At 6:48 AM +0000 6/17/10, Stuart wrote:
>
>
>Am I correct in assuming hiss is a product of the microphone? Do
>mics become more prone to hiss with age, humidity, low phantom power
>or low battery power. Can faulty cables between the mic and the
>recorder increase the level of hiss. Should mics be returned to the
>maker after some years for maintenance. I use Senheiser and Rode
>mics. Any suggestions or advice on how to reduce hiss would be very
>welcome. I have a built in Hiss filter as my hearing cuts off at
>5KHz but the hiss degrades recordings for others. Stuart.
Hi Stuart--
Yes, self-noise from the mics is usually the largest contributor, but
problems like you and Marc described could have cropped-up. I've had
mics outside, 24-7 for 2.5 years that aren't showing obvious
performance degradation. If you have some time to run some comparison
tests and post some clips, we've been able to pinpoint sources of
noise in the past.
In my experience with 30 NT-4's used with Hi-MD recorders, the Rode's
did not perform up to the published specs of 16 dB(A) self-noise. The
sensitivity of the mics is on the low side for quieter spaces too.
There is a chance that your NT-4 cable has the "pads" built in that
further reduces sensitivity and should be by-passed. That would be
good to look into:
https://pantherfile.uwm.edu/type/www/audio-reports/Rode_NT-4_Cable_Mod/NT-4=
_CableMod-index.htm
or http://tinyurl.com/y96w385
What recorder and other mics are you using? Rob D.
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