surround sound amp/dac advice please? Dolby Atmos? DTS? 7.1 Virtual?

[Falenkor]

@Gundar I borrowed two mics to test out the snowball iCE which was FAR to sensitive for normal use and an akg of which I don't know its model but I know its a $600 microphone. Works well with the interface but I need to do some figuring for proper setup and like I said earlier a different audio interface.

[Letgomyleghoe.]

2 minutes ago, Falenkor said:

@Gundar I borrowed two mics to test out the snowball iCE which was FAR to sensitive for normal use and an akg of which I don't know its model but I know its a $600 microphone. Works well with the interface but I need to do some figuring for proper setup and like I said earlier a different audio interface.

I think I would stick with the focursite and getting an amp becuase usually when you're getting a more expensive audio interface you just get a crap ton more ports that you don't need

[The Flying Sloth]

2 minutes ago, Falenkor said:

@The Flying Sloth it may be fixable through directly connecting the focusrite through a power source of the wall, since it utilizes a usb-c - usb 2.0 for pc connections, and the line in and line out in the back of the focusrite to plug into the pc. Don't have the cables to test this. It's quite alright and I was able to test it thanks to someone who I know who already owns this audio interface so I will just give this back to them. I will do some more digging around try to find something. looking into your suggestion of the MA400 and Behringer UM2. Amazon frowns on to many returns so I would like to hit the ground running so to speak with this lol

The UM2 is an extremely cheap (but more than useable) interface and if you're using the MA400 you really don't need the dedicated amp like the UMC202HD,

As for microphones,
Those Blue mics are very sensitive and not great, the AKG you tried is likely a 414 and those are certainly great mics. 
If you want a mic that won't pick up background noise you might want to grab a dynamic as opposed to a condenser, be warned that dynamics require a lot of gain so an inline preamp like the CT1 may be necessary. Again, if you're looking for mic recommendations I have a tonne of info on that link in my signature.

Sloth 

[Falenkor]

5 minutes ago, Gundar said:

I think I would stick with the focursite and getting an amp becuase usually when you're getting a more expensive audio interface you just get a crap ton more ports that you don't need

I have considered it but I am also trying to save money ya know? I would like to kill two birds with one stone so to speak and have both audio and mic taken care of if possible. while its not a deal breaker if I have to buy two separate products just preference to budget funds to place elsewhere. Of which I would probably end up buying either the fiio or a schiit for an amp/dac and just using the focusrite for the audio microphone but needless to say requires more looking into. @Gundar

[Falenkor]

6 minutes ago, The Flying Sloth said:

The UM2 is an extremely cheap (but more than useable) interface and if you're using the MA400 you really don't need the dedicated amp like the UMC202HD,

As for microphones,
Those Blue mics are very sensitive and not great, the AKG you tried is likely a 414 and those are certainly great mics. 
If you want a mic that won't pick up background noise you might want to grab a dynamic as opposed to a condenser, be warned that dynamics require a lot of gain so an inline preamp like the CT1 may be necessary. Again, if you're looking for mic recommendations I have a tonne of info on that link in my signature.

Sloth 

well I used the mics as a general recommendation and yeah that akg mic is really nice but definitely overkill for my setup. Definitely looking into a dynamic at the same time I need a mic with proper settings as I don't like the mic directly infront of my face drives me crazy. Looked into both um2 and ma400 they are definitely alot cheaper. Not sure which would provide the best quality yet as I am still looking into it..  @The Flying Sloth

[The Flying Sloth]

Just now, Falenkor said:

-snip-

If you don't want a big mic right in your face and don't have a tonne of background noise the Behringer C2 is probably a good option, it's what I use, condenser (so it's sensitive) but pencil mic (so it's very directional and ignores a lot of noise coming from behind it). Even better, it's tiny so it won't take up any of your vision. 

If dynamic is more the road you're leaning down, grabbing a CT1 and any of Superlux PRA D1, Behringer XM8500, Behringer XM1800S or anything like that will sound pretty good, not as sensitive as a condenser but they're all more than decent microphones. The podcastage youtube channel has a tonne of reviews on cheap dynamic mics so it can be an invaluable resource when picking.

Sloth

[Falenkor]

23 minutes ago, The Flying Sloth said:

If you don't want a big mic right in your face and don't have a tonne of background noise the Behringer C2 is probably a good option, it's what I use, condenser (so it's sensitive) but pencil mic (so it's very directional and ignores a lot of noise coming from behind it). Even better, it's tiny so it won't take up any of your vision. 

