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Would-be podcasters sitting on the fence about what kind of microphone to buy when embarking on their audio adventures may find a procrastination cracker in a new product from Samson Audio. Its new Q2U kit offering (US$89.95) includes a mic that will do double duty as both a USB and XLR stick.
In the past, podcasters searching for a microphone often had to decide between one with a USB connection or one with an analog XLR plug. USB mics are more convenient. You can plug them into a computer and go. XLR mics, though, have more flexibility. They can be more easily used in the field to gather sound. What's more, when the time comes for a podcaster to upgrade his or her recording hardware, the new appliances will call for the use of an XLR mic.
By including both USB input and output and XLR output in a single mic, Samson's Q2U allows a user to reap the benefits of both technologies. The dynamic handheld mic can plug into any live sound console or into any computer with USB input. Moreover, there's an on-off switch on the microphone to control audio to the XLR output. It lets you use the mic in a live setting -- while performing with a band, for example -- while recording the session through the USB connection.
Aimed at Creatives
"The Q2U is targeted toward a lot of different types of entry-level creative people who want to do recording on their computer," Samson Marketing Director Mark Wilder told MacNewsWorld.
"The neat thing about the Q2U is it's a microphone that you can take away from your computer and use as a standard XLR microphone."
In addition to podcasting, Wilder said that mic is can be used effectively in a variety of venues, including Skype and speech recognition.
Headphone Jack on Mic
To capture clear, detailed and accurate sound, the mic uses a cardioid pickup pattern and a high-quality analog-to-digital converter with 16-bit 48kHz sampling.
Cables for making USB and XLR connections are included wit the mic, as well as a set of headphones and a desktop stand for the microphone. The headphones can be plugged into a 3.5 millimeter jack on the mic, which allows you to hear what the mic is picking up without any latency.
Latency occurs when a listener monitors mic input through a computer. "There's always a slight lag between what you're saying and what you're hearing in the DAW [Digital Audio Workstation]," Wilder explained. "To remove that, we put the headphone jack on the microphone itself. That way you don't hear the latency."
Mac users will most likely use the mic with GarageBand, a sound application included with all Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) computers. For Windows users, Samson includes a sound application called "Cakewalk Music Creator."
On Lip of a Trend
Generally, when recommending microphones to prospective podcasters, Boston-based consultant Adam Weiss determines whether or not a producer needs to roam when gathering material for an endeavor. "XLR [mics] are designed to plug into more traditional audio equipment--a mixer or higher end audio recorder," he told MacNewsWorld. "That gives you versatility in what you plug it into. "You don't need a computer."
"With USB," he continued, "the only way that you can get that microphone to work is to plug it into a computer with a USB port. That's harder to take with you and do an interview standing on the sidewalk.
"USB microphones remove a piece of equipment in getting the information into the computer because if you have an XLR microphone, you can't plug an XLR cable into the computer. You need to plug the XLR microphone into a mixer or an audio interface," he said.
With the introduction of the Q2U, Samson appears to be in front of a developing trend. "A lot of the mic companies are going that way," Jason Van Orden, a new media consultant in Portland, Ore., told MacNewsWorld. "A lot of them are coming out with USB adapters for their XLS mics but even combo packs are a couple of hundred bucks."
However, Van Orden believes that will change. "I'm sure we're going to see the quality and convenience coming in at cheaper and cheaper prices because they definitely know that a lot of people want to record into their laptops for podcasting and all sorts of media creation online."
