Top shelf analysis Klas, well summed up mate :)
By the way, was that cuckoo is on steroids!!!!
Martyn
Martyn Stewart
Bird and Animal Sounds Digitally Recorded at:
http://www.naturesound.org
N47.65543 W121.98428
Redmond. Washington. USA
Make every Garden a wildlife Habitat!
425-898-0462
-----Original Message-----
From: Klas Strandberg
Sent: Tuesday, February 15, 2005 2:33 AM
To:
Subject: Re: [Nature Recordists] Mic Terminology
A general statement which is almost true:
Considering "sound quality", all microphones today are as good as the best
ones 20 years ago.
So don't worry about sound quality, frequency response etc. It's good
enough.
Then the noise problem:
Listen to "My Garden" on telinga.com, click sound gallery.
The microphones in question had an inherent noise level of some 8-9 dbA.
That's low.
In this category of mic's you will find the Sennheiser MKH series, the
telinga MPS1 series and all those recently marketed low-noise mic's using
the same China-made 1 inch capsule, like the CAD 179 for example. (Those
China capsules are very different from one another! You need to match them
to get a stereo pair!)
If you replay such a recording at a reasonably low level, like in reality
or a bit louder, 10 dbA will not be audible at a recording like "my garden".
16 dbA will be audible, but not disturbing.
23 dbA will be disturbing and something which you will try to filter away.
Roughly.
Considering an owl, 50 meters away, deadly silent around - 16 dbA will not
only be audible, but also disturbing.
Noise is related to size. The bigger the membrane is, the easier it is to
make it low noise.
All 5 mm electrets have a noise level about 30 dbA or worse. All 10 mm
capsules have a noise level at about 26 dbA or worse. (All except one)
All 20 mm capsules, like Sennheiser ME-series and Telinga EM23, make about
16 dbA noise, or worse.
The Sennheiser MKH and Telinga MPS1 are here exceptional. They have 20 mm
membranes, but a noise which is only 10 dbA or better.
Hope it helps a bit.
Klas.
.
At 04:33 2005-02-13, you wrote:
>Im one those who Walter refers in a previous thread
>
>"It could be very easy for this group to become nothing but technical
>discussions. But that would not be very attractive to new folks to
>nature recording. We need to get them hooked before we drop the ton of
>technological bricks on them. You can record well without understanding
>the terminology, though it's easier if you do understand the
>implications of that stuff."
>
>Even after followering to the group for several months now I still
>having a lot of trouble appreciating what is a good mic and how that
>relates to the dollar sign. From recent messages I'm not the only one.
>Some of this is terminology and unfortunitly I can not access the link
>on the groups home page which may help. Then there are varous
>specifacations one reads for example self noise, is very important but
>the difference between a mic with 25dB and 40dB are still figures.
>Something that I could relate to is how much closer am I going to get to
>that bird for the same recording. The some for self noise (how much
>extra hiss I'm going to hear in the background with an extra 10dB ) and
>there is sound to noise ratio. Other specifications such as output
>Impedance and Dynamic Range are just figures.
>
>I have looked at a number of sites that has a general advise on tools
>and methods. Also there have been a number of references on what makes
>a good mic in this group but there is hell a lot of messages to read to
>get a grasp of it all. I'm asking the impossible, can there be a set of
>guidelines amongst the group that would make an ideal mic, one that
>would do the job and those that will disappoint you for individual calls
>vs ambiance recordings. There is no need to mention specific makes of
>mics or other additions such as barriers as one needs to get a grasp of
>the basics befor being side tracked down another path. Some one could
>explain in practical terms what the varies specifications are. This
>maybe a useful reference for the home page.
>David
>
>
>
>
>
>--
>No virus found in this outgoing message.
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>
>
>
>
>"Microphones are not ears,
>Loudspeakers are not birds,
>A listening room is not nature."
>Klas Strandberg
>Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
Telinga Microphones, Botarbo,
S-748 96 Tobo, Sweden.
Phone & fax int + 295 310 01
email:
"Microphones are not ears,
Loudspeakers are not birds,
A listening room is not nature."
Klas Strandberg
Yahoo! Groups Links
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