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Ideally, a converter won't have any "sound". It will just transparently pass through the signal. From the spec sheet you can check things like dynamic range/signal to noise ratio - the amount of hiss that the converter will add to your recordings. 24-bit converters aren't inherently better than 16-bit. They need to have low noise or you're just ...

I used to obsess a lot about specs, but I've shifted from buying the equipment that looks the best on paper to getting the equipment that makes me smile when I use it :-) I know it's an oversimplification, but even with specs, you make subjective decisions on what kinds of measurements to favor, or what frequency plot looks the best. In the end, all that ...

Won't work. The output from a turntable is about 47k ohms. You need to get it to about 600 ohms for a standard line. Your mic is about 150 ohms (well, these can vary heavily though). You need a RIAA pre-amp just to get to mic-input so might as well go for line.

if I wanted to attach a CD Player, ipod or computer via a 3.5 stereo jack, do I need to purchase a preamp also? No. Both the 350 and 450 can have their input impedance switched between line and mic values. You'd just set the speaker to line impedance and you're okay to connect a CD player or an iPod directly to the speaker. If you're connecting an ...

Well, if you'd like to relate datasheet-listed sensitivity to needed gain, it's pretty straightforward math. Standard professional line level audio is considered to be +4dBu, so we can reasonably say we want a preamp with sufficient gain to bring up the signal to this level. We just need to compute the output level of the microphone in dBu (almost surely a ...

Note that the Zoom H4n can record 24 bit samples. If you set your input level so that the loudest sound peaks at half your available headroom, your recording will effectively use 23 bits. That's still plenty of bits left if you plan to downsample to 16bits for your finished product. Unless you are looking for the coloration of a specific limiter or preamp, ...

The Zoom H4N has built in preamps and microphones. Preamp is short for pre amplifier. It raises the signal from mic level (very low) to line level so it can be recorded or sent to an amplifier or a signal processing device. One reason you might want to use an external preamp with the Zoom is because it might have a limiter to prevent clipping, or a high ...

The difference between those two products is that one includes an analog to digital converter and a digital output, in addition to the analog outputs. You might want the digital output if you have a mac (most modern macs have digital input) but no outboard audio interface. Or if you have other gear with S/PDIF digital input. Don't trust me (really). Check ...

If I understand correctly, the preamp is turned up to a gain where it is clipping. This means your problem is not with the mic, because it is giving the UA 101 a good signal to work with. The UA 101 is a USB interface, so its input into the DAW you're using is controlled by the software. Check the software settings, because the problem might be that you ...

You can use a direct box to change the unbalanced signal to a balanced signal. You would plug your bass into the box and then plug the output of the box into a mixer. There are two types; active and passive. The passive box simply translates the signal and may have a switch to eliminate ground loops (thus removing the buzzing sound ). The active box ...

Mic A ribbon mic for flute is quite an interesting choice. Might sound great, however you should be careful not to get too close to the mic: ribbons tend to be very sensitive to air flow. Now, it depends what you mean by "solo" flute; if you mean classical solo pieces than a larger distance is not a problem, however using just one mic will never give a ...

Both the Apogee Duet and Apogee One are USB interfaces, which is a good thing since your MacBook Air doesn't have Firewire. I don't have much experience with microphones, but it looks like you have picked reasonable gear at a reasonable price point. One of the reasons I haven't worked much with mics is that that particular rabbit hole runs deep, and I'm ...

It's a dynamic mic, so you don't need the phantom power switch on your preamp, but it might be worth trying the 20dB boost button. Are you sure the on/off switch on the microphone is on? (a common mistake) Do you have anything else you can try plugging into your preamp (e.g. a guitar). Was the preamp bought new? It contains a tube, which can break.

"to be heard above the music" – above what music? If it's some fully-mastered mixdown that you're replaying at 0dB, then this is no surprise: such a track has lots and lots of compression on it, making it way louder than a clean microphone track can ever possibly be. You may feel that it's the microphone that's too quiet, but in fact "everything else is too ...