Hi Jose--
Thanks for using the list archives. Martyn
Stewart has an excellent section on his web site
that covers the principles behind your gear
questions:
http://www.naturesound.org/Nature_Recording_Q%26A/Entries/2007/12/2_Microph=
one_self-noise.html
I'll briefly apply them to the conditions /gear
you ask about below. I will generalize some to
help the relations become clearer.
When the sound source is moderately loud, as with
a symphonic concert, mic placement is usually a
greater determinant than differences in
self-noise performance with most, popular
electret mics. With loud music and near-to-stage
mic placement, one should be able to make fairly
noise-free recordings. If you have to turn-up
the recorder gain above ~1/2 way-- as with the
music that is performed at low volume or you are
recording from considerable distance-- all
electret mics are likely to contribute at least
some, audible noise.
The MM-BSM-8 mic is rated at 34 dB(A) self-noise.
Recordings made with mics that have somewhat
lower self-noise like the MKE-2 [28dB(A)] or the
Shure WL-183 [22.5dB(A)] might be preferable--
but don't expect a huge improvement.
You do not need to invest a lot of money on a
recorder to use with electret mics. The noise
inherent in the microphone preamp of many older,
MD recorders, for example, is low enough to be
obscured by the self-noise produced by electret
mics. For reference, you would need mics with
around 12dB(A) self-noise* to begin to take
advantage of a more expensive recorder with very
low-noise mic pres like a Fostex FR-2LE. Rob D.
* Which is considerably lower than all electret
mics I know of besides the EMKS-23's which
might(?) be border-line with ~14dB(A) self noise.
=3D =3D =3D =3D
At 11:00 PM +0000 12/12/07, argentino_sf wrote:
>Dear all,
>
>I have been reading many posts about preamp noise and microphones
>self-noise (including an interesting thread "new recorder - mic pre
>factors" =96
><http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/naturerecordists/message/18839>http://=
tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/naturerecordists/message/18839),
>but I still cannot figure out what gear to buy.
>
>I have narrowed to Marantz PMD-620 and Microphone Madness MM-BSM-8 in
>ear binaural mics, with stock capsules (not Sennheiser MKE-2
>capsules =96
><http://www.microphonemadness.com/products/mmtrunathook.htm>http://www.mic=
rophonemadness.com/products/mmtrunathook.htm).
>
>My newbie questions are:
>
>(a) If I were to record chamber music at a concert hall with a
>Marantz PMD-620 + MM-BSM-8, there would be any perceptible hiss from
>the mics or preamps?
>
>(b) There would be a lesser amount of hiss with MKE-2 Sennheiser
>capsules option?
>
>(c) If a choose MKE-2 Sennheiser capsules, would be better to buy,
>for instance, a Sony PCM-D50 (which I presume has a better preamp
>than PMD-620)? Would the MKE2 self-noise (~27dB) be capable of
>masking the flash recorder preamp?
>
>(d) Is there any in-ear binaural mic with lower self-noise?
>
>I would appreciate any comments, given the fact that I live in Brazil
>and is very hard to test those new devices here.
>
>Best regards,
>
>Jose Luis
>
>> Hi JM--
>> In terms of noise performance, the AT-822's "self-noise" [~24dB(A)]
>> is likely to be appreciably louder and "mask" much or all of the
>mic
>> preamps' noise associated with all of these recorders unless the
>> PMD620 is much noisier than its predecessors (unlikely). The same
>> would probably be true for many, older MD recorders. Based on some
>> tests with Hi-MD mic pres, one could begin to hear some preamp
>noise
>> performance differences when the mics' self noise is lowered into
>the
> > realm of 12dB(A). Rob D.
>
--
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