Well - I suspect there are two issues here. The version you have doesn't;t use the 18V power supply, but looks like it is a USB powered device - so it's creating 48V from a 5V power supply, and my guess with your mic is it cannot generate the full voltage, so the mic internal preamp is suffering. You're also going into the computer audio input that's generally a handful of basic components expecting a headset mic for gamers to yell into. They're rarely anything but hissy. You've got a decent mic, but you really need a proper audio interface to give you decent signal to noise. You have got a mismatch between quality levels. A noisy preamp that can't supply phantom power, a nice mic that needs a decent power supply to perform well, and a budget power supply that is struggling to power the mic.

My advice? Scrap the power supply, and invest in a modest interface - lots on the market for beginners with proper 48V phantom.

The Neewer power unit you mentioned has an external 18V A.C. output wall wart power supply unit. I have one of those, and I know it's quiet in operation. The output is generated by a simple voltage tripler rectifier to get the required d.c. voltage to feed a 48V regulator.

However, as Paul points out, this is not the one shown in your photos, which has a 5V d.c. input via a USB cable. This version uses a d.c. - d.c. converter with its own oscillator, and these configurations are very prone to injecting oscillator noise into the audio. My guess is that is what is happening, not helped by your feeding the microphone signal directly into the computer motherboard.

I would agree with Paul: get an entry-level Audio Interface. The Focusrite Scarlett Solo is a good value unit with a single XLR microphone input and 48V phantom power. We are happy to advise on other good/not so good ones if you come up with a few in your price range.

paulears, post: 463221, member: 47782 wrote: Well - I suspect there are two issues here. The version you have doesn't;t use the 18V power supply, but looks like it is a USB powered device - so it's creating 48V from a 5V power supply, and my guess with your mic is it cannot generate the full voltage, so the mic internal preamp is suffering. You're also going into the computer audio input that's generally a handful of basic components expecting a headset mic for gamers to yell into. They're rarely anything but hissy. You've got a decent mic, but you really need a proper audio interface to give you decent signal to noise. You have got a mismatch between quality levels. A noisy preamp that can't supply phantom power, a nice mic that needs a decent power supply to perform well, and a budget power supply that is struggling to power the mic.

My advice? Scrap the power supply, and invest in a modest interface - lots on the market for beginners with proper 48V phantom.

Boswell, post: 463222, member: 29034 wrote: The Neewer power unit you mentioned has an external 18V A.C. output wall wart power supply unit. I have one of those, and I know it's quiet in operation. The output is generated by a simple voltage tripler rectifier to get the required d.c. voltage to feed a 48V regulator.

However, as Paul points out, this is not the one shown in your photos, which has a 5V d.c. input via a USB cable. This version uses a d.c. - d.c. converter with its own oscillator, and these configurations are very prone to injecting oscillator noise into the audio. My guess is that is what is happening, not helped by your feeding the microphone signal directly into the computer motherboard.

I would agree with Paul: get an entry-level Audio Interface. The Focusrite Scarlett Solo is a good value unit with a single XLR microphone input and 48V phantom power. We are happy to advise on other good/not so good ones if you come up with a few in your price range.

Ok thanks so much! Is the Focusrite Scarlett Solo is a good value unit with a single XLR microphone input and 48V phantom power all I'll need?

Joel, post: 463226, member: 51826 wrote: Ok thanks so much! Is the Focusrite Scarlett Solo is a good value unit with a single XLR microphone input and 48V phantom power all I'll need?

I'd say Yes, the scarlett series are very honest and will server you well. Take the time to think if you will ever use more than 1 input at the time and if other features like midi ports to plug a keyboard is something of interest.
Those are things bigger models can offer.. if it's not for you then go for the solo !

+1 on focusrite. I found my solo to be very useful and reliable.

A lot of people use those and really like them. They can be the centre of your system mics and instruments in and also your monitoring and headphone are better quality too