If dynamic is more the road you're leaning down, grabbing a CT1 and any of Superlux PRA D1, Behringer XM8500, Behringer XM1800S or anything like that will sound pretty good, not as sensitive as a condenser but they're all more than decent microphones. The podcastage youtube channel has a tonne of reviews on cheap dynamic mics so it can be an invaluable resource when picking.

Sloth

Well, Ideally I would prefer to have the mic a little away from me so its not in the way of my screen or anything(I use a Samsung CRG9 49" curved monitor so its pretty big hard to keep a mic out of the way of it) but at the same time pick up my voice fine while ignoring distant background noise, so some form of noise cancelling would probably be necessary. The same thing for like omnidirectional or something on the mic and like you said probably a dynamic at this point. As far as audio interfaces honestly, I would like to get an audio interface that can still amp these headphones properly while being good on the mic. The issue I have primarily is with the budget, as I would like to get the mic and interface for $100 - $150 which I already know is low and a stretch @The Flying Sloth if that isn't within the budget I mean it's fine just the lower the better 

[The Flying Sloth]

1 minute ago, Falenkor said:

Well, Ideally I would prefer to have the mic a little away from me so its not in the way of my screen or anything(I use a Samsung CRG9 49" curved monitor so its pretty big hard to keep a mic out of the way of it) but at the same time pick up my voice fine while ignoring distant background noise so some form of noise cancelling would probably be necessary same thing for like omnidirectional or something on the mic and like you said probably a dynamic at this point. As far as audio interfaces honestly I would like to get an audio interface that can still amp these headphones properly while being good on the mic the issue I have primarily is with the budget as I would like to get if possible the mic and interface for $100 - $150 which I already know is low and a stretch 

Omni means the mic picks up sound from all around it which is the opposite of what you want, 
I just tested my C2, stuck it 3 feet away from me pointing at my mouth and it picked me up just fine, picked up the birds chirping in the background too (my windows are open and my house backs onto bushland / mini forest so that's likely not an issue for you), but it picked me up just fine. 
Did the same test with my MB75 (SM57 clone with no CT1) and it looks to me like a dynamic may well work for you too. 
If you're worried about small noises in the background you can always use a gate to ignore them.

You know, despite my hating them I'm starting to see why a lot of people buy USB mics, I mean, they still suck but there's much fewer choices to make so it's simpler, kinda like prebuilt PCs, they suck but they're easier.

Sloth

[Falenkor]

2 minutes ago, The Flying Sloth said:

Omni means the mic picks up sound from all around it which is the opposite of what you want, 
I just tested my C2, stuck it 3 feet away from me pointing at my mouth and it picked me up just fine, picked up the birds chirping in the background too (my windows are open and my house backs onto bushland / mini forest so that's likely not an issue for you), but it picked me up just fine. 
Did the same test with my MB75 (SM57 clone with no CT1) and it looks to me like a dynamic may well work for you too. 
If you're worried about small noises in the background you can always use a gate to ignore them.

You know, despite my hating them I'm starting to see why a lot of people buy USB mics, I mean, they still suck but there's much fewer choices to make so it's simpler, kinda like prebuilt PCs, they suck but they're easier.

Sloth

The usb crowd seems to be kind of a mixed bag. I have a few friends who stream in the gaming community that swear by their usb mic and to be fair it does work for them quite well but those mics typically range in the $100 - $200 range much like a decent XLR. The issue with XLR seems to be the requirement of an audio interface as you aren't going to be able to just plug it into your pc and have it work same for the ease of use modmic however, with a modmic your subjected to the possible sound leak through the mic from loud audio especially from an open back headphone. Usb on other hand just plugs into the pc and lets you focus on whether you need a dedicated amp/dac for the headphones. Definitely easier but I think it also depends on what you want them for.. like for me I don't really need the ultimate quality, I don't plan to record my voice and sing in a studio so a lower grade is fine as long as its not garbled trash like some mics, especially in the usb category and gaming headsets category, can be. @The Flying Sloth

[Falenkor]

57 minutes ago, The Flying Sloth said:

The UM2 is an extremely cheap (but more than useable) interface and if you're using the MA400 you really don't need the dedicated amp like the UMC202HD,

As for microphones,
Those Blue mics are very sensitive and not great, the AKG you tried is likely a 414 and those are certainly great mics. 
If you want a mic that won't pick up background noise you might want to grab a dynamic as opposed to a condenser, be warned that dynamics require a lot of gain so an inline preamp like the CT1 may be necessary. Again, if you're looking for mic recommendations I have a tonne of info on that link in my signature.

