On Jul 5, 2006, at 10:49 AM, cfmspencer wrote:
> with regards to my 'formula' approach, I was looking to
> somehow factor in the sensitivity of a mic, as I assumed
> that a mic with high sensitivity will be able to
> provide the preamp with a stronger signal-to-noise ratio
> even if it's self noise level might be higher than
> the lowest available.
>
That could be a factor if the recorder's pre-amp is noisy or has
insufficient gain. That is, you need to provide a signal from the mic
that is well above the recorder's own noise floor. But if this is a
problem, you can solve the problem by using a mic pre with lower self
noise.
Usually, the signal to noise ratio is controlled by the effective noise
level of the mic as compared to the sound you are trying to record.
[This may very well include the background sounds, as someone else has
pointed out.] If the mic's noise level is not well below the level of
the sound you are recording, no amount of sensitivity will improve the
signal to noise ratio.
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