Klark Teknik CT-1 + Fifine: How I Built Decent Sound Without an Expensive Audio Interface

I struggled for a long time. A very long time. First I tried writing and recording on whatever I already had. Then I tried squeezing the maximum out of old microphones. Then I watched reviews, calculated the money, doubted, calculated again. And in the end I finally decided: enough. I need a more-or-less decent setup that will properly capture my voice.

The choice fell on the Fifine combo (microphone + mixer) and the Klark Teknik Mic Booster CT-1.

Why exactly this

A lot of people immediately advise: “Just get a proper external audio interface.” I thought about that for a long time and came to the conclusion that for my tasks it’s largely pointless. I don’t need studio monitoring, a bunch of inputs, MIDI, or expensive preamps. I just need to record speech properly. And I had a very specific problem with that.

Studio dynamic microphones (and many “budget studio” ones too) are fairly quiet. And my voice itself is quiet and bass-heavy. So even on a relatively good mic I had to crank the gain very high, and the noise came up with it. The sound ended up either quiet or noisy.

Accepting reality as it is

I thought for a long time about whether it was even worth writing this article. Whether it was worth putting my personal life on public display. To be honest, there aren't that many events. But they do exist. At some point, I realized: if I don't write it now, I most likely never will. So here it is.

I've understood for a while now that my recovery has turned out to be incomplete. This needs to be acknowledged directly. There is no neurodegeneration as such, and in that sense, the idea of broader exercises still makes sense. Multiple sclerosis doesn't so much knock out strength as it affects the "width of the controller." But even this acknowledgment doesn't make the situation any easier.

My life goes on. Two years ago, I moved to Belgorod. Recently, I even made a short video report — I posted it on YouTube. If you're interested in seeing how I live now, feel free to subscribe to the channel. I often talk there about neural network technologies and how they're changing life.

About the project, life, and the idea of the application

I’ll say it honestly right away: there won’t be large series of posts here or attempts to turn all of this into some kind of large-scale public project. Rather, this is simply a recording of the process — of how everything is developing inside me and around me.

Life right now is quite simple and clear: work, fundamental science, and sometimes applied things that I do more “out of interest” than out of necessity. Everything else is an additional layer that exists in parallel.

I have already written a book. It did not become something widely known or massively discussed, and probably that is exactly why there is no particular desire now to ramp all of this up to large volumes of content. Not because there are no ideas — there are. It’s just that there is no feeling that this necessarily has to turn into something big.

About the idea of the application itself

To put it simply, the idea of the application is connected with what I call generalization.

The human central nervous system is not just a set of wires along which signals run. It is a much more complex structure in which information is not only transmitted, but also constantly processed.

As the signals rise higher — toward the brain — the system becomes more and more branched. It ceases to be linear. It begins to “think” inside itself, even at the level of simple reflexes.

And this property — nonlinearity — seems key to me.

Disability Benefits, Caregiver Payments, and Rehab Equipment in Russia: My Personal Experience and the Reality

When I was 15 years old, I was assigned  group I disability. Until I turned 18, I was registered as a disabled child, and then at 18, my disability status was confirmed as indefinite (lifelong). However, despite having group I, my social pension is currently at the minimum level because I have no work experience. At the moment, I receive a social pension of about 32,000 rubles per month.

Russia is a huge country, and the size of pensions varies significantly by region. In Syktyvkar, where I used to live, the regional coefficient for pensions is 1.2, so my payment there would have been around 36,000 rubles. Meanwhile, my acquaintances in the far east regions have a coefficient of 1.5, and their pension is already about 45–50 thousand rubles.

Pain after spinal cord injury (SCI)

Pain is a common and serious problem for people with spinal cord injury (SCI). It can occur both in areas with preserved sensation and in areas where sensation is reduced or absent. The pain is real and can significantly worsen quality of life, interfering with daily activities and rest.

For most people, the pain becomes chronic and can last for years. It is most often associated with damage to nerves, muscles, or joints. It is difficult to eliminate completely, but it is possible to reduce its intensity and learn to control its effect on life. Pain frequently intensifies anxiety, stress, and depression — and vice versa. This is an interconnected process, not a “psychological invention.”

Main types of pain

1. Neuropathic (nerve) pain

Arises due to damage to nerve structures. It may feel like burning, tingling, “electric shocks,” numbness, or stabbing pain. Sometimes pain occurs even with light touch. It often responds poorly to treatment, so a comprehensive approach is required.

If new or worsening pain appears years after the injury, especially along with changes in sensation, muscle strength, or spasticity, it is important to see a doctor — this may indicate another medical condition. Increased pain can also be triggered by constipation, urinary tract infection, or depression.