# UMIK-1 with long USB cable



## phabaudio (Aug 2, 2015)

Hello Everybody,

I plan to buy a MiniDSP UMIK-1 microphone for equalizing my music room using REW and a DEQ2496.
The PC and the equalizer will be rather far (> 5 m) from the listening place. I thus need a long USB extension cable.
I wonder whether an active extension cable such as the ones sold by Amazon (Plugable 10 Meter [16 or 32 Foot] USB 2.0 Active Extension Cable Type A Male to A Female) could be used for connecting the microphone to the PC.
If anyone has tried out such a cable together with a USB microphone I would be really interested in knowing which results could be achieved.
Thanks in advance for any advice on this subject.


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## NBPk402 (Feb 21, 2012)

I purchased a USB extension cable from Monoprice (as I recall), and it works fine.


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## phabaudio (Aug 2, 2015)

ellisr63 said:


> I purchased a USB extension cable from Monoprice (as I recall), and it works fine.


Which length has your cable ? Is it an active extension or a passive one ?


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## NBPk402 (Feb 21, 2012)

I went passive with about a 10' cable. I also have a 30', but I haven't tried it with that one as it is routed through my soffits.


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## AudiocRaver (Jun 6, 2012)

I use a 15 ft active along with the supplied passive cable (10 ft?), works fine.


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## phabaudio (Aug 2, 2015)

Hello Ron,
I thank you for your replies. 10' is not long enough in my case. My PC is 6 meters (20') away from the microphone. I'll buy an active extension and have a trial. If it does not work I will ask the vendor for a money back.


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## NBPk402 (Feb 21, 2012)

phabaudio said:


> Hello Ron,
> I thank you for your replies. 10' is not long enough in my case. My PC is 6 meters (20') away from the microphone. I'll buy an active extension and have a trial. If it does not work I will ask the vendor for a money back.


Do you have a Amazon Prime account...if so they are very good about returns plus fast shippin.


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## phabaudio (Aug 2, 2015)

AudiocRaver said:


> I use a 15 ft active along with the supplied passive cable (10 ft?), works fine.


I have seen your post immediately after having replied to Ron. So this is good news. I'll buy the 16 feet active extension from Amazon. Along the supplied cable (their spec. says that it is 6 feet long), it should do the trick.
Thank you for the info !
Pierre


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## phabaudio (Aug 2, 2015)

ellisr63 said:


> Do you have a Amazon Prime account...if so they are very good about returns plus fast shippin.


I have a standard account only. Still I never had any problem with them for returning an item. That said I try not to overuse their money back policy...


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## NBPk402 (Feb 21, 2012)

phabaudio said:


> I have a standard account only. Still I never had any problem with them for returning an item. That said I try not to overuse their money back policy...


I think you can sign up for a free trial and get free shipping.


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## phabaudio (Aug 2, 2015)

For now I am happy with my standard account ;-)


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## phabaudio (Aug 2, 2015)

I received the UMIK-1 today. The accompanying USB cable is 10 feet long !
I'll have a try adding a 10 feet long passive extension cable. If it does not work I'll order a 16 feet active extension.


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## phabaudio (Aug 2, 2015)

The UMIK_1 connected with a 20 feet (6 m) USB cable works great ! No need for an active extension (I just added a passive 10 feet extension to the 10 feet cable provided with the mic).


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## BoredSysAdmin (Mar 6, 2011)

Your milage with USB extension cables will vary significantly, depends on length and quality of cables to requirements. I believe these usb mics only use USB per much slower 1.1 spec, which means it's not as critical for example as 1080p webcam.


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## phabaudio (Aug 2, 2015)

The extension cable I am using is a low cost one from Amazon. But your are right, the bandwidth requirements for a microphone are not very high, much lower than for a cam.


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## natelivliv (Jan 4, 2019)

I prefer to setup in the back of the room. Either directly behind my couch or off to the side.
So I use a long USB extension cable on the USB-A/B control line to the miniDSP. Then I use the supplied mic cable.



https://www.cablingstore.us/


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