Subject:Mic preamp to usb, Firewire or Soundcard?

Posted by: mhbstevens

Date:8/2/2004 10:08:32 AM

I'm just upgrading my voice-over work in SF and Vegas and got a Studio products B1 large diaphram condenser cartioid mic and the VTB-1 preamp. I'm not sure where to plug the pre-out into my PC. What are my options? Seems most preamps are set up to go into the soundcard but mine is crap, so to avoid replacing it can I go into a USB or my Firewire?

Subject:RE: Mic preamp to usb, Firewire or Soundcard?

Reply by: rraud

Date:8/2/2004 2:58:50 PM

If your pre does not have a digital out, to use FW (1394) or USB you still will need a A/D-D/A converter (soundcard). Since you have a mic-preamp already you won't nessesarily need one with mic-pre(s).
Look into the Echo or M-Audio among others.

Stay away from consumer cards despite their claims.

Subject:RE: Mic preamp to usb, Firewire or Soundcard?

Reply by: Chaim

Date:8/2/2004 3:03:21 PM

Unless your "pre-out" is digital, it's no use to the Firewire or USB ports, and even then it would be one or the other. The output from the preamp is almost certainly analog, so therefore you might want to consider replacing the "crappy" sound card.
--Charlie

Subject:RE: Mic preamp to usb, Firewire or Soundcard?

Reply by: Rednroll

Date:8/2/2004 6:33:35 PM

Not sure what the VTB-1 is, I would suggest reading the owners manual. If it's a micrphone preamp, it MUST HAVE some kind of output. It might be a USB output, a Firewire output, or an Analog output, which would plug into your soundcards Line IN input. Having a USB or Firewire output is actually better than having a standard analog output. Again, read your owners manual and figure out what type of output your pre-amp has. We cannot answer your question, unless you tell us what type of connections are on the pre-amp......in other words we can't tell you to connect it to a USB or Firewire port on your PC, unless the preamp has a USB or Firewire connection. READ THE MANUAL, THE PREAMP CANNOT CONNECT ITSELF AND IT MUST HAVE SOME TYPE OF AN OUTPUT OR IT IS NOT A PRE-AMP.

Subject:RE: Mic preamp to usb, Firewire or Soundcard?

Reply by: mhbstevens

Date:8/3/2004 9:09:36 AM

I'm sorry my post was confusing as I did not say that I am considering BUYING A NEW PREAMP and was asking ( as my soundcard is crap and would need replacing anyway) if should I spend extra and go Firewire or USB. I know portability is an advantage but are their any sonic advantages?

Subject:RE: Mic preamp to usb, Firewire or Soundcard?

Reply by: Rednroll

Date:8/3/2004 9:31:02 AM

Yes, having a pre-amp which has a USB or Firewire connection has a couple benefits, that will improve the audio quality. It moves the pre-amp and A/D converters away from the PC. Pre-amps and A/D converters are prone to picking up nearby noises generated by your PC. By using a firewire or USB connection, you will elliminate possible sources of noise getting into the pre-amp and A/D converters. The A/D converter will be in the mic pre-amp, and digital data will be fed from the pre-amp directly through the USB or Firewire connection. Another advantage is that there is a shorter signal path in the amount of amplifier gain stages. Anytime, audio is passed through an amplifier circuit it will add additional noise to the audio. So if you where using an external mic-pre, and connecting the outputs to a sound card line in input, then you would go through the Mic-pre, followed by the Output level adjustment of the Pre (if it has one), and then the Line IN amplification stage. A USB/Firewire Pre, will usually just have a Mic-pre gain then followed by the A/D converter. So you can see you are elliminating at least 1 and possibly 2 additional amplifier gain stages.

Subject:RE: Mic preamp to usb, Firewire or Soundcard?

Reply by: rraud

Date:8/3/2004 5:22:08 PM

(Red, your right-on as usual.)

To simplify, Echo and M-Audio make nice sounding mic-pre/USB or Firewire interfaces that will suit your needs fine for a reasonable price.