I think we need to know what you want to record. (Music, Speech ... ?)

Those 2 kits are nothing alike, I'd probably choose the presonus, but I don't know the M7 so hard to tell..

I'd like to use my own voice to sing over background music to record songs, and sell them in the form of downloads and CD/DVD.

First off, you need to understand basic signal flow...

For your vocals:
vocal -> Microphone -> amplifier (preamp) -> A/D (analog to digital) converter -> mono channel/computer via DAW (Digital Audio Workstation)

For your music:
source music (orginal file format) -> stereo channel/computer via DAW

For mix down:
DAW stereo channel for the music
DAW mono channel for the vocal
(optional) stereo and/or mono aux channels for reverb and/or delay

All these channels sum to a master fader in the DAW and are output to some sort of D/A (digital to analog) converter for monitoring.

So, there is an essential item that you will need, which is commonly referred to as a converter or audio interface. (The two terms are often swapped... though not always meaning the exact same thing)

Often, an audio interface has a preamp included, that amplifies the signal from the microphone to a useable level, and includes an A/D converter AND a D/A converter to get signals in/out of the computer.

A "converter" is generally JUST the converters and no preamp(s) included.

The CAD package is just a microphone and does not include an actual controllable preamp (not even a volume knob)... The mic does it's own A/D conversion to a USB signal that your DAW will need to know how to interface with.

The PreSonus rig is all inclusive... interface (preamp and converters), plus a software DAW package.

Of the two, I would only consider getting the PreSonus.

While technology has obviously brought the cost down on much of the gear out there, the axiom of "You get what you pay for" still applies. For a beginner rig, the PreSonus is probably just fine, but once you buy gear like this, you should know that it's resale value is going to be less than 10% of its purchase price... e.g. it's a throw away rig.

That's not to say don't buy it... but more of a caveat that if you "outgrow" it, just throw it away, or give it to someone as a gift... cause you won't actually be able to sell it.

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With a mic stand, a pop filter and the presonus kit.. a near complete setup. There's a bunch of free or low cost DAW software you can find !

Can the Presonus kit create AIFF file or AIF file?

Usually recording sofwares record in waves (.wav). Some may export in aiff but you could always use another software for the conversion.

I have a friend who just bought the presonus package you linked to. The build quality of the interface seems nice and I think you're getting a lot of bang for the buck, but on his Windows 8 machine the drivers aren't working properly so he can't use the interface. He's uninstalled multiple times with no luck so that's something to consider.

Studio86, post: 407153 wrote: I have a friend who just bought the presonus package you linked to. The build quality of the interface seems nice and I think you're getting a lot of bang for the buck, but on his Windows 8 machine the drivers aren't working properly so he can't use the interface. He's uninstalled multiple times with no luck so that's something to consider.

Just go to the Presonus website to get the driver and it will work, I have made mine work. The free Artist version of the software will not import MP3 file, so you need to use iTunes to convert it first.

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