Re: advice on equipment (headphones, microphones, sound cards)

[Satrajit Ghosh <satrajit.ghosh@xxxxxxxxx>]

Dear Maria,

I agree with Pawel's thoughts on the SBs for auditory experiments.

I would throw in the MOTU ultralite (connects via firewire, more
pricey, but a very  nice external sound card) to your list. Also while
you are at it, you may consider getting a simple mixer/amplifier such
as the behringer xenyx 802. It will save you time if you ever wanted
to present loud stimuli.

I like the Sennheiser 280 as well as the Shure SM-93, but remember
that that frequency response of the SM-93 is upto 10KHz. The AT803B
does have a more extended response, but I have seen it be flaky
sometimes.

Also, if you really wanted, you could run the SM-93 upto into the
scanner through a patch panel with some minor modifications (the
connectors need to be modified). But, please don't take it's inline
preamp into the scanner room. That should sit right oustide the patch
panel.

Cheers,

Satra

-- 
Satrajit Ghosh

Research Scientist
Speech Communications Group
Research Lab of Electronics @ MIT

On 8/29/07, Chang, Maria <Maria.Chang@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Yes!  You are right.  Sorry, my first post was unclear.
>
> I am using the laptop for stimuli presentation during the fMRI scan.  I'm also using the laptop for some out-of-magnet behavioral tests.  The microphone and headphones will *not* be used inside the fMRI.  But, the laptop specs are important because they will present the subject with stimuli while in the scanner.
>
> Basically I am looking for sound equipment advice for auditory experiments (forget I said anything about fMRI).
>
> Thanks!
>
> -maria
>
>
> ________________________________
>
> From: Trevor Agus [mailto:trevoragus@xxxxxxxxx]
> Sent: Wed 8/29/2007 2:40 PM
> To: Chang, Maria
> Subject: Re: advice on equipment (headphones, microphones, sound cards)
>
>
>
> Am I right in thinking that metalic objects (like headphones) should be kept well away from MRI machines, because of the powerful magnets? I've heard that people have tackled this problem by feeding sounds along plastic tubes. Or I think the Institute of Hearing Research may have developed non-metallic headphones. Perhaps contact Deb Hall ( d.hall@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <http://ihr.mrc.ac.uk/> ) there to ask what she uses.
>
> Trevor
>
>
> On 29/08/2007, Chang, Maria <Maria.Chang@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
>         Hello,
>
>         I am purchasing equipment for auditory fMRI experiments run off of a laptop.  I am looking for a sound card (PC card, usb, or ExressCard), headphones and a microphone.
>
>         The recording capabilites of the sound card and microphone don't need to be top of the line, they just need to be good enough for us to record quality auditory stimuli ( i.e. we will not be collecting speech data from subjects).  Although, if a sound card with outstanding recording capabilities is only slightly more expensive, then I would be willing to invest in it in case we decide to collect speech data in the future (same goes for the microphones).
>
>         So far I've found the following options:
>
>         Headphones - Sennheiser HD280 PRO
>         Microphones - Shure SM-93, Audio Technica AT803B
>         Sound Cards - Echo Indigo, M-Audio Transit, Digigram VxPocket, SoundBlaster Audigy 2Zs, SoundBlaster X-Fi Extreme
>
>         Any recommendations (on or off this list) or objections?  Any advice is greatly appreciated!
>
>         Thanks!!
>
>         -maria
>
>