have a mic. I do not want a different mic. All I'm looking for is a recommendation for an amp which I could most likely purchase locally, or online.

 

[Rubycon]

Originally posted by: OdiN
Okay...I already have a mic. I do not want a different mic. All I'm looking for is a recommendation for an amp which I could most likely purchase locally, or online.

Here you go!

 

[OdiN]

Originally posted by: Rubycon

Originally posted by: OdiN
Okay...I already have a mic. I do not want a different mic. All I'm looking for is a recommendation for an amp which I could most likely purchase locally, or online.

Here you go!

http://www.zzounds.com/item--THKMIMAB0

I had looked at that one.

I was hoping I could find something less expensive.

I don't need a $160 one for sure - VU meters really are not useful to me.

I found this one: http://www.zzounds.com/item--ART127

Seems like it might be more in line with what I need. Pretty simple and lower cost.

 

[Rubycon]

The audio buddy is the scaled down version. The ART product will work just be careful of ground loops and you will need to adjust your gain structure for best signal to noise ratio.