fifine K683A Microphone
What’s in the box?
- 1 X Microphone
- 1 X Desk Stand
- 1 X 6.56′ Type A to Type B USB Cable
- 1 X User’s Manual
PRODUCT DESCRIPTION
- Mic Capsule – Condenser microphone element with cardioid polar pattern.
- Microphone Gain – Adjust the sensitivity of the mic. Turn the knob right to increase the level, and left to reduce the level.
- LED Indicator – Green light when the mic is on, and red light when the mic is muted.
- Mute Button – Press the button to mute/unmute the output of the microphone .
- USB Output – USB B connector for connecting with your PC or Mac computer.
- Headphone Jack – 1/8’’ (3.5 mm) stereo jack for monotoring and playback.
- USB Cable (6.56’) – Type A to Type B USB Cable.
- Stand
- Pop Filter – Filter out the harsh “p”, “t”, and “b” sounds.
POP FILTER
Using the included pop filter could filter out the harsh “p”, “t”, and “b” sounds and improve the sound quality.
GUIDELINES FOR USE
- Screw the pivot mount onto the top of the metal desk stand.
- If necessary, adjust the mic’s angle with the thumbscrew.(Turn left to loosen, turn right to tighten.)
- Please adjust the mic counterclockwise. Adjust the mic clockwise will break the bracket easily.
- Screw the pivot mount to adjust the mic angle 360° horizontally.
- Tightly plug the provided USB cable into the USB output at the bottom of the microphone.
- Plug the USB A connector OR USB C connector to the USB port of your computer. It depens on what kind of available USB ports there are on your computer.
- Always keep the front of the mic (the side with Fifine logo) facing the sound source. Do not speak or sing facing the rear of the mic (the side with the headphone jack).
MUTE BUTTON
Press the button to mute/unmute the mic.
Make sure the LED light is green when you are going to use the mic.
HEADPHONE OUTPUT
The K683 mic includes a standard 1/8″ (3.5mm) headphone jack for monitoring and playback.
After you connect the mic to your computer and confirm it’s the default input/output device of your computer, you can plug your headphone in the headphone jack of mic to monoitor your voice in real-time or listen to the playback/computer audio.
Note:
- Make sure to plug your headphone into the headphone jack of microphone fully.
- When the mic is on (the LED light is green) and you don’t turn the Mic Gain to zero, you will hear your voice at once. No need to login any recording software (Apple-Macintosh systems) or click “listen to this Device”. (Windows systems).
COMPUTER SET-UP
Apple MAC OS
- Hook up the mic to computer. The LED indicator will turn green at once, means the mic is on. (If the LED is red, press the mute button to change the light to green.) Your computer will automatically install the driver of the mic. There may be no pop-up message reminding this process though.
- Go to the System Preferences.
- Click Sound to display the Sound preference pane.
- Click the Input tab and select the “FIFINE K683 Microphone” as the device for sound input.
- You can monitor the mic once you connect your headphone to the jack on the mic. If you want to hear the computer audio and monitor the mic from your headphone, please click the Output tab and select the “FIFINE K683 Microphone” as output device.
Windows
- Input settings
Hook up the mic to computer. The LED indicator will turn green at once, means the mic is on. (If the LED is red, press the mute button to change the light to green.) Your computer will automatically install the driver of the mic. There may be no pop-up message reminding this process though.- Right click the speaker icon at the bottom right of the screen. Click “Sounds” or “Open Sound Settings”.
- Click the Sound control panel.
- Click the Recording tab, and choose “FIFINE K683 Microphone” as the default device. When you speak into mic, the volume meter will turn green and bounce. If it remains unchanged, please reset the computer and replug the mic in the available USB ports of the computer.
- Adjust input volume – Double click the “FIFINE K683 Microphone” to open the Microphone Properties window. Right click the speaker icon under the Levels tab, change to decibels from percentage. To get the best sound of the mic, please adjust the mic level during this range (0dB to 1dB) when your speaker output is set to maximum.
Note: Make sure that the mic gain knob is not turned to zero.
- Output settings
- Output the computer audio from the 3.5mm jack on the mic.
a. Please plug headphone in the headphone jack on the rear of K683 mic. Click the “Playback” tab from the Sound pane, select “FIFINE K683 Microphone” as the default output device.
