Posted by: "Ed Anson"
> 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.
One of the tools that's very handy if you want to get into the spec game
is a good sound meter. To have some idea just what the sound level is at
various sites.
In nature recording often sites can have a sound floor so low that the
mic self noise is higher, even with the quietest mics. In this case it
becomes critical that the character of the mic self noise is not
intrusive so that it hides in plain sight, sort of. You can cheat a
little in this way, so the self noise level is not a hard and fast limit
but a little bit of a fuzzy limit.
Once you have fulfilled the requirements of the noise level of the mic
then the sensitivity becomes the next thing of importance. And higher
sensitivity is a plus.
Walt
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