Future Proof? Or Nah?

[Le Chiffre]

Hi There,

Thank you ahead of time to those who can afford me some feedback on this... Really lol because my brain is virtually fried from all the audiophile jargon as a complete noob to this niche of equipment expertise.

**Note: I really only plan on using a setup for voiceovers and recording some singing with a keyboard.**

I'm almost at the ends of my research in configuring the best setup for my voice (deep).

I've decided on a Shure SM7B mic but I'm reading around that it NEEDS a cloud lifter pre-amp (another $149) on top of a USB 2.0 (IMO basically flinstone era) audio interface (~ 300?). In my mind that seems more cumbersome and myopic than an interface that puts everything into one neat package...

Which brings me to my discovery of the =
Universal Audio Apollo Twin High-Resolution Thunderbolt Interface with Realtime UAD DUO Processing

First reaction = It. Is. BEAUTIPURR! lol I have a macbook and like apple products so the aesthetics appeal to me.

Second reaction = Zayum! $900 for a small device with not that many inputs or outputs? Still, thunderbolt though...

Which leads me to my final questions, Is this unit overpriced? Is thunderbolt really a step up in terms of processing speed / power / bandwidth? Or is poor little old me falling into a marketing trap? If you guys think it's a bad buy, is my choice of a Scarlett 18i20 as my BEST ALTERNATIVE the right decision?

Many thanks kind people![DOUBLEPOST=1408327932,1408298408][/DOUBLEPOST]Uh, help?

 

[Katie Hull]

IMO, very overpriced. You can get a much cheaper interface for around $100 and it would work just fine. If you just need one mic input, I'd personally go with the M-Audio Fast Track. I don't have any latency with using USB interfaces, so I'd personally find a ThunderBolt interface overkill.

 

[Tarmack]

Hi There,

Thank you ahead of time to those who can afford me some feedback on this... Really lol because my brain is virtually fried from all the audiophile jargon as a complete noob to this niche of equipment expertise.

**Note: I really only plan on using a setup for voiceovers and recording some singing with a keyboard.**

I'm almost at the ends of my research in configuring the best setup for my voice (deep).

I've decided on a Shure SM7B mic but I'm reading around that it NEEDS a cloud lifter pre-amp (another $149) on top of a USB 2.0 (IMO basically flinstone era) audio interface (~ 300?). In my mind that seems more cumbersome and myopic than an interface that puts everything into one neat package...

Which brings me to my discovery of the =
Universal Audio Apollo Twin High-Resolution Thunderbolt Interface with Realtime UAD DUO Processing

First reaction = It. Is. BEAUTIPURR! lol I have a macbook and like apple products so the aesthetics appeal to me.

Second reaction = Zayum! $900 for a small device with not that many inputs or outputs? Still, thunderbolt though...

Which leads me to my final questions, Is this unit overpriced? Is thunderbolt really a step up in terms of processing speed / power / bandwidth? Or is poor little old me falling into a marketing trap? If you guys think it's a bad buy, is my choice of a Scarlett 18i20 as my BEST ALTERNATIVE the right decision?

Many thanks kind people![DOUBLEPOST=1408327932,1408298408][/DOUBLEPOST]Uh, help?

I think, fairly sure, that I'm the only one on this board that uses the SM7B. Normal policy is to avoid posting your own stuff, but I think this case is probably a reasonable exception. Here's the most recent vid which will give you an idea of my sound with the mic.

For my setup, I use a Behringer X1204USB mixing board. It has preamps onboard and does a reasonable job. From there, I'm recording with the smaller of the two foam wind screens as well as a standard pop filter, mic positioned about 4 inches from my mouth. I compress, normalize, remove noise and master all in Adobe Audition.

I've been wanting to pick up a dedicated tube preamp for it at some point, but as you can see/hear, it's not necessary. Ideally, and as you get more into microphones, having a dedicated preamp will improve your sound. However, that's something which can be added later.

 

[Le Chiffre]

I think, fairly sure, that I'm the only one on this board that uses the SM7B. Normal policy is to avoid posting your own stuff, but I think this case is probably a reasonable exception. Here's the most recent vid which will give you an idea of my sound with the mic.



For my setup, I use a Behringer X1204USB mixing board. It has preamps onboard and does a reasonable job. From there, I'm recording with the smaller of the two foam wind screens as well as a standard pop filter, mic positioned about 4 inches from my mouth. I compress, normalize, remove noise and master all in Adobe Audition.

I've been wanting to pick up a dedicated tube preamp for it at some point, but as you can see/hear, it's not necessary. Ideally, and as you get more into microphones, having a dedicated preamp will improve your sound. However, that's something which can be added later.

Good to hear from another like minded person! Your voice sounds quite nice with the Shure mic!!!

One question though, I think Markiplier also uses the same mic but his voice seems exceptionally crisp somehow... Would you happen to know how he does that? I mean what part of an audio setup would allow for that quality?

Please respond when you can!

 

[Tarmack]

Good to hear from another like minded person! Your voice sounds quite nice with the Shure mic!!!

One question though, I think Markiplier also uses the same mic but his voice seems exceptionally crisp somehow... Would you happen to know how he does that? I mean what part of an audio setup would allow for that quality?

Please respond when you can!

It's all in the editing. My sound is more of a preference in the mastering side. I don't use any equalizer functionality, which would be where the crisp sound in the highs will come from. Ultimately, I was just trying to show that you don't need a dedicated tube pre-amp in order to power the mic.

 

[Le Chiffre]

It's all in the editing. My sound is more of a preference in the mastering side. I don't use any equalizer functionality, which would be where the crisp sound in the highs will come from. Ultimately, I was just trying to show that you don't need a dedicated tube pre-amp in order to power the mic.

Ah, that makes sense...

Thank you so much for taking the the time in educating me. Although, what advantages would you see in your recording activities / hobbies in getting a so called "tube" amp? I think the alternatives in "solid states" right? did you mention tube amps because the apogee I'm thinking about buying is a tube amp?