Is XLR to a preamp better thank a USB condender?

[mirzai_m]

1st, sorry about the mistakes in the title. I was blasting through and didn't proofread that part! It SHOULD'VE read "Is condenser to XLR cable to preamp to sound card better than a USB condenser?"

That outta the way...

Hi everyone! I'm Mike Mirzai from Baltimore, MD. Glad to be here!
I'm just starting out in VO and have landed a couple of cool gigs, so I feel it's time for a slight equipment upgrade.

I'm a little stuck on the tech part and could use some advice, please.

This is one of a few questions I have, but I won't bombard this thread with all of them.

Right now I'm using a Samson C03U USB Condenser plugged into a USB port in the front of my computer.

So...Is a condenser mic/XLR cable/preamp/sound card chain gonna sound notably better than a simple USB microphone line into the motherboard (USB does bypass the sound card, right?)? I've heard the condenser mic/XLR cable/preamp chain warms and amplifies the sound (voice) tremendously and is a must-have for anyone taking this seriously and the USB connection is functional but primarily for convenience. Thoughts?

Then, do I plug the preamp directly into my sound card?

I'll stop there or I'll get all crazy with the questions.

Thanks everyone!

Mike

[JohnWeeks]

Hi Mike,
I've never used a USB mic, so I really don't have a first hand comparision. My thoughts are that the best route would be a good quality condensor mic into a good quality preamp straight into your soundcard (if you have a good quality soundcard).
Good luck!
John

[Jacob Ekstroem]

Originally Posted by mirzai_m

So...Is a condenser mic/XLR cable/preamp/sound card chain gonna sound notably better than a simple USB microphone line into the motherboard (USB does bypass the sound card, right?)? I've heard the condenser mic/XLR cable/preamp chain warms and amplifies the sound (voice) tremendously and is a must-have for anyone taking this seriously and the USB connection is functional but primarily for convenience. Thoughts?

Something like that, yeah!

As John, I've never used a USB mic, but here's my thoughts:
Pretend you have two microphones. Both of them are condensers, and one of them is USB-powered.
The one that isn't needs a preamp and a soundcard to work. Let's say the mic is $100, the pre is $100, and the soundcard is also $100. Then you'll also need some cables, which is also $100. That's $400 in total, right?
Then you have the the USB mic. Basically it's a mic, a pre and soundcard running on one single cable all in one. It costs $100. You save $300.

No-brainer??? Well... Personally, I just don't believe, that it is possible to put a quality mic, a quality pre + a quality soundcard inside a regular sized microphone. I just don't.

I know it's kinda lame, but that is what I have for you, really. I can't prove my case, but to me it's simple logic. And believe me, if I thought it could suffice, I would trade my $4000 pre and my +$1000's worth of microphones in for a USB mic, and by myself a new plasma big screen tv instead.

[SomeAudioGuy]

But let me follow this up Jacob.
You're new to recording, and you ALREADY have a USB mic, and not a bad one at that (multi pattern - pad - roll off). The nearest budget mic that compares in feature set will run about $300. We're up to $600 to replace that mic, and we still haven't learned anything about recording.

Do you learn how to record first with a decent USB mic you already have, or do you spend money on something you wont know how to use (properly) right away?

It's a no brainer that a $150 USB mic wont compare to a multi-thousand dollar investment, but if your recording experience is low, then you'll probably end up with similar results. If you don't know how to drive, you can probably crash a $10k car about as well as a $100K car (continuing this analogy the more expensive car crash will probably be more spectacular - I've seen N00Bs blow out monitors).

Will he be running sessions off this mic? No.
Can he knock out some auditions? Certainly.
Will it make a good daily practice/travel mic? Yes.

I think a mic like this is a good "buffer" mic as he learns his trade, spends a little cash on classes and studio time, and saves up for some good gear.

[Jacob Ekstroem]

I wholeheartly agree! Good point!