Hi Ron,

The X-Fi Xtreme Gamer package you have has it's own stand alone recorder/player with features to make excellent audio creation files

The only reason you would need a pre-amp is if the mic volume was too low - I manage without one and use the excellent included Creative mixer

The trick is to get the balance right on the Recording panel and then switch to the Playback panel and turn the BIAB volume down whilst doing the recording and then remember to put the Playback volume back afterwards

Brian

BIAB - RealBand - 2022
Windows 10 64
Zoo computer with 7i processor- SSD 1TB -2TB HDD
Roland keyboards