Sloth 

Looking at the recommendations like the ma400 and while they say they are amplifiers I'm having some issues on whether or not they are strong enough for the dt990s. I wanna make sure I am getting the right products this time. I was looking more into it since you said I wouldnt need a dedicated amp for it. The um2 says the same that its an amp but again having issues seeing if it will work. for the headphones. I want some good quality loud sound lol having to crank my volume to 100% for semi - regular volume definitely dont work for me. @The Flying Sloth

 

[Letgomyleghoe.]

@Falenkor Here is recommendation number 2

Mic:  https://m.thomannmusic.com/the_tbone_mb75.htm 30 dollar

Audio interace: https://www.amazon.com/BEHRINGER-Audio-Interface-1-Channel-UM2/dp/B00EK1OTZC it's usually forty dollars

Mic booster: https://www.amazon.com/Klark-Microphone-MIC-BOOSTER-CT/dp/B07ZK69F2R 30 dollar

Amp: https://www.schiit.com/products/magni-1 100 dollar

Cable from scarlet to magni https://www.amazon.com/Monoprice-1-5ft-Premium-22AWG-Cable/dp/B003L1717K/ref=sr_1_5?dchild=1&keywords=rca+cable&qid=1588386027&s=electronics&sr=1-5 6

Total: $235

 

[The Flying Sloth]

41 minutes ago, Falenkor said:

Looking at the recommendations like the ma400 and while they say they are amplifiers I'm having some issues on whether or not they are strong enough for the dt990s. I wanna make sure I am getting the right products this time. I was looking more into it since you said I wouldnt need a dedicated amp for it. The um2 says the same that its an amp but again having issues seeing if it will work. for the headphones. I want some good quality loud sound lol having to crank my volume to 100% for semi - regular volume definitely dont work for me. @The Flying Sloth

 

I'd certainly suggest using the MA400 and UM2 together, my thoughts on the MA400 were informed by an amazon review that said the owner had used it to sufficiently power 600 ohm headphones, looking further, the 990pro and MA400 have previously been sold as a bundle and this reddit thread did all the math to make sure it would be fine, then bought the headphones and they work great. Again, I have no firsthand experience but if they've been sold together and someone on Reddit bought that exact bundle and they work great and all the math works, I mean, I'd put my money on it working.

Sloth

[Falenkor]

13 minutes ago, The Flying Sloth said:

I'd certainly suggest using the MA400 and UM2 together, my thoughts on the MA200 were informed by an amazon review that said the owner had used it to sufficiently power 600 ohm headphones, looking further, the 990pro and MA400 have previously been sold as a bundle and this reddit thread did all the math to make sure it would be fine, then bought the headphones and they work great. Again, I have no firsthand experience but if they've been sold together and someone on Reddit bought that exact bundle and they work great and all the math works, I mean, I'd put my money on it working.

Sloth

yeah thats what im looking at now actually. The question is how good is it for the headphones really I will have to do some digging on it the ma400 with the um2 definitely isnt expensive the question is how is the quality of sound.. alot of amps sound diff @The Flying Sloth

[Falenkor]

14 minutes ago, Gundar said:

@Falenkor Here is recommendation number 2

Mic:  https://m.thomannmusic.com/the_tbone_mb75.htm 30 dollar

Audio interace: https://www.amazon.com/BEHRINGER-Audio-Interface-1-Channel-UM2/dp/B00EK1OTZC it's usually forty dollars

Mic booster: https://www.amazon.com/Klark-Microphone-MIC-BOOSTER-CT/dp/B07ZK69F2R 30 dollar

Amp: https://www.schiit.com/products/magni-1 100 dollar

Cable from scarlet to magni https://www.amazon.com/Monoprice-1-5ft-Premium-22AWG-Cable/dp/B003L1717K/ref=sr_1_5?dchild=1&keywords=rca+cable&qid=1588386027&s=electronics&sr=1-5 6

Total: $235

 

you have any experience with that $30 mic by chance? whats your opinion on the ma400 instead of that schiit? @Gundar

[Letgomyleghoe.]

