The Audio Technica http://www.audio-te…"]AT2035 is a condenser mic. It needs phantom power to work. A stardard computer soundcard do not work with it. Unless you have an external phantom power supply. But even then the soundcard will have a very disapointing quality. The XLR usb cable is a problematic product. Many people is having problems with it. Often it is due to the usb port not supplying enough power to the usb cable for it to provide a powerfull enough phantom power for the mic.

The best thing you can do is to buy an audio interface.
The 2 cheapest that is of acceptable quality are the Presonus Audiobox or the Focusrite 2i2

Yes, it's possible it may be defective, but before you return it, have you:

checked to make sure you are using the latest drivers and firmware updates for the device ?

checked to make sure your computer is recognizing the device?

selected the mic as your input device in your recording software?

contacted AT tech support ?
http://www.audio-te…

disregard my post. I thought you were talking about a USB mic. Listen to PC instead.

Is there a way to determine if the microphone has enough power going to it? To see if it really is the lack of phantom power?

Could give a model number or a link to the XLR to USB cable you have. Also have you tried different USB ports on your computer?
As mentioned an audio interface would be a better device and have more features and functionality for monitoring.

I cannot give a model number But I believe this one is it: http://www.dx.com/p… I have tried different ports. No change.

USB condenser mics are designed to work at much lower voltages than a standard condenser. But, you don't have a USB mic. You have a standard condenser, and the small amount of voltage that the USB port puts out isn't sufficient enough to supply the 2035 with what it needs to operate.

Look at getting an entry level USB I/O mic pre. You'll be much happier. Besides having the phantom power necessary to operate the mic, you will also have the ability to control the gain, and you will have a HP jack as well.

Here's one for $99.

http://www.sweetwat…

I do not see any mention of that cable providing phantom power (usually 48vdc, but sometimes can be less) which the microphone needs to be able to operate.
I would really recommend an audio interface, but if the budget is really tight something like this>

http://www.amazon.c…

and does provide phantom power for the microphone and also includes a preamp to boost the audio signal from the microphone. I don't believe the connecting cables are included with this device. There may be other similar devices costing more or less and this is just one I found on Amazon with a quick search.

While it's true that different condensers can work at a variety of voltages, the voltage that is put out by the USB port is very minimal - around 5v, which is nowhere near the power needed by the average condenser.

USB condenser mics work on a much lower voltage than standard condenser mics do, and accordingly, the sound isn't what most pro engineers would consider to be "acceptable". These mics can suffer from distortion at lower levels, can be noisy, and many are even "fixed" at a sampling rate of 44/16. Also, the converters in these mics are almost always the cheapest available.

It's not as if the 2035 condenser mic that you have is considered to be a pro standard - it's an average, low budget, entry level condenser mic - but it will sound much better when put through a decent entry level pre, as opposed to a cheap USB mic that is self powered at very low voltages. Anyone who is looking at recording with any sense of decent fidelity will probably not choose a USB condenser.

FWIW

d.

Getting an external audio interface only has advantages.

1. Solid Phantom power
2. In and out convertion at 24bit/96khz gives you a better signal to noise ratio
3. Monitoring options
4. better quality preamps
5. possibly better latency by using the same unit for record and playback
   Return that usb cable, get a proper audio interface and start making quality sound !! ;)

Your replies were very helpful. I now know my next course of action. Thank you once again.