MicPort Pro from CEntrance. Any thoughts?

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BGR
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MicPort Pro from CEntrance. Any thoughts?

Post by BGR » Sun Feb 23, 2014 11:40 am

I am considering a CEntrance MicPort Pro.

Anyone using it with iPad? Any thoughts?

dominicperry
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Re: MicPort Pro from CEntrance. Any thoughts?

Post by dominicperry » Sun Feb 23, 2014 2:43 pm

Yes, I had one, I sent it back, the mic pre was very noisy at any reasonable gain levels. The ASIO drivers were poor too, which is of no relevance to the iPad. I didn't try it on an iPad, it was a few years ago.

Dominic
Last edited by dominicperry on Mon Feb 24, 2014 3:07 am, edited 1 time in total.

BGR
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Re: MicPort Pro from CEntrance. Any thoughts?

Post by BGR » Sun Feb 23, 2014 4:49 pm

@dominicperry

Thank you again. I should start to ask you before posting a question :)

And in these reviews, we can hear exactly what you mean.

http://recordinghacks.com/2009/07/04/us ... cmate-x2u/
http://recordinghacks.com/2012/06/18/sm ... -shootout/

dominicperry
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Re: MicPort Pro from CEntrance. Any thoughts?

Post by dominicperry » Mon Feb 24, 2014 3:07 am

The CEntrance isn't class compliant, so it won't work with an ipad anyway.

Dominic

BGR
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Re: MicPort Pro from CEntrance. Any thoughts?

Post by BGR » Mon Feb 24, 2014 11:00 am

According to user @dream and @Lynn Fuston, it does work. But the audio samples are not really that convincing in the reviews.
dream wrote:CEntrance MicPort Pro ----> [DOES WORK WITH CAMERA CONNECTION KIT AND POWERED 1.1 HUB]
I connected a SM7B to it - and for 48V phantom power mics I tried a Rode NT5 and a Schoeps CMC6.
All worked fine. The SR used was 96 kHz.
I do think the CEntrance MicPort Pro is a very lightweight quality complement to Auria on iPad. It's a drawback
that it needs a USB hub. The current it takes on the Mac is just 100 mA with phantom power off.
the CEntrance MicPort Pro has one channel - which brings me to the wish Auria would allow also one channel projects directly
from the 'New Project' menu.
Correction/addition to my Edirol UA-1000 test - this device is not class compliant.

Lynn Fuston wrote:I am writing a review for Pro Audio Review about USB mics that can be used with iPads.

I tried out the Apogee MiC, Audio-Technica 2005USB and 2020USB, BLUE Snowball and Yeti Pro and also auditioned the CEntrance MicPort Pro for using regular studio mics with XLR out. They all work with the iPad although the Yeti Pro and the CEntrance both required use of the powered hub. All the others worked fine plugged directly into the iPad 4 (with appropriate adapter cables, of course).

The results of my testing, along with links to recorded samples on spoken voice (my own) and electric guitar will be available in the January issue of Pro Audio Review.

dominicperry
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Re: MicPort Pro from CEntrance. Any thoughts?

Post by dominicperry » Mon Feb 24, 2014 2:09 pm

Well, Lynn knows his stuff, so I'd take any recommendation he makes seriously.

Dominic

verbcrunch
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Re: MicPort Pro from CEntrance. Any thoughts?

Post by verbcrunch » Thu Mar 27, 2014 9:03 pm

I've been using a CEntrance MicPortPro (with powered hub and camera connector) to record into Auria and getting fantastic results. A/B the voice tracks recorded with two Sennheiser 416 mics side by side - one going into an Avalon M5, a Cranesong HEDD for A/D, then into a ProTools HD system. The other is the MicPortPro into Auria. They sound VERY comparable, which is shocking considering the M5 and HEDD together cost around $6000.

Out of all the XLR to USB adaptors out there, the MicPortPro is considered to be "best in class" as far as pre and A/D convertors. It's used by Voiceover professionals when they travel, beating out similar devices by Shure and MXL.

Previously a laptop was needed, but because Auria enables full processing & sweetening capabilities, the laptop is no longer needed.

As more interfaces become available that don't require a powered hub, the MicPort is certain to fall out of favor, but right now it's my "go to" interface.

dominicperry
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Re: MicPort Pro from CEntrance. Any thoughts?

Post by dominicperry » Fri Mar 28, 2014 12:02 pm

Maybe the one I had was faulty then. It certainly wasn't much use.

I'm looking forward to the new CEntrance MixerFace (why 'Face'?). I hope it's good, it certainly has all the boxes ticked except midi input. No specs yet, so no real idea about mic gain, headroom or headphone amp volume. At least it has a direct/playback blend control.
I'm not convinced by the short clips I've seen where the mic pres are cranked all the way round, that's usually a bad sign, either that the mic pres are low gain, or all the gain is bunched in the last 10% of travel, which is sloppy design and hard to use. But I may be surprised.

Dominic

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