@Falenkor I have no experience with the mic but sloth recommends as a budget dynamic mic.

About the ma400 I cant find no spec sheet for it and the schiit is something I know will work.

[The Flying Sloth]

3 minutes ago, Falenkor said:

The question is how is the quality of sound.. alot of amps sound diff @The Flying Sloth

It's designed for studio use so it's neutral, as far as I can tell it won't colour the sound, it'll be fine.

As for that $30 mic, I own one, it's an SM57 clone that many consider as good as (if not better) than the original.
It will require a lot of gain but if you have a quiet room, it's probably sound great, the SM57 is industry standard for many things (including vocal) for a reason
The only reason I'd suggest a C2 over it is that the C2 will sound more crisp and likely will be better at noise rejection than the MB75 at a distance, the C2 is supercardioid remember so that really helps a lot.

Sloth

[Letgomyleghoe.]

3 minutes ago, The Flying Sloth said:

It's designed for studio use so it's neutral, as far as I can tell it won't colour the sound, it'll be fine.

As for that $30 mic, I own one, it's an SM57 clone that many consider as good as (if not better) than the original.
It will require a lot of gain but if you have a quiet room, it's probably sound great, the SM57 is industry standard for many things (including vocal) for a reason
The only reason I'd suggest a C2 over it is that the C2 will sound more crisp and likely will be better at noise rejection than the MB75 at a distance, the C2 is supercardioid remember so that really helps a lot.

Sloth

I only found the c2 sold in pairs for some reason

[The Flying Sloth]

14 minutes ago, Gundar said:

I only found the c2 sold in pairs for some reason

They're only sold in pairs, frequency matched for recording stereo audio. A pair usually goes for about 30-40 USD
They're proper studio mics at a very attractive price and I have two sets, one mic is used as a daily driver on my PC (excuse the pictures not being level and the bad photo, it's an old one) I have a set free to do stereo recordings and a spare one in case any break, and they never do. 
The other mics I keep around for stereo recordings are the CM-H8C which are very neutral multipattern mics, released in 2001 but I found a warehouse selling NOS mics for a fifth of what the aftermarket has them at so I bought 4.

But I digress, they're great microphones,
Sloth

[Falenkor]

13 minutes ago, Gundar said:

I only found the c2 sold in pairs for some reason

Found the c2 alone but its over $70. 

[The Flying Sloth]

1 minute ago, Falenkor said:

Found the c2 alone but its over $70. 

Yeah, that's just under double what a set should cost you

[Falenkor]

2 minutes ago, The Flying Sloth said:

Yeah, that's just under double what a set should cost you

thats a tad obnoxious as I literally cannot find one for single I am all for buying a cheap single mic if its going to work lol. As far as background noise I do have a family who can get a little loud on the other side of the house. Cardioid would be good provided that it's not so finicky that i have to have it directly in front of my face like i said before. 

[The Flying Sloth]

Just now, Falenkor said:

thats a tad obnoxious as I literally cannot find one for single I am all for buying a cheap single mic if its going to work lol. As far as background noise I do have a family who can get a little loud on the other side of the house. Cardioid would be good provided that it's not so finicky that i have to have it directly in front of my face like i said before. 

Just buy a set, then you have one spare, don't overthink it, a set is under $40.
It's supercardioid so it could sit above your monitors (or anywhere really) and just be directed towards your face, the mic is tiny and very directional so you won't even notice it's there

 
Sloth

[Falenkor]

I mean to be fair, if I wanted to go usb I could go buy a blue yeti dynamic bundle for like $120 and a schiit for like another $100 bringing it to $220 but overall sound is questionable

[Falenkor]

1 minute ago, The Flying Sloth said:

Just buy a set, then you have one spare, don't overthink it, a set is under $40.
It's supercardioid so it could sit above your monitors (or anywhere really) and just be directed towards your face, the mic is tiny and very directional so you won't even notice it's there

 
Sloth

not seeing any under $40 let me look more. they easy to break?

[Falenkor]

2 minutes ago, The Flying Sloth said:

Just buy a set, then you have one spare, don't overthink it, a set is under $40.
It's supercardioid so it could sit above your monitors (or anywhere really) and just be directed towards your face, the mic is tiny and very directional so you won't even notice it's there

 
Sloth

nope, Not seeing this set under $40 got a link to one?