[brucek]

I would like to keep the price of the mic below $20

The cheapest new meter (with a cal file from our download site) is the RadioShack meter.

To measure above ~3KHz and generally more accurate you would require the Galaxy CM-140.

The best mic and preamp would be the ECM8000 and XENYX802.

You also require an external USB soundcard for most laptops, as they don't have a line-in facility. Mic-in is not suitable.

brucek

 

[brucek]

Would I need the preamp for just using REW?

Yes, the level from a mic needs to be raised to line-level to be usable, and also requires a phantom voltage to operate the internal electronics. Note if you use a mic, then you also require an inexpensive SPL meter for the REW setup.

An SPL meter has the advantage of being a (mic with preamp and meter) all-in-one package. That's why many people choose that route.

Some of the more expensive soundcards have internal mic preamps.

brucek