Hey, I work as a music producer so I think I can give some info:
XLR mics: they only need phantom power if they have condenser architecture. Regular pro microphones use XLR connection becouse it gives balanced signal and avoild interferences. XLR is the way to go if you want a pro-like configuration. You may also need a pre-amp AD/DA conversor for the audio signal. The best combination (price-quality) for this issue is:
M-Audio firewire solo:
http://www.maudio.co.uk/products/en_gb/FireWireSolo-main.html
and a shure SM-58 microphone, wich is the standard in industry
http://www.shure.com/ProAudio/Products/WiredMicrophones/us_pro_SM58-CN_content
Anyway, a condenser microphone will give better results for recording, but they are not suitable for live performance.
Take in consideration that the line signal standard is 0.7volts and a dynamic microphone works in milivolts, so if you don't get a decent pre-amp, you'll get a very low working gain, and a bad noise-signal releation. The M-Audio interface I recomend you have a very good pre-amp. And it can work with ProTools or Samplitude.
XLR mics: they only need phantom power if they have condenser architecture. Regular pro microphones use XLR connection becouse it gives balanced signal and avoild interferences. XLR is the way to go if you want a pro-like configuration. You may also need a pre-amp AD/DA conversor for the audio signal. The best combination (price-quality) for this issue is:
M-Audio firewire solo:
http://www.maudio.co.uk/products/en_gb/FireWireSolo-main.html
and a shure SM-58 microphone, wich is the standard in industry
http://www.shure.com/ProAudio/Products/WiredMicrophones/us_pro_SM58-CN_content
Anyway, a condenser microphone will give better results for recording, but they are not suitable for live performance.
Take in consideration that the line signal standard is 0.7volts and a dynamic microphone works in milivolts, so if you don't get a decent pre-amp, you'll get a very low working gain, and a bad noise-signal releation. The M-Audio interface I recomend you have a very good pre-amp. And it can work with ProTools or Samplitude.