2. Re: mkh hiss in quiet locations...

["Walter Knapp" waltknapp]

Posted by: "Rob Danielson"

> The kinds of sounds with mic self-noise masking abilities that I'm 
> thinking of include wind in the grass and leaves, several types of 
> precipitation and insects. The insect chorus here tonight is 
> producing several, sustained, high-frequency bands between 4K and 12K 
> Hz. Those around 4KHz are as loud as the lowest frequency background 
> sounds (both reaching -40dB on 96dBFS). The bands around 8Khz and 
> 10KHz are substantially softer but are still louder than the "hiss" 
> produced by the self-noise of my mics.  Rob D.

All you are saying is the natural sounds are greater than 6dBA, not 
surprising. Or another way to say it is you don't have a quiet location.

There is a good reason special chambers and calibrated instruments and 
sound sources are used to test mics.  Neither your ears or the outside 
environment are appropriate for such tests.

Walt