Studio Recording Quality

[Jester700]

Well, I can't be sure because I have no idea how loud your fans are, how close your mic is, etc. But after you try that experiment, then record the fans - put the mic next to the PC! Then your ears will become familiar with the difference between fan noise & hiss. THEN you can make a better decision on how much it's worth to you to eliminate the remaining hiss.

Now, the 2496 WILL give you greater clarity, no doubt. The question is whether it'll be worth it to you for your use. For ME it's a no brainer, but I'm anal that way. IMO if you have AA and (now) a decent mic rig, you will eventually want this kind of card, even if you don't need it right now (or can't hear it right now because of your monitoring setup). But again, the new card is about the same price, so it's not like you're missing out if you have to buy the new one in a year or two (or five).

I will restate my offer to do a snippet of sound - say, me badly crooning part of a song with acoustic guitar - into my MIA and also into my generic laptop sound card. It MAY not be representative of your rig, but it should be in the ballpark.

[lowlow42]

Alright, well I ordered the soundcard last night, so I guess when it comes in we'll see what happens. I think it will make things sound better. Thanks for the help though... I'll try the tests you mentioned too.

[lowlow42]

I meant to ask... are the RCA plugs that are connected to the card for input or output (the white cables with gold tips), not the actual inputs, but the cords that are connected to the soundcard in this picture.

[Jester700]

Those are SPDIF - digital in & outs.

[lowlow42]

Oh ok...

[lowlow42]

Alright now... I have recieved my Audiophile in the mail today, and I have successfully set it up and also tested out the recordings.

The sound of the mic is better. The hiss is gone. I cant hear nothing other than my voice, not even my pc fans. That is definetely something I am happy about.

I posted not only to inform you of this, but I ran into a small problem... I'm sure its a simple problem that can be solved quickly. This is what happened: Whenever I am recording, I cannot hear myself in the headphones. Also, when I listen through the headphones (to music or anything), I cannot control the MASTER VOLUME. If I put it down or down, it does nothing, the level stays the same.

I see that everything is now controlled through my mixer. The volume adjuster for the "Line In" does nothing when I put it up or down too. So I control everything from the mixer (which I don't mind doing). But a quick question: Is it alright to put the volume up above "0" on the mixer when recording? It goes up to 15, but I wasnt sure if I could put it above "0" without distortion occuring.

Other than those few questions, everything is fine!!! The mic sounds GREAT!

[lowlow42]

Also, now that I have my new soundcard installed, I noticed that when my computer starts up, the Windows "Volume Control" pops up along with the "M Audio Delta Control Panel". I want to stop the Windows Volume Control from coming up when my computer starts, but when I try to uncheck it under System--> Control Panel, it wont give the option to do so. Is there any way to do this?

It also isn't located in the "msconfig" option...

Any help is, as always, appreciated!

[Jester700]

Have you gone through the manual? They usually go through the "gozintas" & "gozoutas" pretty well, and it may be kinda card specific how they set up their driver & interface. If it isn't explained well, I'll try to get through it with you tomorrow night.

[lowlow42]

Alright, thank you, take your time, just let me know whenever you get the chance. I've looked through the manual several times, but unfortunately I've found nothing. So I appreciate your help!

[proxyx99]

I'd check forums releted to M-audio products or manuf. run forum if one exists. Otherwise don't hesitate to call M-audio tech support, sooner you get your answers more comfortable (with the produck) you will be. Elininating guesswork ASAP will allow you to concentrate on important stuff.

[lowlow42]

Yeah, but if I go that route (calling them), I'll never get helped, as stated in MANY reviews. So I thought maybe it would be a "Easy-to-resolve" software related issue that Jester could help me with... maybe he's heard of such problems?

But I got 1 thing to work just by continuously playing around with settings. That was: being able to control the MASTER VOLUME. But thats it.

How is this control panel, compared to the Windows Volume Control, for example, the Playback and Recording Properties. I wonder how I'd access something like that. (Like I could hear the microphone feed high, but record low, or vice versa) You know what I mean?

[lowlow42]

I am happy to say, I've solved another problem. I'll soon be leaving for work, but I tested out to see if I could hear the mic in the headphones, and sure enough... I could. The same thing I did to get the MASTER VOLUME working, is what solved the mic issue. There was some setting that wasn't checked in the Delta Control Panel.

But I do notice, the volume isnt as high as it once was with my old soundcard. Like when I play music, or if I want to hear myself when recording, and I think it's at the highest it can get. But I wonder if there is any way to increase it.

But besides that, the only question(s) I had was about the Volume Control Icon appearing when I boot up Windows, and also if I could set (on the mixer) the line 1 higher than "0" without distorting the sound any.

[Jester700]

I think as long as you have a windows compatible sound card, that will come up, but I never tried to prevent it, so I dunno.

As for the mixer - yes, it can be set above 0; analog devices have several dB of headroom above 0 - it's the digital ones you can't go over. Unless you're hitting 0dB on your audition meters, I wouldn't worry about it.

