In most cases, no. We created the UMIK-1 to provide a simple, inexpensive path to accurate acoustic measurements, in keeping with the philosophy of the whole miniDSP line. However, if you already have a calibrated microphone and an external soundcard (for example), then by all means use it for your acoustic measurements. Please note that of course, we cannot provide support for issues arising from the use of non-miniDSP hardware.