Mic quality

[finalCrystine]

So, I got a new mic for my birthday. It's a handheld Sennheiser e825s and I'm kinda clueless with this thing. I'm using it on my laptop and whenever I record there is this annoying background noise. I can do an option to block the background noise and some acoustic echo but that reduces the quality. I can better use my old headset then.
Does anyone have advice on this ?

I know I can use noise remover, but I want to avoid that, unless it can keep the quality.

>.< I really want this to work as it was pretty expensive and I feel really bad for my parents now.

[~ChibiSammii]

Is your laptop plugged into a wall socket or anything ? If so, that could be what's causing the background noise. I know my old mic used to pick up some buzzing noise when my laptop was plugged in.

[finalCrystine]

Is your laptop plugged into a wall socket or anything ? If so, that could be what's causing the background noise. I know my old mic used to pick up some buzzing noise when my laptop was plugged in.

No that's not it. >.< but thanks

[Amanda Lee]

Hm. That's a tough one. Are you using a mac? If so go through the settings in "general settings" under audio. I have to mess with mine every time I record. If you're not using a mac.... I have no idea. Maybe try a different outlet? If your mic is USB that is. Your computer should have at least two. If that doesn't work go into a closet, something with a lot of fabric and record something. See if that sounds better. It might just be the room that you are recording in. If none of those seem to work for you check online and see if the company that you bought the mic from (or even the company that makes that model of mic) has a technical help phone number. They'll be able to help you or fix your mic if you happened to get a dud

I hope you getting it working soon!

[finalCrystine]

Hm. That's a tough one. Are you using a mac? If so go through the settings in "general settings" under audio. I have to mess with mine every time I record. If you're not using a mac.... I have no idea. Maybe try a different outlet? If your mic is USB that is. Your computer should have at least two. If that doesn't work go into a closet, something with a lot of fabric and record something. See if that sounds better. It might just be the room that you are recording in. If none of those seem to work for you check online and see if the company that you bought the mic from (or even the company that makes that model of mic) has a technical help phone number. They'll be able to help you or fix your mic if you happened to get a dud

I hope you getting it working soon!

No, I'm using windows 7. It's not USB, I need to plug it in in the circle that's meant for a mic.
I've been messing with settings and thats where I found the noise blocker and echo, but it's like using noise removal on audacity, and I have no idea where else to look in the settings actually.

Hm, that's a good one, I'll try to go into my small closet tonight and see if it's indeed the room I'm in.

If that doesn't work, might it be the fact that it's not USB? or shouldn't it matter.

[ScottStoked]

This is an XLR microphone. Are you using a XLR to 1/8" adapter to hook it up to your comp?

Higher grade mics like these don't need phantom power like a condenser, but typically sound pretty crappy when hooked up to a computer sound card. The cheapest way to improve your sound would probably be to grab one of these XLR to USB adapters.

http://www.amazon.com/Blue-Microphon.../dp/B001EW5YQS

[finalCrystine]

This is an XLR microphone. Are you using a XLR to 1/8" adapter to hook it up to your comp?

Higher grade mics like these don't need phantom power like a condenser, but typically sound pretty crappy when hooked up to a computer sound card. The cheapest way to improve your sound would probably be to grab one of these XLR to USB adapters.

http://www.amazon.com/Blue-Microphon.../dp/B001EW5YQS

Thanks! I noticed that the background noise is from my laptop. When I record with my built in mic it also has horrible sounds. So I'll order one of those and hopefully the noise goes away

[reteo]

One thing that really helps with background noise (provided it's actual external sounds the mic is picking up) is loose fabric in any direction where a hard wall faces you, the thicker, the better. It won't remove sound completely, but it should make echoes much less of a problem. In addition, having something between the mic and the computer's fans could be useful, but since desktops usually don't come with built-in microphones, It's safe to assume this is a laptop, and such separation is not possible.

It's a little low-tech, but hopefully, this helps; after all, the best way to remove noise without losing quality is not to have the mic pick it up in the first place.