B. Click the speaker (FIFINE K683 Microphone) – Properties – Levels, and drag progress bar to adjust volume of output. - Output audio from the computer.
a. Click the “Playback” tab from the Sound pane, select “Realtek High Definition Audio” as the default output device. Then you will hear the computer audio.
b. If you also want to monitor your mic, please click the “Recording” tab and click the FIFINE K683 Microphone -Properties – Listen – check the box “Listen to this device” – Apply.
c. Click the speaker that is being used – Properties – Levels, drag the progress bar to adjust volume of output.
- Output the computer audio from the 3.5mm jack on the mic.
Note: (Applicable for MAC and Windows)
- If the computer prompts that it’s unable to identify this USB devices, please restart computer and replug the microphone into other USB port.
- Check off the box “Listen to this device” when you are using any recording software or chatting software (such as Skype), or you would hear double audio just like echo.
- If mic is recognized but no sound coming out, please check whether System Sound is mute and whether you have turned the knob on the mic to minimum. Make sure the LED indicator is green (means the microphone’s on).
- If your computer runs windows 10, please go to settings > privacy > microphone and click the Allow apps to access the microphone to ON then restart.
RECORDING SOFTWARE SETTINGS
- Pls select “FIFINE K683 Microphone” as the input device from the setting when using recording software. Take the Audacity for example. RECORDING SOFTWARE SETTINGSIf you monitor your audio from headphone jack of computer, please select “Realtek High Definition Audio” as output device. If you monitor from the mic headphone jack, select the FIFINE K683 Microphone as ouptut.
Note: If the recording software (such as Audacity) doesn’t recognize the mic, please log out the software first, replug the mic in the computer and launch the software again. Then the mic will be in the drop down option of input device. - Make sure to check off the box “Listen to this device” from the sound system when you are using any recording software, or else you would hear duet of yourself just like too much echo.
- There are several ways to improve the recording by using Audacity. Come to https://fifinemicrophone.com/blogs/news to search the better solution or SEARCH WIDGET for your interested subject in our blogs.
- For windows computers, we recommend to use Audacity. For Apple computers, you can use the QuickTime Player to test the recording.
IMPORTANT NOTICE
- Setting the volume levels
Correct adjustment of microphone level is important for optimum performance. Ideally, the microphone level should be as high as possible without overloading the input of your computer.
If you hear distortion, or if your recording program shows levels that are consistently overloaded (at peak levels), turn the microphone gain (or level) down, either through the knob on the mic, the system settings, or through your recording software. If your recording program shows insufficient level, you can increase the microphone gain either through the knob on the mic, the system settings, or through your recording software. - Selecting software
You have many choices in recording software. Audacity, available for free online at http://audacity.sourceforge.net/, is a widely used software.
Note: You need to plug the mic in the computer first and then launch the recording software. The software may not recognize the mic if you plug the mic into the computer after you have launched the software. - Positioning your microphone
To achieve the best frequency response, it is important to have the mic capsule (the side with mute button) pointed at the user’s mouth, instrument or any other sound source. For speaking/singing applications, the ideal position of the microphone is directly in front of the person who is speaking/singing. The same position is optimal when making an instrument such as an acoustic guitar, drums or piano. Test the mic in different positions to find the best sound for your particular setup. - Protecting your microphone
Avoid leaving your microphone in the open air or in areas where temperature exceed 110° F (43° C) for extended periods. Extremely high humidity should also be avoided.
Choose your output setting
When you plug microphone to your PC, it cancels the audio from any other audio file played or there’s no sound on the playback, you need to manually select the “speaker (Realtek High Definition Audio)” as the default playback device, if you want to output computer audio via the
computer built-in speaker.
SPECIFICATION
Power Supply: 5V
Operating Current: 34mA
Polar Pattern: Uni-directional
Frequency Response: 50Hz-17kHz
Sensitivity: -43dB±3dB (at 1kHz)
Equivalent Noise Level: 66dB
Dynamic Range: 75dB
S/N Ratio: 71dB
Sampling Rate: 192kHz/24bit