Measuring tools

[Predator864]

I`m in the need of some tools.
One microphone and one signal acquiring board.

The Behringer ECM8000 and M-Audio Transit is a good combo ?

[Ron E]

That should work, but the Behringer needs phantom power. The simplest phantom power preamp is by a company called Rolls, but you might be able to find the Xenyx UB-802 mixer for cheaper. Either will work. You could also buy an M-Audio or EMU-0404 external sound interface with built in phantom power.

[seagrasser]

I have used the MXL mic mate with success with the behringer mic

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/MicMate

Others have used this solution

M-Audio MobilePre USB

http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/MobilePreUSB.html

[Predator864]

The MXL Mic mate seems a good option.

ECM8000 vs Apex APEX220 ?

[Ron E]

http://www.amazon.com/Rolls-MP13-Min.../dp/B0002BG2QI
http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com...802?sku=631263

The Apex doesn't look any better than the Behringer.

I have heard there is a mic from a company called Naiant that is very good. http://www.naiant.com/xmspecification.html

[THUMP LUMP]

I would suggest going over to homerecording.com message board and asking them about some of the brands that have been mentioned here. Particularly about preamps. What you are looking for is something transparent. I would suggest a M-Audio DMP pre as a low budget transparent pre. The Behringer ECM8000 is a good as any, shy of spending many times more. I would also recommend a M-Audio 2496 sound card. Recently discontinued, these can be had cheap. They where in production for years and are tried, tested, and proven.

[Predator864]

Well for the measurement task I use a notebook, so no Audiophile2496 in this case.

One thing that APEX attracts me is the lower noise floor.

[THUMP LUMP]

Before you get very carries away, check your onboard sound. It probably isn't up to it. Test it using this software. If it goes 100-15k without more than 3db variation, I would be surprised. For testing, all you need is a 1/8" TRS patch cable. Onboard sound is notoriously bad. Be it a laptop or a PC. For listening to music, I use a SB X-Fi card. The SB cards have gotten MUCH better since E-Mu bought them. The specs I get from this card using the testing software mentioned above is 20 Hz to 20 kHz, -0.68, +0.02 dB. The point is, I would test the onboard sound before I would spend the $$ on mics and pres and see what you have to work with. Like you and a few others mentioned, USB in would be better. Again, I would check over at Homerecording.com Message board for good, transparent USB pres. Specs rarely tell the whole story.

BTW, what are you using to feed a test signal to the drivers?

[Predator864]

Yes I know.

Just for getting used with the program.

I must get an external soundcard for real measurements.

[Ron E]

Originally posted by Predator864
Well for the measurement task I use a notebook, so no Audiophile2496 in this case.

One thing that APEX attracts me is the lower noise floor.

http://newsgroups.derkeiler.com/Arch.../msg01504.html

..whatever you say.... looks pretty much the same to me. If you like black better than silver, go for it.

I have onboard sound in a IBM PIII laptop that works great, and any halfway decent onboard AC97 codec should work OK, as well, and it won't be +/- 3dB either... An onboard ac97 (soundmax?) that I have is better than a SBcard I used to try to use...