I got an AKG 8000S recently and have been wanting to plug it into my
PC. I use the sound card that came with the PC that has a standard
1/8"jack. I got a 1/4" - 1/8" adapter and tried connecting it. The mic
doesn't seem to work. What could be the issue? Does it need a pre-amp
or something?

Thanks
bharat

wrote:

I got an AKG 8000S recently and have been wanting to plug it into my
PC. I use the sound card that came with the PC that has a standard
1/8"jack.

It's not 1/8" btw. It's 3.5 mm. Americans just can't bear to use the word mm it
seems.

I got a 1/4" - 1/8" adapter and tried connecting it.

Since an AKG D8000 comes with an XLR how have you wired it to a 1/4" jack ?

Connecting it to what btw ? The line input isn't any good for mic level, it's
too insensitive.

The mic doesn't seem to work. What could be the issue? Does it need a pre-amp
or something?

If the sound card doesn't have a mic input it won't. Also sound card inputs
typically have a DC voltage for 'biasing' electret mics which may upset a
dynamac mic.

In any case a sound card mic input is dreadful quality and you'll get inferior
results. Get a small $60 Behringer mixer to use as a decent mic pre and use the
sound card line input. That'll also mean you can use a decent XLR connector on
the mic.

Graham

Thanks for the suggestions guys. Can you give me the specs. of the
adapter I need to connect the XLR cable to the mic input?


Pooh Bear wrote:
wrote:

I got an AKG 8000S recently and have been wanting to plug it into my
PC. I use the sound card that came with the PC that has a standard
1/8"jack.

It's not 1/8" btw. It's 3.5 mm. Americans just can't bear to use the word mm it
seems.

I got a 1/4" - 1/8" adapter and tried connecting it.

Since an AKG D8000 comes with an XLR how have you wired it to a 1/4" jack ?

Connecting it to what btw ? The line input isn't any good for mic level, it's
too insensitive.

The mic doesn't seem to work. What could be the issue? Does it need a pre-amp
or something?

If the sound card doesn't have a mic input it won't. Also sound card inputs
typically have a DC voltage for 'biasing' electret mics which may upset a
dynamac mic.

In any case a sound card mic input is dreadful quality and you'll get inferior
results. Get a small $60 Behringer mixer to use as a decent mic pre and use the
sound card line input. That'll also mean you can use a decent XLR connector on
the mic.

Graham

bharat wrote:
Thanks for the suggestions guys. Can you give me the specs. of the
adapter I need to connect the XLR cable to the mic input?

Specs:

Female XLR on one end
Male 1/8" (3.5 mm) phone plug on the other end

However you won't find a solid adapter like this, but you may find a
cable with that connector arrangement. That's what you should use. Like
one of these:

http://tinyurl.com/2vmv5

However, I couldn't find an 8000S (or anything with 8000) in a search
of the AKG web site. Have we established that this is a dynamic mic and
doesn't require power from the input? The above cable will work,
assuming that the mic is either Dynamic (requiring no power) or
internally powered (battery), and also that your computer actually has
a mic level audio input. Most do, but some don't.

Mike Rivers wrote:
bharat wrote:
Thanks for the suggestions guys. Can you give me the specs. of the
adapter I need to connect the XLR cable to the mic input?

Specs:

Female XLR on one end
Male 1/8" (3.5 mm) phone plug on the other end

However you won't find a solid adapter like this, but you may find a
cable with that connector arrangement. That's what you should use.
Like one of these:

http://tinyurl.com/2vmv5

However, I couldn't find an 8000S (or anything with 8000) in a search
of the AKG web site. Have we established that this is a dynamic mic
and doesn't require power from the input? The above cable will work,
assuming that the mic is either Dynamic (requiring no power) or
internally powered (battery), and also that your computer actually has
a mic level audio input. Most do, but some don't.

It's 'special' for MusiciansFriend or somebody similar.

geoff

"Geoff@home" wrote:

Mike Rivers wrote:
bharat wrote:
Thanks for the suggestions guys. Can you give me the specs. of the
adapter I need to connect the XLR cable to the mic input?

Specs:

Female XLR on one end
Male 1/8" (3.5 mm) phone plug on the other end

However you won't find a solid adapter like this, but you may find a
cable with that connector arrangement. That's what you should use.
Like one of these:

http://tinyurl.com/2vmv5

However, I couldn't find an 8000S (or anything with 8000) in a search
of the AKG web site. Have we established that this is a dynamic mic
and doesn't require power from the input? The above cable will work,
assuming that the mic is either Dynamic (requiring no power) or
internally powered (battery), and also that your computer actually has
a mic level audio input. Most do, but some don't.

It's 'special' for MusiciansFriend or somebody similar.

And it's a D8000S, so dynamic.

I'm wondering it'll be bothered by any electret bias that's present on the sound
card mic in.

Graham

wrote:
I got an AKG 8000S recently and have been wanting to plug it into my
PC. I use the sound card that came with the PC that has a standard
1/8"jack. I got a 1/4" - 1/8" adapter and tried connecting it. The mic
doesn't seem to work. What could be the issue? Does it need a pre-amp
or something?



Are you plugging into a mic input it should be fine. If a line input then
you need a mic preamp. Same as any mic.

geoff