Shure X2U usb adapter (XLR to USB) for microphones - very low volume

Dominic O'Rourke 1970 wrote:
I don't think it's the mic or the x2a - but something to do with the driver not being effective.

The x2u is a great idea, and maybe with the right mic, works like a champ.

However, it's an ambitious product at its price point, and doesn't provide a lot of juice.

From everything you've said, it sounds to me like the x2u is the culprit not the driver. It sounds like it simply doesn't provide enough power to adequately amplify the SM58.

It's possible you may need to set your X2U up as an aggregate device to get the Mac to use it properly as the audio device.


Here are the steps to take. Pay attention to Step 7.

http://www.apple.com/pro/techniques/aggregateaudio/

Dominic O'Rourke 1970 wrote:
Do I need some sort of powered pre-amp?

no, it claims to have "Integrated pre-amp with Microphone Gain Control".

are you plugging directly into the computer?

The procedure has nothing to do with setting volume levels in Audio Midi Setup.

Greyed out slider's are normal.

It's a method used when using 'input' only USB devices. Input only USB devices can be problematic for some DAW's.

So setting up such a USB input device with the Mac's built-in as an aggregate device is a workaround for such cases.

Not sure that is what is going on for you...since GB seems to handle USB mic's normally.

So you have an input and output. You would want to aggregate the X2U with the built-in output.

Choose the X2U as input in GB pref's and built-in output for output.

It's just something to try. However, like I said GB normally seems to handle USB input devices.

And since you are getting some kind of level I'm not exactly sure what that means either.

But at least it troubleshoots one possible issue.

hmmm....both the 57 and 58 are great mic's. Unfortunate if you can't use them properly.


This info along with the TI Errata doesn't inspire much confidence in me.

http://www.shure.com/ProAudio/Downloads/Drivers/index.htm


What does Shure say?

Can you return the X2U?

Hello. My name is Daniel. I work at Shure and actually worked on the development of the X2u.

You shouldn't need to set up an aggregate device to get this to work. Also, as long as you are running 10.5.6 or above, there is no need for the driver. It is already installed.

The X2u provides 40 dB of gain. It is more than enough to power the SM58/SM57 microphone for normal applications, such as vocals, spoken word, guitars, amps, drums, and so on. So, I don't think this is an issue with the X2u not providing enough gain.

I am curious to know - what are your settings for mic gain/volume and monitor? You mentioned that in the monitor it sounds great, but the levels are low going to GB. This indicates to me that it could be the gain setting. Is it turned up all the way? Can you make the tri-colored LED go into the red?

One thing to keep in mind is that both of these microphones are cardioid microphones. I noticed that you mentioned when you "turned your head" the sound is too quite - this is the way these microphones are designed - to only pick up the source directly in front and reject things from the side and the back.

I hope I can help resolve this issue for you.

jimmy2sticks wrote:
Hello. My name is Daniel. I work at Shure and actually worked on the development of the X2u.

The X2u provides 40 dB of gain. It is more than enough to power the SM58/SM57 microphone for normal applications, such as vocals, spoken word, guitars, amps, drums, and so on. So, I don't think this is an issue with the X2u not providing enough gain.

I am curious to know - what are your settings for mic gain/volume and monitor? You mentioned that in the monitor it sounds great, but the levels are low going to GB. This indicates to me that it could be the gain setting. Is it turned up all the way?

Hi Daniel,

I'm a big fan of Shure mics!

The OP said he turned the gain up all the way.

40 dB of gain max on a mic pre does not sound like a lot of juice. I've also found that with interfaces built at such a low price point, real world performance, even with a much higher gain spec, can be anemic. Unless his unit is defective, what else but insufficient gain from the X2U could it be?

I think the X2U is a great idea. I haven't seen any reviews though. Do you know if any exist from a trusted source?

Thanks,

Matt

I believe the Fast track pro I'm trying out has a +40db pre. It works great for 1/4 guitar but less then ideal with some mics and quiet vocals. My Multimix I think has a +50db pre that I used with SM58s and it does well. The presonus inspire that I just sold was 45db with a +12 db boost works good with sm58 and Pro63.

Hi Matt,

Glad to hear you are a big fan!

And I see that the OP had the gain at max - my mistake as I overlooked this before.

If the gain is all the way up, and the OP can get it to go into the red on the tri-colored indicator, there is actually nothing wrong here. The X2u is optimized so that you have enough gain in the mic pre to optimize the signal-to-noise ratio. If you record this signal, you can then adjust the gain (level) in the track post recording. As we all know, it is ideal to get the loudest signal to track, but in this case, with 40 dB, your signal-to-noise ratio will stay the same. Meaning that anything past 40 dB will have the same result as adjusting the gain post recording. Does this make sense?

{quote:}but even with full gain turned up on the adapter the levels are so low as to be unusable. I need to be right on top of the mic for any pick up (about three or four green lights on the bar) and as soon as I turn my head or go more than two inches from the mic, everything drops off.{quote}

That does not sound normal.

What is confusing however, is when he monitored through the X2U.

{quote:}I've set it up - this time putting a pair of headphones into the monitor jack of the USB adapter - and the pick up over the monitor is amazing, I can be about two feet away, talking quietly and it picks up everything - {quote}

Sounds like everything is working as it should and he should have proper input gain accordingly.

Hard to know what's going on really without being in the room sometimes. But it sounds like from his description once it's heads out over the USB something is going on.

Any known issues with the USB codec and Mac's?

By the way it's cool that you stopped in to post.

I have to say while I too am a big fan of Shure mic's, products like the X2U make me scratch my head.

And...
{quote:}As we all know, it is ideal to get the loudest signal to track{quote}

I'm not sure what you mean here. I hope you are not implying that recording as hot as possible in one's DAW is ideal.