Studio Condenser Mic with USB Output - SAM C01U

 Awesome Sounding Mic!
This mic more than lived up to my expectations with incredible studio sound. I would highly recommend it, it's a steal at this $79.95 price!

 C01U Usb Studio Condenser Mic.
I could not get this mic to work on my Mac G-5 running all the latest s/w. The Samson driver was buggy and required a "forced quit." Samson customer support was friendly but uninformed about Mac issues. The support person said "we know about the Mac driver not working right." Thier marketing person claims nothing wrong but I strongly disagreed and so returned the Mic and finally got credit back on my credit card. It's a shame because I really wanted to use this mic to make Podcasts.

 C0U1 and Core Audio.
Hello all the problem is not with the C0U1 but rather the way that Core Audio handles a USB input and then the way that Core Audio hands off to what ever sofware that you are using. Click on the C0U1 and about half way down is the FAQ in which they tell you how to set up an "Aggregate Device". Set up an Aggregate Device and then use this device as the audio input to your software. This is truely a great microphone and it is getting a bad rap because this minor little problem

 Fantastic
I have had this mic for over a month now. I have used it in my home studio and in the field. The results are fantastic. I'm a windows user and it really is a case of plug and play. No install issues. Super easy. I was recording sounds within 60 seconds of removing the packaging. Perfect product for laptop users with a decent DAW app, who want to podcast or need quality recording on the move. Seems to have a low power drain as well. And that this price? I'm stunned!

 Flawless install and use on my 2 Macs
I use the Samson on a PowerBook running 10.4.4 and on a PowerMac G4 running 10.3.9, both feeding into GarageBand and this mic truly was Plug and Play. It shows up in the Sound section of System Preferences and it shows up in the input section of GB. I didn't need to install ANY drivers, it just worked.

I wasn't expecting it to sound as good as it does either, given the $80 price tag. My only complaint is that there are some latency issues. A relaunch of GarageBand usually fixes them, though.

This is a fine USB microphone that will surely get better once Samson and Apple get on the same page and iron out some USB issues.

 Good Microphone - Bad Mac Software / UPDATED
Looking at the other reviews on Amazon, it seems that there are two distinct camps: delighted Windows users, and unhappy Mac users.

Sadly, I'm in the latter group. The Mac driver software (which is not included with the mic, but is a free download at Samson's website) simply won't work on my G4 running OS X 10.2.8. The control slider appears for a second, then vanishes - leaving behind an error message.

The microphone itself seems to be good quality for the money - sensitive, clean, and quiet. However, when using the mic with Garageband, there is an annoying latency problem which Samson says is unavoidable - but seems to be worse than other USB mic combinations I've tried.

If Samson retools their Mac driver to get the bugs out, then this could be a heckuva package. Until then, I can't recommend this mic for Mac users (and am still debating whether I'll keep mine or not).

UPDATED: I updated to OS X 10.3.9 and found that the Samson driver worked much better (though their materials didn't indicate that this version of the OS was needed). As such, I'm adding another star to my review (I'm not sure it'll show up - but I now give it "3 stars" - a satisfactory rating for the price)

 Great Mic
This is a great mic for smart people who buy Windows and not Macs. If you are dumb enough to own a Mac you deserve all the headaches you get. Get with the times. over 90% of computer users use Windows. BECAUSE IT WORKS. No problems here with Windows XP. Just plug, play and youre ready to go in less than one minute. Dont listen to all the Mac whiners, theyre just bitter because in addition to having no software, they have no working hardware either.

 Not exactly "plug and play" on a Mac
Experimenting with a PowerMac G5 and a Powerbook. my experience with both the mic and tech support have been unsatisfactory.

In every previous instance, when I plugged a mic into a Mac, and it was recognized, the mic was immediately audible through speakers or the headset. Not so with the C01U. It is recognized but produces no sound. The Samson driver software, which is not essential but apparently allows fine-tuning, behaves oddly since it will only show a level when the system Sound preference remains open.

