Better input for ModMic 4 than Realtek ?.

[RimBlock]

Hi,

I have a ModMic 4 that I am just trying to get running and the audio is almost silent unless the mic is against my lips.

I have read the Realtek motherboard sound (Realtek® ALC892) is not very good for mics so am looking for an alternative or other suggestions.

I am using a Fiio E10k for my Speakers / Headphones but it has no Mic input.

What is my best option to use with the ModMic to give decent sound quality / volume ?.

I also have a Blue Snowball USB but my environment is too noisy most of the time hence trying out the unidirectional ModMic.

Any ideas / suggestions ?.

Thanks.

 

[neil_g]

Sure you've got the mic input turned up? Using a modmic on my Asus boards realtek and all okay here.

Otherwise the xonar cards that pop up second hand for a tenner on here have an amped mic input iirc.

 

[Marsman]

There's a gain setting.

When I have used just cheap Speedlink and Zalman microphones with onboard audio that isn't even as good as ALC892, the volume was more than loud enough with 20dB gain.

 

[RimBlock]

THanks for the replies.

I ramped it up to 30db gain and could barely hear it in recordings.

I am recording with Shadowplay whilst playing The Division.

I have even been playing around with VB-Audios VoiceMeeter Banana and whilst that seemed to get better levels on the mic I couldn't get the mic to work in game...

If there is an external dac that anyone can recommend then that would fit quite nicely with my current setup. I am very happy with my Fiio DAC for my audio.

 

[Marsman]

Well that is surprising. Modmic is a far better microphone than the Speedkink and Zalman.

I guess having whatever name/number Realtek codec is pretty irrelevant. Must depend on the motherboard manufacturers implementation?

Trouble with looking at a DAC is that they are for audio output only. You'd need a sound card for microphone input. Internal one would be cheaper than a USB one. Xonar DGX maybe. There were some cheap Creative cards, but they seem to have disappeared from OcUK.

As above, you may find a used DGX or similar in the MM for less, if not wanting to spend much.

 

[RimBlock]

I have emailed AntLion to ask them as the feedback here seems to be that the mic should be working better than it is. Will see what they say.

Failing that I will take a look at the Xonar as suggested. I am not currently in the Uk so will have to purchase from the main second hand internet source and get it shipped.

 

[Marsman]

Oh sorry, didn't look at your location.

Yes worth looking into a possible fault. Something that didn't come to mind before. Possible though, as it seems odd that's it's not loud enough even with full 30dB gain.

 

[RimBlock]

Just a quick update... it is working fine now.

So what I did was
Disable the sound in the MB bios
Used my Blue Snowball for a few days.
Received a request from the Modmic support people to capture tue sound so they could better try and help.
Enabled the sound on the MB.
A few reboots
All working fine...

Time to rebuild the PC again maybe .

Thanks to all those who replied.