Please help me find Phantom Power!

February 20, 2008 7:40 AM

Finally got a condenser microphone - now what? Help me find my Phantom Power! (please, thanks)

My mic is an Audio-Technica AT2020 Cardioid Condenser, and it wants 48V phantom power. I have an Intel iMac, Mac OS 10.4.11. What's the cheapest thing (some kind of audio interface? To FireWire?) that would make the mic work with say GarageBand with reasonable results? Doing RPM Challenge and have about 9 days left, so very urgent - any help much appreciated!

posted by Ira.metafilter to media & arts (7 comments total)

Depends.
You could go the mixer route (some mixers have phantom power on at least some of the channels), but you'll still have to feed the signal from the mixer into the computer. The good news is, you should be able to feed the signal via a regular "line-in" input-- just make sure your settings in GB (and your computer) are set to "Line In" for input.

Or get an actual usb/firewire interface box that has PP. I use my Tascam US-122 with GarageBand and phantom-powered mics, and it works great.

If you'll only be using these tools once or twice, renting might be a good option. Borrowing from a friend is cheaper still, but if you have a hundred or so US dollars, you should be able to track down an interface.

Good luck!
posted by Rykey at 7:59 AM on February 20

I bought Presonus Inspire 1394 about one year ago, and it does the job. One of the cheapest soundcards available that offers decent sound. Connects through firewire.

Here's a review:

http://emusician.com/daw/emusic_presonus/
posted by SurrenderMonkey at 8:04 AM on February 20

I have this one. Cheapest option, very high quality for the home, MF can overnight. Don't forget an XLR cable (the one with 3 prongs)! 48v phantom power only travels over XLR cable.
posted by poppo at 8:31 AM on February 20

there are also phantom power boxes (at every price point)
that you can add on to your non-phantom powered mixer/whatever:
posted by aquafiend at 8:33 AM on February 20

Consider getting an interface with phantom power and a way to monitor BEFORE the recorded output from the computer. The latency issue can be a little troubling when trying to overdub.

I know that the M-Box (from Digidesign) has a knob to adjust whether you're hearing more of what's going in vs output. If you wanted to buy an Mbox, this guy explains how you can use an Mbox with software other than Pro Tools. I suspect that's probably overkill and potentially over your budget for this.

Perhaps something like the fast track pro would be better. It has microphone in and phantom power. I haven't used that particular interface, but have used other M-Audio stuff and been fine with it. 30 day return policy is always nice.

and, like poppo said, make sure you get an XLR cable.
posted by dubold at 12:03 PM on February 20

I use the Tascam unit too. It'll work for you. It's cheap. But it's not the *best* thing you can plug a mic into. (Quality is all over the place with the amplifiers used in these units.) But it'll get you there.
posted by bprater at 12:19 PM on February 20

Life got in the way of my RPM challenge (and getting the mic to work) - but when I'm free again, your advice will be very helpful. Thanks everyone!
posted by Ira.metafilter at 3:15 PM on February 27