Griffin Technology iMic USB External Sound Card

Design and Setup
The iMic looks like a compact version of the sleek power adapters that come with iBooks. Its major shortcoming from a design standpoint is the length of its cable, which measures a mere foot-and-a-half long. Users who plug the device into their computers' rear USB ports had better hope that their other peripherals have far longer cables; otherwise, they'll be huddling close to their hard drives while recording. Installation was effortless, however--simply plug the iMic into a USB port and you're ready to go. The iMic is both Mac and PC compatible, though owners of pre-OS X and pre-Windows XP operating systems may not be able to enjoy its full array of features. For instance, the iMic only acts as a recording device for Windows 98 SE and 2000 systems, and is unable to output music. Some users have also reported the need to update their firmware in order for the iMic to work properly.

The iMic comes with a quick start manual, but it's fairly minimal, which could make it a bit confusing to operate for people who don't have recording experience. Fortunately, Griffin's web site (www.griffintechnology.com) spells out the instructions in relatively good detail. Mac users should note that they'll need to fiddle with the Speech and Sound Preference panels and enable the "iMic USB audio system" before use, while PC users will need to select the iMic under the Sounds and Audio Devices control panel.

Features and Performance
We tested the iMic in two different applications--converting a cassette to MP3 and recording a voice with an external three-pin microphone using Griffin's GarageBand microphone cable. The cassette conversion went smoothly. After connecting the tape deck through the RCA-to-miniplug adapter and flipping the toggle switch to the line-level setting, we used the Final Vinyl software to convert the files to WAV format. Once the files were recorded, it was simple to import them to iTunes and convert them to MP3 or AAC files. Given the symbiotic relationship between iTunes and the iPod, it was also a snap to sync the files for portable play. The audio quality was quite good for a low-priced sound card--the iMic offers 24-bit audio processing, though most computers support a maximum of 16-bit sampling at this juncture--and thus was restricted more by the quality of the initial cassette than the iMic itself. However, the increased capacity bodes well for future upgrades.

The device also recorded the microphone audio quite easily, this time into the GarageBand application for the Mac. The recording quality in this application was also good--no background noise or static. As with the cassette example, the quality will likely depend more on the source equipment and software than on the iMic. When we were finished, it was simple to transfer the recording to other multimedia applications, such as iMovie. One source of confusion, however, was the toggle switch, which we had to move to the microphone setting (which includes a preamp) for proper operation. The problem is that the toggle switch is counter-intuitively labeled--the microphone setting is under the speaker icon rather than microphone icon--so it's easy to set it incorrectly and wonder why the input isn't working.

On the whole, though, the iMic is a very good value for the price, and is a great addition for Mac users who miss the once-standard microphone ports. Serious musicians and other high-end users should probably invest in professional equipment, but the rest of us will have a ball. --Rivers Janssen

Pros

• Great for a variety of uses, from recording voice and instruments to converting LPs and cassettes to digital formats
• Good audio quality at an affordable price
• Plugs conveniently into USB port and sets up easily
• Compatible with both Macs and PCs

Cons

• No user's manual and slim quick start manual
• Confusing switch between mic and line-level settings
• Cord is relatively short at 1.5 feet

What's in the Box
iMic adapter, RCA-to-miniplug cord, software CD-ROM, quick start manual.

Product Description
The iMic universal audio adapter is a USB device that allows the connection of virtually any microphone or sound input device to the iBook, G4 Cube, Titanium PowerBook G4 or any other Mac with USB ports. Currently shipping, the iMic supports both line and Mic level input as well as line level output for any USB capable computer. By using USB, the iMic provides significantly superior audio input and output performance over built in audio. The iMic is a must have product for people who are serious about getting high quality audio in or out of their computers. The iMic not only provides amazingly high quality performance but is remarkably inexpensive.