naturerecordists
[Top] [All Lists]

Re: Microphone Noise Floor Problem

Subject: Re: Microphone Noise Floor Problem
From: "Richard L. Hess" richardlhess
Date: Sun Sep 13, 2009 2:02 pm ((PDT))
At 12:36 PM 2009-09-12, jmccubbinmd wrote:
>I'm relatively new to recording outdoor ambient sounds, but am very 
>intrigued by it.  I have done plenty of audio recording (amateur), 
>but also have a background in astroimaging.  I have been trying to 
>solve the noise floor problem with microphones, as it seems to bug 
>everyone to some degree.  It just seems difficult and expensive to 
>get rid of it.  So that got me thinking.
>...
>Here is the comparison sample:
>
>http://m57.net/downloads/sfp/warblertest.mp3

It's a nice recording to start with, but the high-frequency noise 
that you have on the original cut sounds tonal to me, not random.

I'm wondering where that's coming from. I don't THINK it's from the 
702's mic pres. (I have the 722), but I can't imagine it coming from 
the AT mics--though I have a DPA 4006 TL pair so I don't know.

Removing noise in audio, while similar to CCD image noise, is, as you 
found out, not quite the same.

One of the best products in the field is Algorithmix Noise Free Pro. 
If you use it enough to get a significant reduction in noise, even 
this product can exacerbate any tonality in the noise. This tonality 
I hear shows up in spectrum analysis in the 5-8 kHz region and you 
can't remove that without damaging the bird call.

I've placed your warblertest back on my website with three sections now:
(1) Original
(2) a QUICK pass with Algorithmix Noise Free Pro sampling
       from the audio w/o birds plus a sharp cutoff below 300 Hz.
(3) your original pass with Audacity.

I would try and figure out the source of this tonal noise whether 
it's the recorder or the mics or the environment.

Here's the three-way comparison sample.

www.richardhess.net/clients/warbler/
Then right-click to download or whatever you wish to do with the file.

Cheers,

Richard

Richard L. Hess                   
Aurora, Ontario, Canada       http://www.richardhess.com/
Detailed contact information: http://www.richardhess.com/tape/contact.htm  







<Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread>
Admin

The University of NSW School of Computer and Engineering takes no responsibility for the contents of this archive. It is purely a compilation of material sent by many people to the naturerecordists mailing list. It has not been checked for accuracy nor its content verified in any way. If you wish to get material removed from the archive or have other queries about the archive e-mail Andrew Taylor at this address: andrewt@cse.unsw.EDU.AU