How to get cheapo mic hooked up to my Audiophile

[MDesigner]

I\'ve got one of those computer mics (1/8\" jack).. trying to get it working w/ my Audiophile, without any success.

I have the mic, running to a 1/8\" female-to-female.. on the other end of that coupler is another 1/8\" jack running to two RCAs. The RCAs go into my analog inputs on my Audiophile. For some reason, there\'s no input. Any idea why?

I\'d rather just dump these cheap mics and get a semi-decent mic that goes right to RCA outs. Something very inexpensive.. (under $50) for just toying around. Suggestions?

Thanks

[MDesigner]

Went back to Radio Shack, they gave me a new coupler, a gold one that handles either mono/stereo on either side. Still doesn\'t work.

Am I doing something wrong? Is there some reason I can\'t run a mic into my Audiophile??

[mschiff]

Sam,

The Audiophile does not have any preamps like a consumer soundcard. Its inputs are line level, so the mic level is not enough to drive it, even if you did connect it properly. Use an inexpensive mixer with a preamp, or an inenxpensive preamp and that will solve the problem. Also, the output from a computer microphone is mono. So splitting it to the two inputs on the Audiophile will accomplish nothing.

-- Martin

[MDesigner]

Thanks, Martin. I was starting to think that a preamp was needed..but thanks for confirming that, now I know for sure. As far as stereo/mono.. I wasn\'t sure. The 1/8\" jack had two black rings as opposed to one.. apparently it can dump stereo channels but they\'re both exactly the same.

So.. I know zilch about preamps. What would be an inexpensive preamp? Where could I take a look at some, and what should I look for?

Thanks again!

[SteveHanlon]

Audio Buddy is an inexpensive $100 two channel preamp

[mschiff]

Sam,

It really depends on what you want to do with the preamp. If you just want to get sound into your machine without concern for quality, then just pick up the cheapest one you can find at Radio Shack. If you want higher quality, then one step up would be the Audio Buddy at $100, and perhaps the next step up would be something like the Studio Projects VTB-1 at $179. To take advantage of those, you would need a better microphone as well.

-- Martin

[mschiff]

Sam,

Oh yeah, I forgot that you can also get something like a dBx Mini Pre for under $100. It\'s a pretty nice little preamp for the money. All of the preamps I mentioned except the Audio Buddy are mono which means you get only one channel. That is fine for a microphone which is also one channel, but you would need two to record in stereo (2 mics and 2 preamps or 2 mics and one stereo preamp).

-- Martin