Hi there. Lately I’ve been trying to record narrations for videos, but much of the recordings have EMI in them, mostly when playing a game and recording audio at the same time. Currently I have my condenser microphone connected to a Phantom Power Supply with an XLR cable, which is connected to a Line In jack on the back of my computer using an XLR to 3.5 mm cable. Right now I’ve got the line in level set at 25.
You're not using cheap 3.5mm cable are you? Cheap ones don't have proper shielding. If not, I'd chalk it up to on-board audio (Yes, your mobo advertises "Audio Noise Guard" but you never know). If you have a cheap card laying around use that and see if you still get electronic noise.
I'll look into getting a new 3.5mm cable, see if that'll help. I'll also look into getting a cheap sound card. Thanks for the help. Only though, I don't know of many cheap sound cards. Any you recommend?
Possible interference from your headphone jack next door? I had that problem with my setup at first, with the headphones and mic plugged in to ports adjacent to eachother there was a large amount of interference. I also use a condenser + phantom power but I route my mic through a preamp as a sort of input control to allow a more analog control (ie a knob) which I keep low at around 15%
Now that you've mentioned it, a possible cause of EMI might be the speakers I've got connected to the back of the motherboard, with the mic cord right next to it, but I don't hear EMI through the speakers. Before, when I tried recording, usually I'd have my headphones connected to one front panel jack, and heard no EMI. Right now I'm thinking perhaps a mixer with a preamp and inputs might help, not sure. Thanks for the help.
there is actually a long list for EMI. The first thing to check is, as previously mentioned, your 3.5 cable. I would also start unplugging non essential USB devices one at a time to see if that isolates the issue. If that fails, You should try moving the rig to another power outlet. The reason for this, is to see if the problem gets better or worse. If it does either, it is usually tied to "dirty power" one of the things you can try is an EMI eliminating power surge. They can be gotten cheaply, however a furman is one of the best and if available should ALWAYS be used.
the thing about XLR to 3.5 jacks is that they are often not true XLR. they mostly have only two leads as opposed to the 3 leads on a true XLR.
I'll also get some new cables and see what happens if I switch out some cables and outlets, and I did check out one of those power surges that can filter EMI. I've also considered buying a mixing board before. Hopefully these will alleviate the EMI.