Audio Technica Audio-Technica AT2020 Professional Microphone Logo
Anonymous Posted on Feb 10, 2011

Hello I'm Having Difficulties Setting Up My AT2020 Cardioid Condenser Microphone It's Not Picking Up My Voice At All And I've Looked Through All The Settings And Audio Properties And Everything Is In Order But It Still Won't Pick Up My Voice, My Purpose Is To Do Audio Recording (Singing, etc), My Audio Software Picks Up The Mic But It Still Doesn't Input Any Sounds. I'm Looking For Your Guided Help Please And Thank You.

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  • Master 1,851 Answers
  • Posted on Feb 10, 2011
Anonymous
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Your microphone needs a phantom power supply. Sorry for asking but you don't mentioned anything about any mic-preamplifier or other device. In case you connect the mic direct at the sound card of the PC, this is your problem. Please clarify me your set up in order to make you suggestions.

In case of a problem or clarification or further details needed, don't hesitate to post me a reply before rejecting my answer.
If you are satisfied, rate my solution with the "thumbs" or (even better) add a testimonial.

Thanks and regards
Please kindly rate this solution
Stelios
direct fixya link: http://www.fixya.com/users/technical114

  • Anonymous Feb 10, 2011

    Thanks For Your Response, Its The XLR-USB Cable So It Connects From The Mic Itself (XLR) To The The Computer (USB), The Computer Detects The Mic And All But No Input Like I Said, The Cable Was Bought Separately And Was Describe To Be A Sound Card Itself And Also A Simple Plug And Play Connector.

  • Anonymous Feb 10, 2011

    Most of this kind of cables does not provide phantom power for the mic, they are a good solution for the dynamic mics that they don't need extra power supply. Could you please try to locate your own cable maker (and if available any model number) in order to try to locate the specifications for the cable you already have?

    In case of a problem or clarification or further details needed, don't hesitate to post me a reply before rejecting my answer.
    If you are satisfied, rate my solution with the "thumbs" or (even better) add a testimonial.

    Thanks and regards
    Please kindly rate this solution
    Stelios
    direct FixYa link:http://www.fixya.com/users/technical114

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1answer

I just bought an audio technica at2020 cardioid condenser mic its the 20 series and i cant figure out how to get it to work on my toshiba laptop

Unlike 'Dynamic' microphones all condenser microphones require some sort of power supply to make them work. Sometimes this can be by way of an internal battery but many of them work on an external 'phantom' power supply.
I am not familiar with the exact model number you quote but AT make 2 types of AT2020 condenser microphone.
1) If your AT microphone is fitted with a USB plug then you can connect it directly to the USB socket on your computer, which will provide it with the power that it needs to make it work. The USB bus should automatically recognise the microphone and allocate an audio channel to it but you may still have to select this device as your input source in your recording program. How you do this will differ from one program to another.

2) However if the microphone is fitted with a standard jack-plug then it will not work by you just plugging it into your computer microphone input socket as this is not powered. You will need a separate 48volt DC power supply to power the microphone.
You will almost certainly also need some sort of microphone pre-amplifier to match the output voltage and impedance (electrical resistance) of the microphone to the levels required by your audio input socket on your computer.
Probably the best way to achieve both of these requirements at lowest cost would be to purchase a small audio mixer with a phantom power option such as the Phonic AM220 http://cpc.farnell.com/phonic/am220/mixing-console-am220/dp/DP29303

WARNING - most audio mixers only have one on/off switch for phantom, power - thus the power is either on or off for ALL channels. Some other devices - like radio microphones, keyboards and electric guitars may be damaged by having 48v dc current supplied to them

Here is a link to the technical specs sheet for the AT2020 http://www.audio-technica.com/cms/resource_library/literature/49f63e6efc082082/at2020_english.pdf
More information is available here http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/article/40-why-do-i-need-a-microphone-preamp-.html
0helpful
1answer

When i recored my vocals they are delayed so it goes over the beat instead of being on top of it and right on point

This is a common problem with recording multi-track sounds on a computer. It is caused by something that is known as 'latency' - basically it is down to the fact that the signal from your microphone takes a different route through the system to that taken by the audio playback. The AT2020 is a USB microphone and the signal therefore has to pass through the USB bus circuit of your computer. Despite claims of multi-tasking your computer cannot do everything at once so it naturally creates delays to make itself work properly. This will be more of a problem with a computer which has a 'cut-down' processor such as a Celeron (Intel) or Duron/Sempron (AMD). These processors are really only intended for basic computing (office type) use and are not really up to the high demands of video or audio recordings.
You may get some improvement by tweaking some of the audio settings for your sound-card to change the hardware acceleration.
This article may help you http://www.pcmus.com/latency.htm
If you are using a dedicated midi /music recording program such as Cubase then you may be able to correct the time lag using the 'quantise' function after recording your vocals. However the best solution is likely to be a hardware one Either buy a proper multi-track mixer/recorder designed for the purpose or get a second USB microphone - play your backing track on an external device - using one microphone to capture your voice and one to re-record the backing track (the only downside for this second option will be a gradual degrading of the sound quality each time it is re-cycled)
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I dropped the audio technica at2020 mic and when i record it doesn't pick anything

Most likely it could be two things either a connection is not getting current anymore. my 2020s have went through hell and no problems. or the other suggestion is that your phantom power is not being sent from your preamp to the microphone (not to make you feel stupid, just a reoccuring problem on this board.)
Good Luck, Cody J.
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What drivers can i download to make my at2020 usb work with windows vista

i hav just bought a at2020 mic and i tried recording bought it's not workin for my dell inspiron i forgot the model anyway it's running on windows 7 so please help me out am screwed with this ****
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Audio-Technica AT2020 low audio output

Pins 2&3 are the correct ones to use for checking the voice coil. Pin 1 is chassis ground and should always read infinite resistance to the other two.

That microphone has an impedance of 100 ohms, so if you are reading 30 ohms you clearly have a problem with the voice coil.

Good Luck
BB
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AT2020 Not showing in recording software

find the drivers online then restart your computer. hook up the mic then restart again
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