Cracking Audio on Vocal Track With USB Mic.

http://forum.cakewalk.com/tm.aspx?m=1618556

same principles apply. if your playback device isn't decent (i.e. an onboard card) you will more than likely have issues.. get an ASIO based card.. depends on your budget and how many input / outputs you want.

using a mic via a soundcard (xlr or 1/4" jack etc)  is easier in respects (as you don't have to change modes) but people seem to like blaming the mic, when the playback master (your soundcard) is more the issue

cakewalk do interfaces as to many other companies.. I would personally avoid firewire ones due to maybe chipset issues (that seem to crop up here a lot).I use a focusrite saffire 6, which has decent mic inputs as well BUT you would have to get a mic with xlr etc. but then the USB mic would be no use.. so depends on you really, but a soundcard made for music would be a big help.

i second,   if you are getting snap crackle and pops in your recording, its most likely latency  is too low. 

open sonar and hit the letter p  to bring up prefs.
under the audio section look for driver setting  
little  slider (from left to right) is what you need to adjust. move it to the right a little bit and try again.  slide it over a tad hit apply. then the box will vanish and reappear. hit close.   do that a bit at a time until the clicks stop. then just for good measure slide it one tick more. 
    It is going to add some delay to your headphones the more you add so don't just slam it to the right.
 ;)       

if you are wanting to do professional recordings you MUST get a real mic.
and look at the room you are recording in as well.     you want it as dead as possible. a fairly full closet of clothes would work if nothing else.   clothes make decent "sound treatment".   get bout 1/2 way in and part the sea of hangers enough for you to have at least elbow lentgh distance before touching anything.  them memory foam rectangle pillows will make sweet absorbers for a new "studio" start up. put one on the wall where you just made the gap and either sing directly facing the  pillow or  at about a 45 degree angle, from pillow  to clothes.  

Kinda fluff the slothes that are pushed back. try to fill the void with spaced hangers. 

if you have a decent usb mic, that will help with the gawd aweful feedback them things can make.   

The roadhorse "all purpose stage/recording mic is the Shure sm57, 48.  Only difference is the windscreen.  The 57 or 48 will make you consistant recordings that you will love.  and they are ot expincive either.  bout $100.  they have the xlr ends and cable so you'd need a xlr / 1/8" adapter if you don't have a interface.
I got four 48's and a 57 for marshall back in 94 that have seen thier share of the country and they still work and still get recorded.

If you got some $  get a $2-300  condencer mic and a tube mic preamp.  that give your vox that "studio" sound, rather than just a voice recording. imo.

I think siris you mean an SM 58. Very rugged mic. I have had mine since '80 and it still works flawlessly.

And I also agree it's her latency that need adjusting to solve the crackling problem.

I think this is a DPC latency issue as well.
Start by running this DPC latency tool: http://www.thesycon.de/deu/latency_check.shtml
Im sure you will see some large spikes.

Laptops can be VERY finicky when it come to working with audio.
-You will need to disable the wireless adapter on your laptop while you try to record

-Make sure windows only uses your onboard audio device and make sure Sonar is only using the USB interface.

-Power saving features usually wreck system performance. You will need to learn about the BIOS, go in there and disable all of the crap that you do not need like modems, LAN adapters, Bluetooth and especially any CPU throttling stuff like Turbo and what not.

-Make sure you don't have a bunch of useless junk running in the background. Uninstall everything you do not use and disable everything from startup that isn't vital.

There are some decent guides out there. This one is a good one: http://www.sweetwater.com/sweetcare/downloads/Windows_7_Optimization_Guide_revB.pdf