Topping E2x2 and Zalman Mic

[DrNine]

Hi,

I'm new to this forum and I got a newbe question. I just bought a Topping E2x2 audio interface. I connected my old (cheap) Zalman Mic1. The mic works connected to my old internal sound card. But it doesn't work on the new audio interface. I don't get any input signal. Do I need a "special" mic to work with the audio interface or did I make other mistakes? The audio interface itself seems to work. I installed the drivers and the headphones work.

Cheers
Nik

 

[staticV3]

Hi @DrNine! Welcome to ASR.

Your Zalman ZM-MIC1 requires 2V of plug-in power to function.

The E2x2 however cannot supply plug-in power. It can either supply no power, or 48V phantom power.

You can use an adapter like the Rode VXLR+ to convert 48V Phantom power to Plug-in power, and connect your ZM-MIC1 to the E2x2 that way.

 

[DrNine]

Oh no! And thanks for your answer. For gaming the Zalman Mic1 has been the best option so far. I don't like "bulky" solutions like the modmic. Other lavalier solutions I looked at attach to clothing but not to calbles. The Mic1 attaches smoothly to the cable of my Beyerdynamic 1990 Pros. Are there any alternatives either on the audio interface side supporting the 2V plug-in power or a "better" mic?

 

[staticV3]

Are there any alternatives either on the audio interface side supporting the 2V plug-in power or a "better" mic?

I'm not aware of any audio Interfaces that natively support Electret microphones like the ZM-MIC1, nor am I aware of any microphones like the ZM-MIC1 that work natively with professional audio Interfaces like the E2x2.

There's the Micbooster Clippy XLR, which is basically a ZM-MIC1 with an integrated VXLR+ so could be plugged directly into your E2x2, but like most other Lav mics its clip is designed for clothes.

For your ZM-MIC1, you could buy an Apple headphone adapter to feed the microphone audio into your PC separately (it supports microphones with plug-in power)

Or you could buy an adapter like the VXLR+ to plug your ZM-MIC1 into the E2x2.

Edit:
Two devices that would natively support both your mic and the DT1990 are the Schiit Fulla and Schiit Gunnr.

There are also various Creative Soundblaster devices that could do the same, as well as ones from Steelseries, Sennheiser, Astro etc.

 

[DrNine]

Thanks a lot I just ordered the adapter!

 

[DVDdoug]

It would probably be best to go-back to your regular soundcard for the microphone. You can still use the audio interface as a DAC (output for headphones or speakers) if you've got a reason to.

In general, "computer mics" (unbalanced and usually low-voltage powered) are not interchangeable with "pro" stage/studio mics (balanced XLR connections, sometimes requiring 48V phantom power).

 

[DrNine]

The problem is that my sound chip Realtek 4080 has got massive driver problems and I can't find a way to adjust the mic to a usable level. It's a known issue...otherwise I would still use my soundcard

 

[AnalogSteph]

The problem is that my sound chip Realtek 4080 has got massive driver problems and I can't find a way to adjust the mic to a usable level. It's a known issue...otherwise I would still use my soundcard

A user on another forum reported success after doing a complete cleanup of audio software and drivers (using DriverStoreExplorer), followed by installation of an older driver and nothing else. Apparently 6.3.9600.2333 was good but build 2389 was a no-go.

If in doubt you could also buy an inexpensive electret mic preamp like an MA-2S (note, external 12 V power supply required). I'd trust the cleanliness of the bias voltage from something like that more anyway... I have yet to encounter a Realtek that was better than just meh in this regard. Their insistence on doing everything in-chip makes things quite hard that are trivial to accomplish using external RC filtering.