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Advice on an external inteface

P

prokat

n00b
Joined
Jan 4, 2008
Messages
10
Hello!
I'm building a new PC and want to correct the mess I have now.
I'd like to use my microphone (SM57 with a XLR connection) and monitors (KRK's Rokit5 each with a 1/4in TRS balanced connection) with my computer. I've tried finding solutions but I'm lost. I don't know audio equipment manufacturers or even where to look.

It seems like an external USB sound card with the appropriate connections would be my answer but again, not sure where to look. Or even an internal with a breakout cable.

My current setup involves a mixing board, lots of cables, and onboard audio. I think I could probably do much better with some good advice.

Thank you for your help.. this has been a fruitless search so far.
 
M-Audio, Presonus, RME, MOTU, Steinberg, Native Instruments, and Focusrite all make external audio interfaces that will do what you want. Depending on the amount of connectivity you really want and the quality of the Pre-Amps are the big determining factors though.

Most folks know of M-Audio and Presonus and they make some decent products. From M-Audio something like a Fastrack Pro would do want you want, but they're kinda pricey IMO. The Presonus AudioBox USB would take care of you as well and it is pretty cheap, but I do not know how the Pre-Amps are on it.

The only company I have any experience with is Focusrite. I have the Saffire Pro 24, a Audio-Technica AT2035, a pair of Adam A5Xs, and a pair of AKG K271 MKIIs. The Pre-Amps in it are very transparent and have quite a bit of gain. Basically, they're just all around general Pre-Amps. Further, the headphone amp has plenty of power, and the ability to control the monitor gain separately from the headphone gain is really nice. However, I think the Saffire Pro 24 may be just a bit too much for what you're looking to do. Something like a Saffire 6 or Scarlett 2i2 would probably be better suited to your task.

Of course time to put the obligatory IMO, YMMV, ROFL, BBQ, etc . . ..
 
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BoredSysAdm,
Unless I am mistaken the OP wanted Balanced outs which are not featured on either generation of the M-Audio Mobilepres.

Now, I do not think that the Balanced connections are going to make a big difference anyway.
 
Xolos said:
BoredSysAdm,
Unless I am mistaken the OP wanted Balanced outs which are not featured on either generation of the M-Audio Mobilepres.

Now, I do not think that the Balanced connections are going to make a big difference anyway.
Click to expand...

For a change my reading comprehension did not failed me on this one, yes I heard OP asked for balanced outs, but I get the feeling he might not be sure why he needs this ...
KRK's 5 do have unbalanced inputs and unless the distance from mobilepre interface to to speakers is well over 100ft he doesn't need to worry about speaker connection being balanced or not...
Only thing OP must ensure is for the interface to have proper 48v phantom power to power the mic - not all XLR balanced inputs provide this ...
 
Thanks for the information!

Yes, I wasn't sure I needed balanced out or not or how unbalanced was affect sound quality. I do know the sm57 (dynamic) doesn't require phantom power so that's not even a requirement. With this in mind the mobilepre fits the bill.

After some reading after posting, it seems like drivers are going to be the most possible point of failure on win 7 x64. Anyone using the mobilepre or m-audio stuff in general on 7x64?

I found the Lexicon Alpha which has the specs I'm looking for: http://www.sweetwater.com/store/det...ampaign=none&gclid=CM6tg8P8s6sCFaEBQAod_Qu2dg You don't mention them in your list of good manufacturers, is lexicon reliable/quality?
 
Last edited:
prokat said:
Thanks for the information!

Yes, I wasn't sure I needed balanced out or not or how unbalanced was affect sound quality. I do know the sm57 (dynamic) doesn't require phantom power so that's not even a requirement. With this in mind the mobilepre fits the bill.

After some reading after posting, it seems like drivers are going to be the most possible point of failure on win 7 x64. Anyone using the mobilepre or m-audio stuff in general on 7x64?

I found the Lexicon Alpha which has the specs I'm looking for: http://www.sweetwater.com/store/det...ampaign=none&gclid=CM6tg8P8s6sCFaEBQAod_Qu2dg You don't mention them in your list of good manufacturers, is lexicon reliable/quality?
Click to expand...

Lexicon is subsidiary of Harman International, typically high quality and very expensive products... This one interesting due to low cost... Note it's pre-order currently.

Regarding drivers for MobilePre and Win7-64 bit - there are drivers for them and for SP1 separately here:
http://www.m-audio.com/index.php?do...8eb1a9920df341303f81bca7ff458be3&OS=x107#tabs

but as always YMMV
 
OP,
I was just calling ones that I remembered off the top of my head. If you have a MAC then there are couple more options.

Anyway, Lexicon is more known for their external FX units rather than audio interfaces. But on the whole I don't think they'd be too bad to get.

Tascam is another one. There are others I just don't recall any more.

Really, just find one that does what you need and is priced right. That is really all there is to it.
 
Thanks for your help! I'll get one start of October and post my results here. Seems like a small device to feed audio to powered monitors directly from the computer would come up often enough.
 
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