Samson USB Mic Lag issues

WaveLab
1

Hi

My set up: Dell Vostro 460MT, i5 processor, 6 gb of ram, Windows 7 64 & Cubase 5. Midi Kawai Piano(usb Midi) & a Samson c03u condensor mic (USB). Using the realtek hd audio card for now.

Here is what is happening, and here is what i would like to happen.
I plug the midi piano into cubase, i create an instrument track and play the piano on Halion. Works fine. Latency is good (there is no lag).
I plug the USb mic in, run Asio4All, open a vocal track in cubase, and sing into the Mic. Dreadful. It stutters (start/stops). Annoying. When i have the vocal track on Monitor. Anyway, i’ve messed around with the settings in Asio4All to see if i can cure it. Can’t.Still stutters.

Anyway, I’ve decided that usb mic is a good mic for recording a guitar amp or the likes.
But i need a condensor mic that i can monitor myself on, and budget is a factor.

Here’s what i want: to put the headphones on, play the piano, sing into the mic going through a channel in cubase and apply a reverence reverb. No lag.
I see Samson have a non usb version of mic, Samson C03, i can afford it.

What do i need to run this in cubase? Some kind of sound card, power thingy for the mic itself. A mic preamp or something like that. I’m guessing that powers the mic.
In which case, would this be suitable?

The products mentioned above, being used in cubase, wouldn’t have the same latency issues i am currently experiencing? Would this get rid of the stuttering most likely?

Regards

Conor

2

Another thought, also would a usb 3.0 card make any difference to my current usb mic woes?

3

You’re on the right track. You should definitely get rid of the USB mic and get a new microphone and an audio interface with real ASIO drivers. But … there is one problem with your selected setup: C03 (like almost all condenser microphones) needs phantom power, which Alpha doesn’t provide.

Alternatives to Alpha in the similar price range would be for example:

  • M-Audio Fast Track
  • Steinberg CI1
  • Lexicon Lambda Studio
4

ok, thank you Jarno, i’ll be sure to look it up.

5

I’ve never used a usb 2.0 audio interface before. On my other pc, i have an esi PCi express card with jack inputs. I run another condenser mic down an alan and heath desk into the inputs on the pci audio card. Works perfectly. No stuttering at all. What are the usb interfaces like? Do they give any trouble? Would i besafer with another pcie card, and look to buy a box that phantom powers the samson c03 mic?

6

The latencies are comparable between USB and PCIe interfaces, both can work just as well provided the driver is good.

7

ok, thanks stro. I’ll consider getting one.

8

Excellent suggestions for an interface. You could get the CO3 as a mic, which is really nice since its multi-patterned and all that. You may also want to look at Shure’s mics if you can afford them. They’re anywhere from $150-$900.