With thanks to my friend Willie Edwards for posting the link on the VO-BB, you’ll find a very interesting comparison comparing the MXL Mic Mate USB audio interface with a high end audio chain with quite fascinating results.
With thanks to my friend Willie Edwards for posting the link on the VO-BB, you’ll find a very interesting comparison comparing the MXL Mic Mate USB audio interface with a high end audio chain with quite fascinating results.
If you need to monitor yourself while recording with a USB mic preamp, you’ll want to also check out the MicPort Pro from CEntrance: http://www.micport.com. Before & after comparisons that are heavily compressed to FLV, MP3 or similar format need to be scrutinized heavily as they can be misleading – you need to A/B with the original source.
Pro Audio is dead on, both with the recommendation of the MicPort Pro and the comment.
I hate to down the link, or Willie’s comments on other boards, but 1) without examining the original source, or doing a proper comparison (using two identical mics recording the same source through different chains), this means nothing to me.
I’m a fan of the USB interface, but the latency issues still remain, and while the comparison did identify that the Mic Mate was brighter, it did not mention that the low end was much more muddied compared to the Millenia.
We’ve done these comparisons over at Gearslutz.com and the end result was similar. Unfortunately though, the use of a compressed format (such as the flv file linked here) doesn’t show you just how much brighter in the upper end or how much more muddy the lower end is with this device. I can assure you that the differences stand out a lot stronger than you might think, especially once you toss processing into the mix.
They’re great for auditions or “VO to go” kits, but otherwise, the tech isn’t quite there yet (but it’s getting closer and closer every few months).
Of all the offerings made though, so far the MicPort Pro is the one that’s got my attention the most. I’ll be putting my FA-101 away in favor of that thing during the next upgrade to my travel kit.
Greg and Pro Audio,
I very much appreciate your insights and comments. Thank you for shedding additional light on the discussion.
Be well,
Bob
Even more compelling about this mic mate is that Marshall has actually 4 of these. The one hear is meant for condenser mics, they also have one for dynamic mics, and line level devices plus a new one coming out called the micmate pro which has headphone monitoring, zero latency, and variable adjustable gain for use with almost any microphone…they range from $49 to $99 Amazing devices not just for audio, but as part of a field recording kit for broadcasters.
Mike,
Thank you for the additional information.
Be well,
Bob