--- You wrote:
I am not sure I understand the advantages gained by working
with line level as opposed to working at mic level, but there must be some
for it seems that everything is moving that direction.
Thanks again for your input.
bill
--- end of quote ---
Mic level input requires amplification to line level somwhere in the system.
The mic preamplifier, which does the job, can be good or mediocre. If your
source is a microphone, it's nice to know you have a decent mic preamp. If you
are working with two or more mics, for stereo and/or mixing sounds, the Mac
never had stereo microphone input anyway, so you had to have a mic preamp
outside the computer and input to the computer at line level.
In addition, if your source is a tape deck or tuner, they output at line level
anyway..it's the same level you get at an earphone jack. (A phongraph turntable
will require a special phono preamp in any case.) To use these with a mic level
input you needed to reduce the voltage to mic level ("pad it down" as they say
in the industry.) But then the mic level is amplified up again anyway in the
computer, which adds an unnecessary level of analog amplification, with a small
loss of quality.
The trend really seems to be to put all the audio hardware outside the computer
and transfer digital signals to the computer through the usb port. It is
certainly critical that the conversion of analog audio (line level or mic level)
to digital audio be of good quality. Some say that the a/d and d/a converters
in older Macs aren't so good. So if you buy an outboard converter which may
have both line and mic level inputs, you can decide which one and how it fits
your needs.
I have an old analog mixer attached to my Beige sound ports, with inexpensive
Radio Shack switches to give me access, in and out, to a number of different
analog sound devices...cassette tape, tuner, phonograph, vcr etc. I haven't
seen the need to go to usb sound, but it is a wonderful and economical
opportunity for multitrack recording or others who don't find the built in audio
adequate in their computers.
Hope this clarifies a little.
Rich
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