I own a Mobile-Pre USB, this is a great little box that connects to your computer and provides the following inputs: 2x XLR(with phantom power), 2x 1/4″, 1/8″ Stereo Mic. You also have 2x 1/4″ out and a 1/8″ Stereo out (for monitoring) . The sample rate can go up to 48khz (better than CD quality). All while running off a USB cable with no other power required.

One of the issues that I encountered was a significant latency between speaking into the mic and what I heard in the headphones. If you search Google, this is apparently a pretty common problem.

My first attempt at using the Mobile-Pre USB box was with an older laptop running XP. The initial results were dissapointing. I had the latency issue so I couldn’t monitor my levels live, I had to record and then play back. I also was unable to use Audacity, it simply didn’t see the mic I had hooked up. I found if I installed the ASIO4All driver and then used the version of Ableton Live 6 that came with the Pre USB I got pretty good results.

Recently, I was installing XP into a partition on one of my desktops. I thought I would try an experiment. After installing XP and only the most basic drivers it needs, ethernet, video card etc, I installed the Mobile-Pre USB driver and then Audacity. Audacity worked right off the bat, and the results were fantastic. NO LATENCY AND NO DISTORTION!

I would advise anyone who has one of these devices that they are capable of very good sound.  Due to the fact the Mobile-Pre runs off  USB completely, it’s great for laptops.  It can operate with no latency without special drivers. Issues to consider are the amount of ram in your system and CPU, more and faster are always better. I believe that the issue I was encountering with my laptop is the typical Windows issue that over time there is a general slowdown in performance that can really only be alleviated by a fresh install of the OS.

BTW, when I say No Latency, I really should say no detectable latency. Technically there may be a few millisconds, but subjectively I am not hearing it.

Digital Blade of Charleston, SC has a 3 step process to repair your computer and get you back to work.

1. Evaluate the problem. This is a combination of discussing the symptoms with you and observing the system. For example, if the computer is freezing or locking up, can it be reproduced or is it completely random? Are certain error messages being displayed? Is the system performing substantially slower than in the past?
2. Diagnose the problem. After the initial evaluation, we narrow down the potential causes through a process of elimination. Computers are complicated ecosystems consisting of the hardware, the bios (the basic computer settings), the operating system, the patches and upgrades that have been applied to the operating system, hardware drivers, utilities, applications, and application plugins. This complex interaction can make diagnosing a problem difficult. What appears to be a problem with an application may in fact be an issue with low memory that was caused by the recent installation of a new unrelated utility.
3. Repair/Correct the problem. Having narrowed down the cause, we repair the computer. This might involve upgrading the memory or replacing old memory modules, removing a utility that is conflicting with other software, upgrading a hardware driver, or changing some of the computer’s settings, among other things.

A properly maintained computer can provide many years of service which counts toward your bottom line. Don’t put it off another day, if your computer isn’t working for you, call us to set an appointment for an evaluation. We service Charleston, North Charleston, Mount Pleasant, and surrounding areas.

photo credit: El Garza

First, evaluate your needs. How many devices do you need to protect? A typical desktop system might include:

• The system box
• Monitor
• Cable or DSL Modem
• Router
• Printer
• Amplified Speaker system
• External hard drive

As you can see, it’s not uncommon to have 7 or more devices. Remember, any device you connect to the computer needs protection or it might conduct a surge through a connection like a USB, telephone or coax cable.

A good surge protector will provide enough outlets for all your devices. You will also need a cable in/out if you have a cable modem and/or a telephone in/out if you have DSL.

Be careful about the orientation and spacing of the outlets…DC converter boxes may block adjacent outlets on surge protectors that have the outlets crowded together.

Well designed surge protectors will have lights that indicate the protector is working (for example, it hasn’t been damaged by a surge). Many can also indicate if the outlet they are plugged into is properly wired.

One of the differences between surge protectors is how many joules of energy they can absorb. This may be a number like 1750 joules or 2500. Higher is generally better. Think of this as the capacity of a tank that can hold excess energy that comes through and protect your equipment.

The time to consider buying a surge protector is before you need it, don’t wait until you lose an expensive component to buy one.