Justin wrote:
> Did you listen to the file Andrew uploaded? At least on his recording,
> the difference in noise was dramatic, and definitely seemed to be in
> front of the self noise of the Rode NT2000. Is the AT-3032 self noise
> so much louder as to cover that up?
Hi Justin,
Yes, the absolute self noise level of the AT-3032 (16dB, 20mV/Pa) is
-110 dBu. The NT2000 (7dB, 16mV/Pa) exhibits a much lower absolute
self noise voltage level of -121 dBu (taken from
http://www.rane.com/note148.html, table 3) and is therefore much more
demanding regarding the preamplifier. In other words, the AT-3032
would work quite well in combination with any preamplifier that has an
inherent noise level of less than about -120 dBu. A preamplifier noise
level of -120 dBu would increase the overall noise level by only 0.4
dB, which should be normal inaudible.
> As you all know, I am very new to all of this. Am I perhaps
> interpreting Andrew's test recording wrongly? At least on the test,
> there is a vast difference in the noise floor of the SONY PCM-D50
> preamps and the Mixpre.
One part of the audible differences could be explained by the very low
absolute inherent noise voltage level of the NT2000. However, I
believe that there must be also something wrong with the D-50 sample
in this test. For instance, it could be that the plug-in power was
activated. Deactivating this PIP option from menu can greatly improve
its noise performance.
Regards,
Raimund
|