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iMic - the USB-Audio Adapter!
iMic - pronounced "I-Mike" - offers Stereo input and output for microphones, headphones, loudspeaker and headsets.
Finally a single device cover all audio input- and output for G4 Cube, iBook, and PowerBook G4 Titanium!
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| Pricing |
| iMic USB-Audio Adapter |
n.a. Euro
ca. £ n.a. |
| All prices quoted for export only, ex works, excluding sales tax. Please inquire for local pricing in your area. |
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- Top audio quality - digital sampling to up to 48 kHz!
- G4-look in "Graphite" und "Clear"
- Switchable microphone level (line and microhone levels selectable)
- no driver needed for Macs
- Supported by advanced PC audio applications
- Plug and Play - recognized directly by Mac OS (OS 9.0.4 and higher)
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iMic - Audio I/O via USB
iMic - Prologue
Apple set standards with the iBook. The legendary design became famous, but so did the tinny loudspeaker. And audio input was conspicuously absent.
The G4 Cube has no audio port at all. Very clearly Apple meant all sound input and output to pass via USB. The idea is great - digital encoding ensures that there is no loss of quality at all. Still, that alone does not make audio input available on the Cube!
iMic - History
Griffin Technology is known to many Mac enthusiasts as the manufacturer of the MacSync adapter. More recently they made the iMate USB-ADB Adapter which is treasured both by fans of old Apple keyboards and international users battling with ADB dongles for Quark XPress and other copy-prtected applications.
The USB-Audio gap was recognized at Griffin and first announcements for iMic were delivered as early as spring 2000.
In January 2001 Griffin (and the Mac OS) were ready and the product was introduced at MacWorld San Francisco. By fortunate coincidence Apple discovered Desktop Music for itself at the very same time.
Today users have a great product that is well designed, easily useable, with professional features and universally compatible.
iMic - Features
iMic offers sampling rates of up to 48 kHz, which is better than CD quality, and offers support for line and mic levels (selectable with a switch on the iMic). Audio In- and Output accept standard 1/8 inch stereo jacks, the same which are used in any Walkman.
One should not, however, confuse iMic with more expensive studio equipment. The chipset used in iMic may be the same. The price for iMic however is just right for everyday Desktop Music application!
iMic is ideal for giving your videos a fresh sound track, for recording announcements or system sounds, and for any quick connection involving microphones and loudspeakers. In other words: iMic is a sound card with a Plug-n-Play attitude!
iMic and Mac
Limits for iMic are set by USB-Audio drivers. Applications with intense demands on the processor (e.g. games) may provoke dropouts. This is because they do not leave enough processing power for USB Audio. In most cases the problem can be eliminated by fine-tuning system settings to the point that there is little if any practical effect. Future improvements of USB Audio drivers by Apple Computer should reduce the problem even further.
For use with ASIO-compatible applications (such as Logic Audio, Cubase and Reason) third-party drivers are available from Programma that reduce the lag that make Apple drivers unsuitable for professional applications.
iMic works with almost any microphone (except Apple PlainTalk Microphones!) and most other electronic analog audio sources. iMic works without problems with the iBook, G4Cube, Titanium PowerBook G4 and any other Macintosh with USB and Mac OS 9.0.4 or later.
iMic - and PC
Under Windows iMic won't work with standard applications, because they do not support Apple-specific USB Audio.
But these programs support iMic directly and offer all functions:
Sonic Foundry Sound Forge, Cakewalk Pro Audio, Steinberg Cubase VST32, Emagic Logic Audio, Syntrillium Cool Edit Pro, SEK'D Samplitude Studio.
Again, ASIO applications (such as Logic Audio, Cubase and Reason) are supported by third-party drivers from Programma.
Reseller Inquiries welcome!
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