(Electrical engineers?) Turning USB mic into XLR/analog?

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RobC
Posts: 1832
Joined: 10 Mar 2018

04 Mar 2023

No, not the dumb kind of question ~ which I find plenty after searching. I know that USB out is digital, lol. People want to convert that magically to XLR.

Anyway, see, this spare Samson Go Mic (USB), that I have, is great and all, but I feel that if it's possible to bypass the cheapo ADC/DAC & preamp that's built into it, I might get a(n even) better sound out of it, when recorded into a dedicated interface.

Did anyone ever try to take a USB microphone apart, take out the converters, USB cable, etc. and solder an XLR cable directly to the microphone's analog output? (Surely there's something that goes into the micro sized interface's preamp in there.)

Or is this something that's not worth the effort?

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moalla
Posts: 541
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Location: DDR WEST

04 Mar 2023

viewtopic.php?f=12&t=7530967
I would say NOPE, or you must buil in a easy mic circuit after the two 1KM filmcaps behingd the capsules at all sensless because the electret condenser capsule is working at 3v and above, but if you have the patience, you could connect some cables to the outputs of the usb driven preamp to check it with some cheap earpots if it could work as analog out..... ,but look into this usb circuit sizelling Samson toy last post, "well" demo or podcast mic nothing more!
https://soundcloud.com/user-594407128
Reason12.5, Yamaha EG112, Ibanez PF10, RhythmWolf, Miniak, Ipad+SparkLE
SE2200t :arrow: VAS micpre MOTO:better repair-mod well made stuff than buy the next crap

RobC
Posts: 1832
Joined: 10 Mar 2018

04 Mar 2023

moalla wrote:
04 Mar 2023
viewtopic.php?f=12&t=7530967
I would say NOPE, or you must buil in a easy mic circuit after the two 1KM filmcaps at all sensless, look into this usb circuit sizelling Samson toy last post, "well" demo or podcast mic nothing more!
For what it is, it has a nice sound to it though, hence it hurts a bit to see it collect dust. : ) At least I rather enjoyed the sound of the Go Mic, specifically.

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moalla
Posts: 541
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Location: DDR WEST

04 Mar 2023

Mhh okay therefore yeasterday i opened this samson c03u, and yeah take some cheap headphone shit you have lying around somewhere, or ask a friend for some small junkheadphones and i would test it,, post a pic of the circuit from both sides, maybee i can tell you what maybee could work ;), at all in the MS double post i think than tha´s the better way to hold up this idea, it just interesting idea of low end modding :thumbup: i like that a lot
https://soundcloud.com/user-594407128
Reason12.5, Yamaha EG112, Ibanez PF10, RhythmWolf, Miniak, Ipad+SparkLE
SE2200t :arrow: VAS micpre MOTO:better repair-mod well made stuff than buy the next crap

RobC
Posts: 1832
Joined: 10 Mar 2018

05 Mar 2023

moalla wrote:
04 Mar 2023
Mhh okay therefore yeasterday i opened this samson c03u, and yeah take some cheap headphone shit you have lying around somewhere, or ask a friend for some small junkheadphones and i would test it,, post a pic of the circuit from both sides, maybee i can tell you what maybee could work ;), at all in the MS double post i think than tha´s the better way to hold up this idea, it just interesting idea of low end modding :thumbup: i like that a lot
When it comes to the microphone itself, is it really just some low quality thing? D :
When I got the Go Mic, it was about 100 EUR, 10 years ago. Back then, its quality was better than entry level professional. Still works like on the first day.
However, I'm still lightyears away from actual modding, because I'll only now get that Focusrite thingy for my NT1 ~ and I'll need a microphone stand and soundshield more - as I realized yesterday. So I can only talk and daydream about modding.

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moalla
Posts: 541
Joined: 20 Oct 2017
Location: DDR WEST

05 Mar 2023

Your Go mic is build around a cardioid, 10mm, back-electret capsules, so must be not a bad thing, my cheap fame omnis are amazing for it´s price with the same kind of capsule. Yesterday i´ve listened some voice recordings from a baritenor singer, made with a AKG Perception P120, I was totaly flashed how good it sounds on UA Volt preamps ,vintage switch on, compared with much expensiver new stuff. So if it´s AKG P420 multipattern version sounds nearly ass good, this could be cheap gem for MS recordings.

Image

I just started modding first stuff one year ago, befor I only swapped some stuff mostly mixers or controller pots :lol: So the first for me was to fix the psu of the mxl 69, but after that i thought if it´s so "easy" to bring a wrong wired mic back to working whitout hum, and I decided to mod my stuff when i listened how different it can sound. Next step would be to upgrade the circuit of my old Studio Projects mic (without fancy micparts stuff), what still sounds to harsh at the high end for most voices.
Then are some other small projects planned to mod low end things like two Behringe Mic200 to very useful semi pro or better i hope, all at tiny or small cost´s ;) I hope the pre´s arrive the next days.
have a nice week RobC
https://soundcloud.com/user-594407128
Reason12.5, Yamaha EG112, Ibanez PF10, RhythmWolf, Miniak, Ipad+SparkLE
SE2200t :arrow: VAS micpre MOTO:better repair-mod well made stuff than buy the next crap

RobC
Posts: 1832
Joined: 10 Mar 2018

06 Mar 2023

moalla wrote:
05 Mar 2023
Your Go mic is build around a cardioid, 10mm, back-electret capsules, so must be not a bad thing, my cheap fame omnis are amazing for it´s price with the same kind of capsule. Yesterday i´ve listened some voice recordings from a baritenor singer, made with a AKG Perception P120, I was totaly flashed how good it sounds on UA Volt preamps ,vintage switch on, compared with much expensiver new stuff. So if it´s AKG P420 multipattern version sounds nearly ass good, this could be cheap gem for MS recordings.

Image

I just started modding first stuff one year ago, befor I only swapped some stuff mostly mixers or controller pots :lol: So the first for me was to fix the psu of the mxl 69, but after that i thought if it´s so "easy" to bring a wrong wired mic back to working whitout hum, and I decided to mod my stuff when i listened how different it can sound. Next step would be to upgrade the circuit of my old Studio Projects mic (without fancy micparts stuff), what still sounds to harsh at the high end for most voices.
Then are some other small projects planned to mod low end things like two Behringe Mic200 to very useful semi pro or better i hope, all at tiny or small cost´s ;) I hope the pre´s arrive the next days.
have a nice week RobC
Yes, that's the funny thing that the recording gear does most of the job. So they can make entry level microphones sound great.
However, better quality, and stricter quality control makes prices skyrocket. That's why the NT1 was the sweet spot for me.

As for the Go Mic, I think one of the patterns supposedly has flat response.

The only thing I ever did with hardware, was trying to fix mute keys on midi keyboards. Works for a short while, but then goes mute again, eventually.

I'm still looking at a microphone stand, and sound shield to go with my NT1...

Tough start this week, but may we all have a good one!

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