Member Avatar for ugha323

I have a little TV show. Well, not too little. When we record the show for TV, we alos put the audio on the PC using Real Producer. We use the mic in, 1/8'' jack, and it worked fine with our old computer, a COMPAC 2.4 gig Windows XP. That computer didnt last too long and instead of fixing, we bought a new HP, 2.96 gig with front and rear jacks. The audio with mic in, is terrible. No matter how high we set the volume, the meter only goes half way up, even if we bang on the mic. Front or rear jack use doesnt matter. Playback, has a loud buzz almost as loud as the signal. Line-in from a mixing board gives us no signal at all. In the Windows Tools section we tried the audio test and the meter only goes 1/2 way up there too.

Frustrated we ordered a new Dell with their best sound card, but not only do we have the same problem, the 20db mike boost box doesnt show up, so the signal is even weaker, but the nosie is still there. A cheap voice mic that came with an old Dell works fine, which leads me to think that good mics are overloading the circuits.

Now we have 2 new computers and no way to get the audio onto the machine. Need advice

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Dani AI

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For and others: the pattern of low capture level plus a pronounced hum usually points to three things — a level/impedance mismatch between pro mics/mixer and the PC 3.5 mm jacks, lack of a proper microphone preamp (or phantom power for condensers), and grounding/wiring problems. was right that a better interface helps, but the important detail is getting proper mic preamps and correct balanced-to-unbalanced wiring rather than just swapping consumer onboard codecs.

Concrete diagnostic checks: confirm each microphone type (dynamic versus condenser — condensers need 48 V phantom). Verify the mixer is feeding a true line-level output (record/main out) and not an aux that might be muted. As an isolation test, feed the mixer’s headphone output into the PC line-in to check level and noise. Swap cables, try a different shielded cable, and test with a transformer/DI box (ground-lift) to see if the hum is a ground loop.

Practical fixes that resolve this class of problems: use a small mixer with built-in mic preamps and a proper record/line output into the PC, or use an external USB audio interface with XLR mic preamps and phantom power so the interface becomes the Windows recording device. A DI box or transformer-isolated line input will often eliminate ground-loop buzz. Avoid plugging professional XLR mics straight into the motherboard 3.5 mm mic jack.

Regarding Audigy2 and RealProducer: after installing the official Audigy drivers the card appears as a Windows recording device and can be selected in RealProducer’s capture settings (or set as the Windows default). Route the Audigy mixer so the physical line/mic input is the active capture source. For narrowband voice targets (around 8 kHz), choose a narrowband/8 kHz encoder in RealProducer; the soundcard will resample if necessary. If the Audigy driver does not provide sufficient mic gain, an external mic preamp or mixer is the reliable solution.

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Member Avatar for Catweazle

Buy good quality professional soundcard. Buy good quality professional micrphone. Disable and uninstall the audio on the PC, fit and install the good quality equipment instead.

If you want a good quality job done, don't try to do it with cheap tools. And don't rely on someone like Dell to tell you what is good quality. I'll leave it to others to recommend suitable alternatives, because there may be some audiophiles here more discerning than myself.

Member Avatar for ugha323

Our mics are good, not great but good and they worked fine with our older computers, but cant get anything but low audio and loud buzz on the new Dell and New HP computers. Taking a ride out to CompUSA today to see what they say.

Member Avatar for ugha323

Audigy 2 Platinum was recommended to me, but if I get that how does the sound get from there to my Real Producer program, so that I can use a low bit rate of 8.5kz and forward on to my webmaster?

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