Lexicon Lambda - A Good Home Studio Starter?

Matthew Hinman · **Voice Talent** Joined: 18 Jan 2007 Posts: 25

I've been reading reviews on the Lexicon Lambda USB interface. So far everything looks good, especially the $149 price tag at sweetwater.com. Has anyone else tried this interface, and how does it work with your setup? It's supposed to have near-zero latency. I'm planning on using an MXL990 and a desktop PC.

--
Matthew

George Karnes · **Voice Talent** Joined: 26 Dec 2006 Posts: 905

Matthew-
I noticed this on musiciansfriend.

Check out the MXL990 part:

"Oct 9, 2006 - The Lambda is a decent product for the price and does most of what is promised. The sound quality is very good and the supplied software is decent as well. I am disappointed however with the engineering of the mic inputs. I tried this with a few different condensor mics and had a lot of trouble finding one that didn't produce a high pitched buzzing noise. First I tried the MXL 990s which sounded terrible on the Lambda. I tried the more expensive Sterling st55 which produced the same high pitched noise, although a little less pronounced. I spoke to Lexicon tech support and they said they had the same problem with the Behringer B1 and still didn't know the cause of the problem, but they suspected a grounding problem with the phantom power supply since it is sharing the same ground as the USB on your computer. The mic I ended up using after a week of searching is the AKG Perception 200 which sounds great on the Lambda--absolutely no noise (other than room noise). Anyways, bottom line is that you should be careful what mic you purchase if you get the Lambda."

Matthew Hinman · **Voice Talent** Joined: 18 Jan 2007 Posts: 25

That's not comforting, because I've heard a lot of good reviews on the MXL 990. Of course, it could just be this user's particular setup. And, this person might not understand proper grounding procedures either.

But, if the remark from Lexicon is true, maybe I'll stick with getting a MobilePre instead (same price as the Lexicon from musiciansfriend).

--
Matthew