[bdf24]

Not trying to steel the thread. But as far as a mixer and pre-amp goes. I've got a Yamaha recording EQ hooked up to my Digital Yamaha reciever. The thing cost me over 400 dollars some years ago. Really cleans up the signal. Makes a world of difference. Could I plug the mic into that. Then run my reciever to my my soundcard (thinking the reciever would boost the mic signal)? Sound card is an older Soundblaster live. Would I get decent results like this recording vocals?

[Jester700]

To Low:
I posted earlier, but something messed up. Sorry about the wait. No worries going above 0dB on analog gear; most have several dB of headroom available. But don't let the meters in Audition hit 0.

As for the volume icon, I dunno - I never tried to get rid of one!

To bdf24:
An EQ can cut hiss or hum in a specific frequency band, but this could be done in software as easily, and probably more accurately. Most EQs and recievers work at line level, either semi pro -10 or Pro +4, so no, you can't plug a mic into it. Well, not without screwing up your gain staging.

Again, a good mic & mic preamp (including those built into small mixers like the Behringer) are key.

[lowlow42]

Alright, but how about the volume in my new card? Its not very high, when I listen to music, or want to hear myself with the mic. What can I do differently to increase the volume?

I'll try to mess around with that little icon though... maybe later as its not that important, but pretty annoying to look at.

[Jester700]

Well, these may not apply to the Audiophile, but since it's similar to my MIA, here goes...

I assume you opened up the card's "console" and have the analog outputs maxed. Do you see a switch or button that says "-10", "+4" or both? If so, setting it to "+4" will give you more output.

It's also possible that you WON'T get the same kind of level you used to - these are line level only cards, instead of some cheaper ones that are designed to also drive cheap, small PC speakers. This shouldn't matter, as you can crank the gain on your powered speakers, receiver, or amp.

[lowlow42]

Well you were right, there was a "check box" like that. It was either "Consumer" or "-10dbv", but it was set to Consumer, and that was the louder one. I guess its pretty much as high as it can go.

It works great with my speakers, because my speakers have a knob (subwoofer actually), and I never play at its maximum. But for headphones, its not the same. But I guess its ok.

But anyhow, I want to thank you for everything that you've helped me with! 6 pages of help, and I've finally got something that works! I'm happy with the outcome of everything. Quality, Clarity, Volume.... In you're eyes it may not be a great setup, but in my opinion, it sounds like a professional is recording my vocals. I can't get over it!

I also have to thank HousePig, I haven't forgot about you!!! You were there since the 1st page, so thank you!!! I also have to thank anybody who popped in to give advice.

The sound of the overall outcome is GREAT!!! That's all the matters! I don't think I could ever go back to what I had before.

For anybody that was considering purchasing the setup I have, I would definetely recommend getting it, it sounds excellent!

I will be purchasing a Midi Keyboard soon (maybe tomorrow) from a Pawn Shop for only about $40, so I'm sure that will work great with the inputs in my card too. I've never used one before, but I'm ready to learn. But the manual included with it seems pretty clear. (I've already checked it out). If there is any problems, hopefully there is someone out there (maybe even another forum) to help me, that is are great as the people that have helped me through this!

I really appreciate all the help you guys have given me, I know I say it over and over... but thanks! Without you guys, I'd still have garbage recordings trying to fix it with the Noise Reduction filter, so, everything has worked out great for me!

[Jester700]

Excellent to hear! Enjoy!

[DivXExpert]

So, what is the summary of the final rig? I don't feel like reading all 6 pages to find out what you finally ended up with.

[lowlow42]

Well... what I ended up purchasing in the end was:
Eurorack Behringer UB802 mixer
Marshall v57M Condenser Mic
MAudio Audiophile 24/96 soundcard

The end product sounds pretty damn good too!

I have no difficulties at all, except fot the fact I'm still trying to mixdown everything and make things level, without distortion. But I need to keep practicing...

[JeffD]

Thanks to this thread, I just ordered a Behringer UB802 so that I can use my 3 year-old Shure SM58 for recording voiceovers into my computer.

Now I have a question, which I hope (a) wasn't already answered (I _did_ read the thread) and/or (b) isn't hugely stupid. Here goes:

Any reason I could not also use the Behringer UB802 as the middleman between my Panasonic PV-GS65 DV Camcorder and an external mic like the SM58? (I'd be connecting the UB802 to my camcorder's external mic in jack.)

TIA

[ozymango]

Thanks to this thread, I just ordered a Behringer UB802 so that I can use my 3 year-old Shure SM58 for recording voiceovers into my computer.

Now I have a question, which I hope (a) wasn't already answered (I _did_ read the thread) and/or (b) isn't hugely stupid. Here goes:

Any reason I could not also use the Behringer UB802 as the middleman between my Panasonic PV-GS65 DV Camcorder and an external mic like the SM58? (I'd be connecting the UB802 to my camcorder's external mic in jack.)

TIA

Because the orginal thread is so long (and pretty old), I responded to this in a new posting:

https://forum.videohelp.com/viewtopic.php?t=291283

I hope that's cool!