[LAU] 3.5mm microphone into audio interface?

[Rodolfo Medina]

Fons Adriaensen <fons at linuxaudio.org> writes:

> On Sun, Apr 11, 2021 at 04:30:51PM +0200, Alf Haakon Pietruszka Lund wrote:
>  
>> I don't see why lack of knowledge should be insulting to anyone.
>
> It's not about lack of knowledge. It's about failing to put in a
> little effort oneself and expect others to do it for you.
>
> There is a lot of info and 683 (yes 683) reviews of the Behringer 
> UMC404HD on the Thomann website. That's where I got the info that
> I did post. There's a lot of other sites, and you can also download
> the manual.
>
> As to buying or using a mic whithout even knowing if it is mono
> or stereo, I'm really lost for words.

What I needed to know was, precisely, if and how it was possible with that
audio interface to play more than 2 channels simultaneously.  As I wrote, the
back of the device with all those outputs was confusing to me.  Before writing
to the present list I read and watched many reviews of that product but didn't
find an answer, nor reading carefully the specs from the manual did help as
well.  So what you say is simply false.  Not little, big efforts did I do to
answer my question but couldn't find that answer anywhere in the web nor do I
personally know anyone who could help.  Last time, a few years ago, when I
first dealt with the matter of mutiple channels recording and playback, some
lister of the Debian User pointed out the present list and so now I decided to
apply it as last possible solution, and the answer came just from you Fons:
thanks again for that.  The second question was to me the support for my
microphone: here I found a video that states you need an adapter for 3.5mm jack
microphones, but to be sure I tought to carry on the present thread and ask you
expert people also that second question: to be really sure, because that video
was the only reference I found.

As for buying or using a mic whithout even knowing if it is mono or stereo, as
I said, it is not important to me because in my intention, for the
"per-instrument" use I want to do, each instrument should have its own
microphone and, even a stereo signal from a single microphone, I would convert
to mono.
 

> BTW, according to the specs, that mic has a S/N ratio of 58 dB.
> If that means what it should, that is a self-noise of 36 dB SPL,
> around 20 dB more than most cheap electret mics. Maybe OK for 
> close voice (podcast), or as an intercom mic, but not for anything
> else. I wonder how they manage to make it that bad.

Also here, without your indication, I was not able to tell the quality of this
microphone and would buy it.  Thanks to you I won't and will so avoid sparing
my money.  Besides, the present thread proved very interesting, probably in
general and also for other people, so it's not a waste of time in any way.

Thanks,

Rodolfo