The Samson rep, who clearly had limited Mac experience and mostly offered various Windows-oriented speculations, said that since the C01U is a studio mic it will not produce sound until recording. He said you wouldn't want the mic to pick up sound when you are not recording. Why? Why shouldn't the engineer (computer user) determine via software when the mic is on or off? Since the rep was clearly not sure, he alternately suggested that it may be possible to hear mic output before recording with some applications -- none of which he could name -- or that it is necessary to do a test recording and play it back to listen to levels.

So, despite Samson's instruction that when "setting a good level...your ear is the most sophisticated and calibrated piece of test gear you have," the ear may not hear the mic output so that a satisfying level can be set. The rep's suggestion that sample recordings be done to establish a level is primitive.

The manual says that the mic is "plug and play," and maybe it is in the sense that Windows users understand the term. A Mac user would more likely interpret the phrase to mean that the microphone works immediately upon being plugged into the Mac. And, in my opinion, a mic that "works perfectly" produces audible sound. If there are only certain applications with which the mic works, and with limitations, Samson should identify those applications and limitations.

I asked the Samson rep if the C01U may simply not be fully compatible with OS 10.4.2. He said it had been tested, so this wasn't possible. But Samson's tests didn't discover the strange requirement to keep the Sound pref open when viewing the onscreen level, so the tests were apprently not very rigorous.

I can think of no logical reason why the mic shouldn't be genuinely plug and play, and I'm not about to rely solely on recording samples to set levels, so I'm returning the product. Maybe when the company gets it right and offers the same plug and play functionality as a $10 mic I will give it another try. It would help if they offered support to Mac users by someone sufficiently familiar with Macs, but my impression is that the Mac was an afterthought for Samson.

Update: A product manager at Samson contacted me (without my requesting that, which is a good sign). He said that he discovered by working with a Mac after my call that I was correct: it is not possible to obtain an audible level via the OS. He didn't know that the Mac no longer includes PlayThrough in OS X. (It did previously. Apple?) So, Samson didn't do their homework about the Mac. He also acknowledged that the driver might need an upgrade, and he was not familiar with the Sound pref problem. He was cordial, seemed sincerely concerned, and we had a nice conversation.

You can get an audible level if you use the mic with an app such as Amadeus or Sound Studio, and turn PlayThrough on. There can be a disconcerting delay, depending on what else is happening on your computer and the CPU speed. This is apparently something that cannot be avoided as things stand, according to the product manager. It does not relate to the mic.

 Problem with C01U
The C01U looks great and the recorded sound is great. Install was very quick. However, unfortunately I am unable to hear what I am recording which is driving me (and the rest of my family) mad!

 Samson C01U
The installation sucks because if you do not have the following your screwed. I was just about to re-sell my Mic until i read a few reviews. You really need the aggregate device to use your Mic and hear sound for MAC OS X Logic and Garageband.

Using the Samson C01U with Apple Logic (Mac OS X)

This is the process of setting up the CO1U to work in Logic. This will only work in OSX 10.4 or later.
10.3 and earlier versions don't have this facility.

1. Open Audio MIDI Setup (from the Applications/Utilities folder)
2. Go to the Audio Menu - Open Aggregate Device Editor ⇧⌘A
3. Click on the + button to create a new device
4. It's a good idea to rename it (double click on Aggregate Device in the list and enter the new name eg. CO1U)
5. The list at the bottom of the window will show all the audio devices connected to the computer. Select the ones you want the device to use by checking the "use" button. For instance, if you only have a CO1U connected you will need to check CO1U and Built-in Audio. Check the clock button on one of the devices, not the CO1U.
6. Click Done

And that's it. The device will then appear in Logic under Audio Hardware and Drivers as an available I/O.

Using the Samson C01U with Apple Garage Band (Mac OS X)

1. Plug the Mic into a USB Port
2. Open Garage Band and Go to Preferences ⌘,
3. Click on Audio/Midi
4. Select Samson C01U from the Audio Input drop down list
5. Click on Yes when it asks if you want to Change audio driver
6. One the Driver initializes, close the preferences dialog box and Garage Band will be ready to use the C01U.