Wiring Crown mic's directly to PC

IVB

Senior Member
I'm having a helluva time trying to get my crown mic->AP800->PC connection working. It's all brand new used stuff off eBay to me, so i'm not 100% that any of it actually works.

In an attempt to triangulate on the issue, I tried wiring the crown mic directly to the PC, but it requires phantom power and the little red LED thingey ain't coming on. It comes on just fine wired to the AP800 with the phantom power enabled.

So does this mean I can't test this out? Should I be able to do the wiring directly?
 
I'm having a helluva time trying to get my crown mic->AP800->PC connection working. It's all brand new used stuff off eBay to me, so i'm not 100% that any of it actually works.

In an attempt to triangulate on the issue, I tried wiring the crown mic directly to the PC, but it requires phantom power and the little red LED thingey ain't coming on. It comes on just fine wired to the AP800 with the phantom power enabled.

So does this mean I can't test this out? Should I be able to do the wiring directly?

IVB - I don't know the AP800 at all, but I do know that the Crown Mics need to have phantom power. The AP800 does have LEDs on the front though, so you should be able to get a reading on the meter if the mic is working. Then you can check the routing via it's software. And the wiring of the phoenix connectors. And try plugging the output of the AP800 directly into an amp to bypass the soundcard too.

Finally, you might want to get hold of a cheap dynamic mic (no phantom required) for testing. Even one of those cheap PC mics can at least help you verify signal.
 
Thanks for the tip, that certainly helped. I can't get the metering lights to come on, so there's at least one problem in that chain.
 
Thanks for the tip, that certainly helped. I can't get the metering lights to come on, so there's at least one problem in that chain.

I'd be glad to help where I can. Most of my life was spent on the pro side of audio. I sold MANY mics over the years and used them more.

I'll keep my eyes pealed here, but this weekend is or village's anual Summerfest and I am on the commssion so I'm locked in :). But the cool thing is I am recording it (audio - 32 track digital). 9 bands in 10 hours. And we're doing a 3 camera shoot too. One of my cohorts on the commission works for the company that produces PBS's Soundstage. So we're all AV geeks.

Good luck.
 
Well thanks for the tip, indeed what it helped me realize that my disgusting looking wiring was fine, but there's obviously some config parameters on the AP800 that I'm going to have to tweak. I had to put an audio source almost directly on top of the mic in order to pick up the sound, plus there's distortion something awful. If I put the mic more than a few inches away from the audio source, it won't register.

I'll start learning all this mic/mixing stuff like gain/etc to see if I can get this to work. Oy.
 
Well thanks for the tip, indeed what it helped me realize that my disgusting looking wiring was fine, but there's obviously some config parameters on the AP800 that I'm going to have to tweak. I had to put an audio source almost directly on top of the mic in order to pick up the sound, plus there's distortion something awful. If I put the mic more than a few inches away from the audio source, it won't register.

I'll start learning all this mic/mixing stuff like gain/etc to see if I can get this to work. Oy.

I does take a bit of heavy thinking :blink: Think linearly. Signal goes in, passes thru stuff and comes out. Turn off any echo or noise cancellation . Turn off any EQ, gating, etc.. Check the matrix to be sure the input you are using is really connected to the output you want. If you are still getting low, distorted signal, it could be that input or output. More your connectors around to others.

Then have a beer.
 
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