Got any recommendations on "proper" audio interfaces which are reasonably affordable?
Re:Why webcams aren’t good enough
by PaulDavisThe1st on Friday January 22, 2021 @03:05PM
(#25875699)
More or less any USB interface that is less than 8 years old will work across all major operating systems. You will find lots for sale on EBay.
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2380057.m...
More or less anything from Focusrite, Presonus will serve you well. They'll get the job done until you care about subtle details (which may never be necessary), and might still be fine even after that.
If you're using Linux, the only thing to be sure of is that the device is described as either (1) "class compliant" or (2) "works on iPads" or (3) both. Linux users have much to be grateful towards the iPad for, in particular the ban on drivers meant that USB audio interface makers really had to get their act together to ensure that their devices worked with a generic USB audio driver (just like the one on Linux).
Re:Why webcams aren’t good enough
by ghostpepper on Friday January 22, 2021 @03:05PM
(#25875692)
Not the OP but I've been very happy with Scarlett Focusrite, both for video calling and hobbyist-level guitar recording
Sadly, many manufacturers have been pushing "USB mics", which bundle the preamp and an analog->digital converter into the mic body, and they've been very successful at marketing/selling these devices.
I say sadly because these devices violate rule #1 of digital audio: there should only be 1 sample clock. The moment you start using these mics in combination with any other digital audio stream (e.g. playback via the builtin or some other audio interface), there are now at least 2 sample clocks, creating the requirement that some software layer does resampling to keep things in sync.
Much better to just get a cheap "proper" audio interface, skip the USB mic option, and use a "real" (analog) mic.
I leave the condenser/dynamic question for someone else.