Podcasting Power Tools

When building a computer for podcasting, there are some special considerations that most builders don’t have to consider:

• Noise levels
• Software and driver compatibility
• Audio interface hardware

This article will outline some of the decisions and options specific to building a computer for podcasting.

Noise levels

Most podcasters don’t have separate control and recording rooms.  The computer is often just a few feet or even inches from the microphone.  In such situations, it is important for the computer to be as quiet as possible.  Few people have put as much time and research into silencing computers as Mike Chin and the numerous contributors of the Silent PC Review website.  Mike has built an anechoic chamber to make detailed measurements of the sound emitted by different pieces of computer hardware.  The biggest noise offenders in most computers are fans and cooling devices. 

SPCR has done side-by-side comparisons and can make recommendations for:

• CPU Coolers
• Fans
• Power Supplies
• Hard Drives 

Software and Driver Compatibility

Most people considering building a computer specifically for podcasting are not just starting out.  Many of you may have software that you have become familiar with and don’t feel like changing.  Make sure that the hardware you are selecting to build your podcasting computer will work well with your go-to podcasting software.

Many of you also have audio interface hardware that you want to use with your new system.  Make sure that your motherboard or interface cards have the appropriate drivers for use with the hardware in your new system.

When in doubt or if the information on the websites is not clear, call the manufacturers.  Ask them about your specific intended hardware configuration.  They will be glad to answer your questions and a few minutes on the phone is better than having to alter your configuration after you have already purchased incompatible parts.

Audio Interface Hardware

Speaking of audio interface hardware…

The hardware that transitions your podcast audio into digital files is one of the most important pieces of your podcast system.  You should probably select this piece of equipment before you select your computer system hardware.  The TweakHeadz Lab website has some great reviews and information about selecting your audio interface.

Check out the Tweakheadz website for some great comparison charts for selecting:

• USB 2.0 Audio Interfaces
• Firewire Audio Interfaces
• PCI Soundcards and Audio Interfaces

When you have chosen the audio interface, make sure that your motherboard has the proper ports or connections to use it.

Generalities

When it comes to combining computer hardware at a price point, the PCPer.com leaderboard is very helpful.  When you select a budget, they recommend the specific pieces of hardware to get the most performance per dollar.  They currently list systems below $500, below $1000, as well as higher end systems.

The great thing about building your own system is the ability to make it exactly what you want.  Take you time, read reviews, do research, and you will come out with a computer that meets or exceeds your needs.

Many moons ago, I happened to stumble upon a wonderful product that has proven it’s value time and again.  I purchased the Saffire Focusrite Firewire Audio Interface in used condition on Ebay for less than $150.  When it arrived, I put it into storage for several years.  When I decided to start podcasting, and started looking for equipment, I brought it back out and found that is met my needs perfectly.

I started out recording just my voice for the podcasts.  It was simple enough.  I just plugged my microphone into the front of the Saffire Focusrite Firewire Audio Interface and recorded using Cubase.  You can individually adjust the gain of the two front inputs with knobs at the top of the front panel and monitor the gain with the three LEDs.  I know that three LEDs isn’t much of a range, but  you can use the levels in Cubase as a more detailed reference.

Soon, I wanted to do interviews via Skype.  I ran a cable from the line out jack on the computer sound card to the number two input on the front of the Saffire Focusrite Firewire Audio Interface.  In Skype, for input, I selected my microphone input on the Saffire Focusrite Firewire Audio Interface.  This way, those on Skype only hear me and not their own voices.  It’s a cheapo, simplistic mix minus, but it works! In Cubase, I record my microphone and the Skype input as separate tracks.  This makes things much easier in post production.  While recording, I monitor the mix with headphones plugged into the Monitor jack on the front of the Saffire Focusrite Firewire Audio Interface and adjust the levels using the knobs on the front.

