Can't get sound out of condenser mic

[serv]

I recently received Audio-Technica AT-2020.
I connected it to X-Station (xlr to xlr) 49 and X-S to my laptop via usb.
On Fruity Loops, I changed the audio input to X-Station.
I can get sound out of the synth, but I can't get sound of the mic.
X-Station provides phantom power, so I don't see why I can't get the sound out.

Any idea?

[meatballfulton]

You made sure to turn the phantom power ON, right?

[serv]

You made sure to turn the phantom power ON, right?

Thank you. That was the problem.
I feel so dumb now.

Now I have another question.
Is it typical for you to use a mic preamps, even though you have an audiocard (in my case, X-Station) that provides phantom power?

Without increasing gain of the mic input, the sound is very small. Am I jeopardizing the sound quality of the recording from mic by increasing the gain of the input to record vocal?

[k5k]

the xstation has a mic preamp and thats what yr plugged into! if the gain is too high it will clip.

[serv]

Great! Thank you k5k.

[th0mas]

It's probably not a very good mic pre however. Depending on the desired quality of your recordings you may eventually want to invest more in a dedicated mic pre.