I have an USB microphone (XLR in on the mic, USB out). Would it work with my audio interface if I change the cable for an XLR in, XLR out?

 

What brand and name of the microphone are we talking about ?

 

MICROPHONES: XLR OR USB CONNECTION?

If you want to buy a microphone , you have to make various decisions about the design, characteristics and sound. First of all, you should consider the purpose for which you want to use the microphone. This allows you to quickly select between dynamic microphones or condenser microphones and select the most suitable directional characteristic.
When making a decision, the question often arises as to whether it should be a USB microphone or a "normal", i.e. a microphone with XLR . Today we would like to take you by the hand when choosing between USB and XLR and explain the different advantages of these connection types.


WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE CONNECTION TYPES?

In contrast to a microphone with an XLR connection, USB microphones do not require any external peripherals. An external analog-to-digital converter and a microphone amplifier are combined in one microphone. USB microphones can therefore be connected directly to a computer, whereas microphones with an XLR connection require an audio interface, for example to be able to digitally record vocals.


THE USB MICROPHONE

The obvious advantage of a USB microphone is that it can be connected directly to a computer. The associated very simple handling (no great effort in wiring several devices) therefore convinces many artists.

This usability factor can be seen as the most important advantage of a USB microphone compared to a conventional microphone with an XLR connection. So if you want an uncomplicated, quick setup, prefer to be mobile and like to have your recording setup with you, a USB microphone is the best choice. With the USB microphone, artists can also record song ideas or, for example, podcasts on the go - without much effort.

The FOX USB microphone offers you exactly this mobility and all the other advantages mentioned. Our FOX is a large-diaphragm condenser microphone for picking up speech, singing and musical instruments such as acoustic guitars. It is suitable for use on iOS and Android devices (with suitable adapters), Mac or Windows PCs in the studio, for home recording and mobile recording. The FOX's perfect digital signal processing results in a particularly natural sound. The practical thing about the FOX USB microphone is that you can connect your headphones directly to it, saving you an audio interface. So nothing stands in the way of taking a picture in nature or in a café, the FOX can be easily taken anywhere and can be used at any time.

Our large number of how-to videos also give you an impression of how flexibly and easily you can use our USB microphone for your purpose. Direct operation on a smartphone is also possible.

Source/German: www.beyerdynamic.de/blog/mikrofone-usb-oder-xlr-anschluss/

 

Since USB microphones have integrated AD converters, this makes no sense at all.
You would convert an analog signal to a digital one, then use a USB to XLR cable to convert it from digital to analog again. Only to do something with this signal and then convert it from analog to digital again. That's quite a few conversions and with each conversion you get a degradation of your signal.

 

USB is digital, XLR is analog. If your mic has a digital cable, it's safe to assume it has AD converter somewhere. Which means you wouldn't be able to make XLR cable work without either rewiring the mic itself or putting a DA converter before the XLR cable. Which wouldn't make sense as @Sinus Well said above.

 

Well it's really hard to tell without knowing what mic it is. Sounds like you're using a regular all-analog mic with a cable that has a XLR on one side and USB on the other side, and probably that USB connector has some sort of AD converter?

If that's the case, then the mic itself is not USB, the cable handles that part. So yeah, you could connect it to the interface with a regular XLR to XLR cable. But you should really tell us the model first.

 

Try it and see since it has that XLR out. Just DON'T USE PHANTOM POWER.

 

I have a guitar that came with the Xbox game Guitar Hero. Can I plug it into a Marshall Stack?

 

I was going to think of a way to get it plugged into an electrical outlet. I have decided against it.

 

Yeah, XLR on one side and USB on the other side. It's a Fifine K058

 

Fifine k058

 

Thats what is confusing me. Since one side of the cable is XLR (connects to the mic) and the other side is USB (goes to the PC), the AD conversion happens in the cable, right? And that would mean I could theorically replace the cable for an XLR in/out and plug it on my audio interface... Right?

 

Well....the guy at Guitar Center did say it was an "electric" guitar so I just figured
I needed to plug it into the wall socket to make it work.

 

XLR to USB cable? Wow.
Well, you can try and use it with 4 pin XLR cable, I guess. Just make sure to mind the pins. Your mic has 4 pins out, while your interface probably has 3 pins in.
But honestly I don't know how it would act. Condenser mics usually need phantom power but USB mics receive it vua USB but you won't be using USB ports for that one so maybe you do need phantom power if it really uses XLR out and it's not some kind of a trick.
I would not set such experiments if it were my gear.

 

Another important clarification. The phantom power on all of the current interfaces is 48v. The phantom power on the USB is 5v.
Ain't no way it's gonna work, mate.