Hi Greg,
er....
firstly, in 35 years of being involved with field recording i've never come=
across this type of issue with a mic / recorder match when using 'decent' =
mics & recorders.
DPA's are not built to be fed into wireless transmitters - that is just one=
of the options for them. They are built, these days, to be used with a var=
iety of different options.
No recorder, not even the cheap Zoom's, have trouble handling balanced or u=
nbalanced mics (other than issues of the quality of the signal & noise of t=
he pre-amps). To clarify my experience: I tutor on the Wildeye courses & el=
sewhere so we get students with all kinds of mics & all levels of recorders=
. Over the years (on these courses & elsewhere) i've used hundreds of diffe=
rent mic / recorder combinations & have never come across these issues.
I use Sound Devices gear, so i'm used to spending decent money to get decen=
t kit, however its simply wrong to imply that recorders of the level of the=
R-44 isn't very good. In various ways its a better recorder than the FR2LE=
for example. By the way, if you're having issues with the FR2LE with unbal=
anced inputs its not the recorder - we never have any issues with them on a=
ny unbalanced mics, piezo based units etc.
As I've tried to explain already, this issue appears to be a very specific =
issue between the R-44 / R-26 & the DPA's - but it doesn't happen on any ot=
her recorder - from the cheapest (with xlr inputs) to the higher cost units=
. Therefore it is not an issue related to the issues you mention as lots of=
these other recorders don't have transformer balanced inputs.
ta.
--- In Gregory O'Drobinak <=
.> wrote:
>
> Jez:
>
> Please forgive my earlier comment, but I couldn't resist! Really, it was =
meant
> to point out that there are issues with mic preamps and mics that don't m=
atch up
> well and this is based on sub-optimal design parameters.
>
> The DPA mics are not balanced out of the box; they are single-ended outpu=
t mics
> that are designed to be fed into the single-ended preamps that are=C2=A0b=
uilt-in to
> the wireless transmitters commonly sold with these mics. I assume that th=
ere is
> a cable adapter that is sold to make the 4060s 'look' like a balanced out=
put,
> but in reality it appears that DPA uses some tricks that fall short of th=
e mark.
> This is problem #1: the 4060s are not really balanced output mics.
>
> The second issue is that most inexpensive recorders do not have transform=
er
> balanced inputs, which can usually handle an unbalanced input gracefully.=
The
> preamps in my FR-2LE, for example, are 'balanced' inputs but this is done=
> electronically without the use of a transformer. The net result is that u=
nder
> various gain conditions the FR-2LE will not work well at all for single e=
nded
> inputs, such as a piezo transducer or a single-ended (not balanced) input=
from a
> mic or instrument via an XLR connector. Various noises, hum and other art=
ifacts
> can be heard as the mic gain is increased. So using a single-ended output=
> device, such as the 4060, into the poorly electronically balanced input o=
f the
> R-44 results in mayhem instead of nicety. This has nothing to do with cur=
rent
> draw, but how well the signals are balanced at the input of the recorder.
>
> The 4060s work well on the SD series because=C2=A0I believe that they=C2=
=A0have
> transformer balanced inputs. I don't have time to go through the theory o=
f all
> of this, but you can research it on the web. Check what Rane has to say a=
bout
> balkanced vs. unbalanced.
>
> So the rule of thumb is use truly balanced mics into balanced preamp inpu=
ts and
> use unbalanced mics into preamps designed specifically to handle unbalanc=
ed
> inputs. Most manufacturers are not going to tell you how well their balan=
ced mic
> preamps are going to work with unbalanced inputs. Below a certain (high) =
price
> point, you get what you paid for.
>
> Sorry for the bad news.
>
> - Greg
>
>
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: Jez <>
> To:
> Sent: Fri, June 22, 2012 2:50:52 AM
> Subject: [Nature Recordists] Re: R-44 issue
>
> =C2=A0
> thanks Grant, according to DPA the r-44 supplies more than enough power t=
o
> handle even 4 of the DPA4060's connected & these issues appear even if ju=
st one
> is attached. The powering issue also wouldn't explain the pick up of the=
> internal electronics of the recorder (regardless of mic position) & i'm m=
ore &
> more convinced that its some strange way the Roland recorders are built t=
hat
> happens to come up with these issues when using this particular mic. That=
said,
> one chap who also has the R-44 & the DPA4060's has mentioned that his wor=
k fine
> !
>
> arghhhhhh !
>
> --- In "Grant Finlay" <grant@> wrote:
> >
> > It's called "motor boating"
> > The non-techy explanation is that it can't supply enough power to the m=
ics, you
> >need to roll off some of the bottom end to get around this.
> > Or use an outboard PH48v supply.
> > The SD302 has this issue too with various mics, sanken cs-1 etc..
> >
> > Regards,
> > Grant.
> > http://naturesounds.co.nz
> >
>
>
>
>
>
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