mini - Useing a Microphone

kman445 · kman445 #1 (**permalink**)

09-28-2006, 01:32 PM

hi, this is a dumb question, but im new to macs and couldnt find an answer when i searched. okay, heres my question

Can any Microphone be used on a mac?

i have a microphone but i cant get it to work, i plug it into the audio in port and i cant get anything, i Know the microphone works becasue it works when i plug it into a keyboard i have and it works fine.. any ideas?

geoffstgermaine · geoffstgermaine #2 (**permalink**)

09-28-2006, 01:54 PM

Could the input be muted in the sound preferences?

kman445 · kman445 #3 (**permalink**)

09-28-2006, 01:57 PM

no, its not muted, and if it is, were would the muting button be, there is none, there is a mute for the output, but thats not muted

anyone else have any solutions

neye:

scottish · scottish #4 (**permalink**)

09-28-2006, 02:40 PM

Is it a 1/8" Plug or USB?

1/8" Ports on Apple computers are line level, meaning that it requires some sort of power before it goes into the computer.

mac57 · mac57 #5 (**permalink**)

09-28-2006, 04:04 PM

This appears to be the issue. The input on your Mac is an Audio In port, not a Microphone port. There is a significant signal level difference between an Audio jack and a Microphone jack. Hence, while you CAN use the microphone, in practise, the level is so low it is not really effective. I found that if I screamed into the microphone, I could get the audio meter to move ever so slightly in the preferences panel for sound.

What is the answer? You will need something like iMic (available at Amazon or other places) to amplify the microphone signal for you, or a powered mic, or do something radical and buy an iSight camera, which has an EXCELLENT mic built into it. Any of these will resolve your issue.

The iMic one is probably best if you have some old mics around that you REALLY want to re use. By the way, iMic is just one member of a class of products like this. You might want to search around and buy the one you like best.

kman445 · kman445 #6 (**permalink**)

09-28-2006, 05:37 PM

so would any powered mic would work?

mac57 · mac57 #7 (**permalink**)

09-29-2006, 04:53 PM

Since I went the iSight route, I can't answer the question. My bet would be on iMic or a compatible product, since it claims to be able to work with any mic. This is likely the safer and less expensive route.

mac57 #5 (permalink)
Member Since: Apr 29, 2006 Location: St. Somewhere Posts: 4,547 Mac Specs: PowerMac G5 Quad, 2.5 GHz, 4 Core, 120 GB SSD, 500 GB HDD	09-28-2006, 04:04 PM This appears to be the issue. The input on your Mac is an Audio In port, not a Microphone port. There is a significant signal level difference between an Audio jack and a Microphone jack. Hence, while you CAN use the microphone, in practise, the level is so low it is not really effective. I found that if I screamed into the microphone, I could get the audio meter to move ever so slightly in the preferences panel for sound. What is the answer? You will need something like iMic (available at Amazon or other places) to amplify the microphone signal for you, or a powered mic, or do something radical and buy an iSight camera, which has an EXCELLENT mic built into it. Any of these will resolve your issue. The iMic one is probably best if you have some old mics around that you REALLY want to re use. By the way, iMic is just one member of a class of products like this. You might want to search around and buy the one you like best. My Macs: PowerMac G5 Quad, 2.5 GHz, 4 Core, Mac Pro, 3.2 GHz 8 Core, Power Macintosh 7500/100 My iStuff: 32 GB iPhone 4, 30 GB iPod Video, 16 GB iPod Touch My OS': Mac OS X Tiger, Mac OS X Snow Leopard, Mac OS X Leopard, Mac OS 8.6, openSUSE 10.3, Win XP I was on the Mac-Forums honor roll for September 2007
	QUOTE Thanks

kman445 #6 (permalink)
Member Since: Sep 09, 2006 Location: Ottawa ,Ontario, Canada Posts: 1,328 Mac Specs: 24" iMac 2.66GHz Core2Duo // 15" Macbook Pro2.53GHz Core2Duo	09-28-2006, 05:37 PM so would any powered mic would work? Last edited by kman445; 09-28-2006 at 11:01 PM.
	QUOTE Thanks

mac57 #7 (permalink)
Member Since: Apr 29, 2006 Location: St. Somewhere Posts: 4,547 Mac Specs: PowerMac G5 Quad, 2.5 GHz, 4 Core, 120 GB SSD, 500 GB HDD	09-29-2006, 04:53 PM Since I went the iSight route, I can't answer the question. My bet would be on iMic or a compatible product, since it claims to be able to work with any mic. This is likely the safer and less expensive route. My Macs: PowerMac G5 Quad, 2.5 GHz, 4 Core, Mac Pro, 3.2 GHz 8 Core, Power Macintosh 7500/100 My iStuff: 32 GB iPhone 4, 30 GB iPod Video, 16 GB iPod Touch My OS': Mac OS X Tiger, Mac OS X Snow Leopard, Mac OS X Leopard, Mac OS 8.6, openSUSE 10.3, Win XP I was on the Mac-Forums honor roll for September 2007
	QUOTE Thanks

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Microphone at Line in?	justme	Apple Notebooks	0	04-10-2006 03:45 PM
Microphone	alvespt	Apple Notebooks	3	01-05-2006 02:04 AM
I pod microphone	osvoldk	iPod Hardware and Accessories	5	12-23-2005 10:41 PM
Microphone problems	futerfas	Switcher Hangout	10	11-19-2004 02:03 PM

mini - Useing a Microphone

Internet Services

Web Development

Digital Marketing

Consumer Tech

kman445 #1 (permalink)
Member Since: Sep 09, 2006 Location: Ottawa ,Ontario, Canada Posts: 1,328 Mac Specs: 24" iMac 2.66GHz Core2Duo // 15" Macbook Pro2.53GHz Core2Duo	09-28-2006, 01:32 PM hi, this is a dumb question, but im new to macs and couldnt find an answer when i searched. okay, heres my question Can any Microphone be used on a mac? i have a microphone but i cant get it to work, i plug it into the audio in port and i cant get anything, i Know the microphone works becasue it works when i plug it into a keyboard i have and it works fine.. any ideas?
	QUOTE Thanks

geoffstgermaine #2 (permalink)
Member Since: Aug 30, 2006 Location: Winnipeg, MB Posts: 50 Mac Specs: 24" iMac	09-28-2006, 01:54 PM Could the input be muted in the sound preferences?
	QUOTE Thanks

scottish #4 (permalink)
Guest Posts: n/a	09-28-2006, 02:40 PM Is it a 1/8" Plug or USB? 1/8" Ports on Apple computers are line level, meaning that it requires some sort of power before it goes into the computer.
	QUOTE Thanks

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)