Unfortunately, the unit I am describing is not manufactured by Focusrite any more.  If you visit their product page, you will see that they don’t currently offer a truly equivalent product.  My Saffire Focusrite Firewire Audio Interface seems even more precious when we look at some of the specifications.  Onboard digital signal processing, two microphone preamps, sampling up to 192khz.  Here are the full specs:

• 4 Inputs: 2 Focusrite preamps & stereo SPDIF inputs
• 10 Outputs: 8 balanced analog outputs for creating separate headphone/monitor mixes or up to 7.1 surround monitoring, plus stereo S/PDIF outputs

• Microphone
  Frequency Response: 20Hz – 20kHz +/- 0.1 dB
  THD+N: 0.001% (measured at 1kHz with a 20Hz/22kHz bandpass filter) 
  Noise: EIN > 120dB (measured at 60dB of gain with 150 Ohm termination (20Hz/22kHz bandpass filter)
• Line 
  Frequency Response: 20Hz – 20kHz +/- 0.1dB 
  THD+N: 0.001% (measured with 0dBFS input and 22Hz/22kHz bandpass filter) 
  Noise: -88dBu (22Hz/22kHz bandpass filter)
• Instrument 
  Frequency Response: 20Hz – 20kHz +/- 0.1dB 
  THD+N: 0.004% (measured with 0dBu input and 20Hz/22kHz bandpass filter)  
  Noise: -87dBu (20Hz/22kHz bandpass filter)
• Digital Performance
  Clock Source: Internal clock or sync to word clock on SPDIF 
  A/D Dynamic Range 104dB ‘A-weighted’ 
  D/A Dynamic Range 110dB ?A-weighted’
  Clock Jitter < 250 pico seconds 
  Sample rate 44.1 to 192kHz !
• Weight 
  1.1kg 
  2.4Ibs
• Dimensions 
  65mm (W) x 170mm (H) x 170mm (D) 
  2.6" (W) x 6.7" (H) x 6.7" (D)
• Analogue inputs 
  Mic: 2 x XLR on front panel 
  Mic Gain: +13dB to + 60dB 
  Line: 2 x 1/4" TRS Jack 
  Line Gain: -10dB to +36dB 
  Instrument: As above, switched to Instrument 
  Instrument Gain: +13dB to +60dB
• Analogue outputs 
  Line level 8 x 1/4" TRS Jack 
  Nominal output level 0dBFS = 16dBu, electronically balanced 
  All outputs are useable as monitoring outputs
• Digital I/O 
  2 x SPDIF (RCA phono) on rear panel (24-bit, 96kHz) Output transformer isolated
• MIDI I/O 
  1 in / 1 out on rear panel
• FirewireS400 
  2 ports
• Power 
  Either via FIREWIRE or external PSU (12v AC, 1.5A)
• Headphone Monitoring 
  2 x 1/4" TRS Jack on front panel (mirrors outputs 5-8)
• ADDITIONAL INFO 
  Firewire chipsets from TI (Texas Instruments), VIA, and NEC are recommended 
  It is highly recommended that Saffire be run on its own Firewire bus/card 
  In order to use Saffire with a 4-pin IEEE1394 port you will need a 4-pin to 6-pin cable (not included) and must use the PSU (included)

So, if the Focusrite Saffire Firewire Audio Interface is no longer manufactured, why have I written about it?  For two reasons.  First, they are still sold used (and occasionally new) in places like ebay and craigslist.  Hopefully this review will help prospective buyers figure out what they are looking at.  Second, I hope to encourage manufacturers to bring out another similar product.  Maybe they will need to use newer technologies like USB 3.0 instead of Firewire 400, but a low cost, high sample rate, audio interface with a couple of high-quality pre amps would certainly be well received in the podcasting arena.

I wholeheartedly recommend the Focusrite Saffire Firewire Audio Interface as a startup podcasting audio interface.  If you see it for sale, snap it up.

Amazon link, Sweetwater link,