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Gear / Technical Help => Microphones & Setup => Topic started by: ArchivalAudio on February 12, 2010, 04:17:23 PM
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Any expereince with the
Apex188 Stereo USB Condenser
http://www.apexelectronics.com/products.asp?type=4&cat=74&id=1360 (http://www.apexelectronics.com/products.asp?type=4&cat=74&id=1360)
while it boasts : 24Bit / 96kHz A to D Converter
Looks like out put is actually: 16bit/48kHz Resolution
any ideas if this would work with a Rockbox'ed iPod and a USB dock connector?
States USB 2.0 only - but then also states any USB, aren't 1.0 and 2.0 usually backwards compatible?
looks interesxting anyway
looks like street pricing is any where between $99 to $139 or so
Specifications
* Type: USB Stereo Condenser Microphone
* Polar Pattern: Dual Cardioid Patterns (L&R Stereo)
* Frequency Response: 20Hz - 20kHz
* Sensitivity: -40dB
* S/N: 75dB (for 1pA)
* Max SPL: 137dB
* Power Requirement: USB low-power device (26 mA)
* Resolution: 24-bit / 96kHz
* Connection: USB 2.0
* Included Accessories: Shockmount, USB Cable
* Dimensions: 8.25 x 1.25 in / 210 x 28 mm
* Weight: 17 oz / 464g
any thoughts or actual experience would be good to hear feedback
Thanx
--Ian
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great idea, but poorly implemented by Apex.
my mic had a high frequency whine that I could not get rid of, so I returned it.
The circuit was cool. There is a usb preamp/adc chip (AK brand, don't recall the number) and an oscillator circuit to generate 48v for the caps.
If it worked, I had thoughts of putting a pair of akg ck61 caps in there, but alas, it did not...
Richard
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great idea, but poorly implemented by Apex.
my mic had a high frequency whine that I could not get rid of, so I returned it.
The circuit was cool. There is a usb preamp/adc chip (AK brand, don't recall the number) and an oscillator circuit to generate 48v for the caps.
If it worked, I had thoughts of putting a pair of akg ck61 caps in there, but alas, it did not...
Richard
Thanks
Richard,
I wonder if they all have that high end whine
or if they fixed the issues
--Ian
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I suppose you could buy it and bring it back, or even just try it in the store.
Note that a plugged in computer will probably have more interference that a laptop.
Richard
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found this review on a sellers site:
I ordered this microphone from _______ in the hopes that I would be able to use it for portable acoustic recordings of classical music. However the microphone has a loud whine or hiss that prevents the mic from being usable at all. It sounds like a ground isolation problem to me. The capsules actually sounded very good, but the electronics in the preamp circuit make the device unusable even for close up work. I am not sure if it is a faulty device or just bad circuit design.
The mic is going back to the manufacturer for testing. Not a good purchase.
FYI: Even with 24bit 96khz A/D converters your max recording resolution is limited to 16bit 48khz stereo.
so perhaps it is a fault of the unit?
--Ian