Rob,
Please note that I have never measured the EIN of the Sony Hi-MD. The -124d=
Bu(A) on my list were taken from John Beale's website.
I agree that a list with single broad-band noise voltage figures will not a=
lways match the subjectively perceived noise level due to colorations of bo=
th the preamp and the microphone noise floors. A better way to quantify the=
se things would be to compare the noise spectra of both the preamps and the=
microphones. I did this for a few microphone/recorder combinations a few y=
ears ago:
http://www.avisoft.com/test/noisefloors.pdf
Unfortunately, it takes more time to run such detailed tests (and measuring=
microphone self-noise levels in a reliable way would also require very spe=
cial equipment).
I think that it is important not to confuse the equivalent microphone noise=
figures (expressed in dBA) with the absolute microphone noise voltages (ex=
pressed in dBu). So, the dBA figures alone should NOT be used for selecting=
the preamp. As Paul's Excel sheet (http://bit.ly/Mic_Output_noise_chart) =
nicely demonstrates, there are a few microphones, such as the Rode NT1-A, t=
hat are extremely demanding regarding the preamplifier noise, while other m=
odels with similar dBA specifications are less demanding (Sennheiser MKH-6=
0 for instance). So, if the noise performance was the biggest concern, then=
one should prefer a microphone with the maximum sensitivity (expressed in =
mV/Pa).
Regards,
Raimund
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