PENGAAD MICROPHONES

[Renee Pacheco]

Hi.  Has anyone purchased any of the pengaad mics that looks like jump drives??  Was thinking of getting one.

Thanks

[Michele Savoy Parente]

Hi Renee,

Do you have an older laptop and need the sound card feature of the external mic?  You might want to check out this site before you buy:http://www.soundprofessionals.com/cgi-bin/gold/item/SP-USB-MIC-MODEL-4 and compare features. It looks similar and less money.  I bought the retractable extension cord for use with the microphone I attach to my Mira.

I just sold my Martel mic, very similar to the Pengad one, at least it looks similar by the ad.  It did work well with  my old Toshiba as far as making a much better recording than the sound card in the laptop.

Food for thought:  If you're going to be getting a new laptop soon, the expense of $300 for a microphone might be better used toward a new laptop.  I ordered my Dell and specified what I need as far as recording, and I no longer need any external microphone .I bought a new Dell with tons of memory, speed and excellent recording capabilities for $1,200, 0% interest for six months.  I'm getting ready to buy a smaller one with less memory, but I need to call directly and ask about the recording capabillity; i.e.,  it's standard or if it's more money.  If it's standard, you can pick up a nice Dell for around $600 - $700. 

I do use a Sound Professionals microphone with my writer as a backup.  My Dell records even better than that microphone, as good as it is.

Good luck. : )

[Renee Pacheco]

hi, michelle.  yes i have a 2 year old toshiba and have never had a great recording with this thing since the day i bought it.  what specs did you give dell so they knew what to put in it??  that's interesting because i never knew what to ask for!!   the sound pro mic you have do you like it?  thanks

[Michele Savoy Parente]

Hi again,

Toshiba laptops are notorious for bad recording capability.  I, too, fought with mine to the tune of $375+ in microphones.  My problem with the expensive USB mic, which worked well, was that, on its own, even though the audio recording box on the laptop showed it was recording with the ups and downs of yellow to red indicating loudness, the internal audio card with sometimes take over and revert to the Toshiba's audio bypassing the mic.  And, of course, that would only happen during very difficult jobs when I really, really needed that audio. I would bring my headphones and listen after I set up the realtime feed w/audio to make sure it was working correctly.  Time consuming when it wasn't because I'd have to reboot the whole computer and hope it would work the next go-round.  The Toshiba was a work horse, though.  I had it for four if not five years, but it became worthless to me because of the amount of stress it was causing me.

I just ordered this today: http://www.dell.com/us/p/xps-l412z/pd?ST=xps%2014z&dgc=ST&c...

If you're on Eclipse, it seems to work well with Eclipse.  What you need to call and ask for is called WAVES MAXAUDIO. They offered me 12 months 0% interest and I should have it delivered to my office this Friday.  They also gave me a two-year warranty.  They come to me to fix it if need be.  The thing even has LoJack on it if it gets stolen. It will run me $100 a month.  They have cheaper models, but I think you have to spend around $600 to get interest free.  Or, because this is my second purchase, I got the 12 months.  Not sure on that, though.

Two years, while not a long time, is a decent life for a laptop.  I had a Sony Vio before the Toshiba.  It recorded great but it lasted a year and a half.  Remember, you do get to write some of this off your taxes.

I've been told that the recordimg capability on laptops now is not so great because we're in the small percentage of consumers that look for that in a laptop; most people want superior graphics and sound playing capabilities for gaming, etc.

Good luck with whichever way you decide to go.

Yes, I do like the microphone that I use from Soundprofessionals with my writer, which is this one: http://www.soundprofessionals.com/cgi-bin/gold/item/MS-MMM-1

[Kelli Combs (admin)]

Michelle, I don't know why you say Toshibas are notorious for having bad quality audio.  I'm on my third Toshiba and the first two had great audio.  It's only this last one that I had a problem with till I finally got the right microphone.  All trial and error.

[Michele Savoy Parente]

It's based on my personal experience and experiences of other reporters on other forums. Also reviews I read when I was buying microphones, and most of the reviews I read were from a high percentage of  people looking to "fix" the recording on their Toshiba laptops.

[Kelli Combs (admin)]

I have not tried that one but I purchased a microphone that looked like a jump drive for 240.00 from Sound Professionals and hated it.  The audio quality was terrible.  I returned it within the month that I'm allowed to and the company, Sound Professionals, kept my money.  Hope it's cheaper so if you don't like it, you don't lose a ton of $$$.

[Kelli Combs (admin)]

Renee, I have the same Toshiba laptop that you have I bet.  I could never get the microphone jack to work correctly.  I fought to find the perfect microphone for about eight months, but I finally found it and love my Toshiba now.  I am using a USB microphone called SoundTech CM-1000USB conference microphone.  It is amazing.  I have been very happy now.  Just takes a while to get everything all working correctly.  Finally I am in that "sweet spot" with my Toshiba. 

[Renee Pacheco]

thanks, kelli..  where did you get it from?  i have to order one NOW!! i have the techra and have hated it ever since i got it!!

[Jeannette Samoulides]

I bought from Sound Professionals SP-COURT-REPORTER-MIC-PRO, $79.  It wouldn't pick up past five feet.  I then exchanged it for SP-USB-MIC-MODEL-4, $129.  It seems to pick up real well. If you purchase from Sound Professionals, make sure you get the 5% coupon on the internet.  Every little bit helps.

[Sandy Graf]

Just FYI, I'm on my second USB external mic from Sound Professionals.  I'm not sure what the problem is, but all of the sudden, I'm getting a loud buzzing noise that messes up the recording.  It was frustrating as heck.  I've just sent it back again.  I was thinking about using a different company since I've had trouble twice now.  I hate to smear their name if it's just a fluke, but I thought I'd mention it anyway.

 

Sandy