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Arrggghh!!! Piece Of Shit Mic!!! :(

post #1 of 9
7/7/06 at 4:16pm
Thread Starter 
Hi everyone, I've got a Gen1 XPS laptop and I have plugged in one of those "el-cheapo" Genius microphones to my lappy... For some reason, I gotta shout in order for the Mic Test utility (under the audio properties in the control panel) to detect some sort of sound activity... My question is what should I do in order to get the proper volume settings for the mic? I already tried pulling the volume tabs in that same utility to the max, but its no use...

I've plugged in the SAME mic (although it was mine... the one I plugged in right now is my sister's) a while ago and it worked perfectly...

Ive got a sigmatel audio sound card i think...

Thank you VvvVVVvvERRRY MUCH!
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post #2 of 9
7/7/06 at 4:19pm
Have you turned on the mic boost in the advanced recording controls?

Non-condensor microphones dont use a phantom power supply so you usually have to enable the mic boost to get a proper sound.
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post #3 of 9
7/7/06 at 4:25pm
Thread Starter 
yep, i enabled the mic boost but nothing happens
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post #4 of 9
7/7/06 at 4:30pm
Have you tried the mic in more than one application (like windows sound recorder or a VOIP program), or just in the Mic test utility. Or have you tried using the mic on another computer, to see if maybe it is the mic.
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post #5 of 9
7/7/06 at 4:33pm
Thread Starter 
yep... i have tried using the sound recorder app, skype, counterstrike (voice com) and ventrilo...
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post #6 of 9
7/7/06 at 4:35pm
And you have used the mic on something other than that PC to confirm that it isnt the mic? When is the last time you have updated your sigmatel drivers?
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post #7 of 9
7/7/06 at 7:27pm
Thread Starter 
yea, i used it with my sister's pc and it worked fine... dunno what it can be...

i updated the drivers like a month ago, and with my other mic, it was working perfectly...
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post #8 of 9
7/7/06 at 8:09pm
Most likely you need an self powered/amplified mic. Most sound cards on home PCs have a built in amp to account for unpowered mics. I doubt the mic port on the laptops are self-amplified. DB gain is not the same as a powered amplifier. The laptop's mic port probably does support power to the mics that do have an internal amp. Easy way to tell if your mic is able to take power from the mic jack is to look at how many black rings are on the plug. A standard unpowered mic will have one black ring to seperate the positive and ground sections of the plug. A powered mic will have 2 rings and look like a stereo mini-plug (like the ones on your stereo headphones) which has a section for ground, +5v, and positive for mic.
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post #9 of 9
7/9/06 at 2:14am
Thread Starter 
thanks for all of the responses... apparently there was some sort of problem with winamp that screwed up my mic with a karaoke plugin i had... i uninstalled the plugin and everything seems fine now...

thanks for the help you guys
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