Subconsciously fulfilling the ACB metaphor, I recorded these sounds as I was preparing a spaghetti dinner in my kitchen tonight. I used my Audio Technica AT822 stereo condenser running straight into the MacBook Pro line in port. To my surprise I managed to get levels, but had to turn up the input volume in the preferences almost all the way up to get a good strong signal. In the preferences you can adjust the input volume, so the signal is running through some sort of pre-amplification.
Getting signal is probably the result of the condenser mic having a fresh battery, high sensitivity, and a short cord built specifically for the mic. It would probably not work as well with a dynamic mic. I wouldn’t recommend recording this way (without running the mic through a preamp), but I would be interested in knowing the specs on how the input volume is being powered on the MacBook Pro. Any Apple experts out there have any inside info?
Filling the Pot
I have both an AT-822 and a MacBook Pro (15″ 2.2ghz). I haven’t used the AT-822 as much as I’d like to yet though – planning on mainly using it w/ my Sony Minidisc Hi-MD RH1.
You said you wouldn’t recommend this set up this way without running the mic through a pre-amp – what kind of pre-amp would you suggest?
Hey, Shahryar. I don’t have a good recommendation for a pre-amp for the AT822. I’ve actually used an old Sony PCM-M1 DAT recorder that eats tapes as a pre-amp for mine. It works really well, but there’s not much on the market for small portable and inexpensive mic pre-amps. You might consider building something from a kit. Let me know what you discover. Cheers!