David,
Very interesting, I'll have to try the dummy mic test. I picked up a used M=
E66 and I see that the impedance is listed at 200 ohms. Would I simply stic=
k a 200 ohm resistor between pins 1 and 2 on the XLR adapter?
I'm a little confused by your statement about maximizing microphone hiss. C=
an you please elaborate?
- Charles
(Pardon my terseness or typos, this was sent from my iPhone.)
> On Jun 12, 2015, at 12:19 PM, [naturerecordists] <nat=
> wrote:
>
> > I've seen some people say it's better to use high sensitivity and low g=
ain, and other say low sensitivity and high gain, but never any explanation=
of when or why. Does it vary depending on equipment or situation (or both)=
?
>
> Charles,
>
> Sensitivity and gain are more or less the same thing in mics and amplifie=
rs
> respectively. To minimise noise, you need to get the signal up as high as=
> practical as soon as you can, but without running into overloads, which s=
ets
> the maximum gain you can use.
>
> The noise you can't do anything about is mic noise, and there really isn'=
t
> much you can do to minimise that once you have got well into three $figur=
es.
> However, the criterion is to _maximise_ the mic hiss compared with the ot=
her
> input preamp or mixer noises. In other words, don't add to what you can't=
> avoid.
>
> It sounds odd, but it you can't hear mic hiss when its very quiet, such a=
s
> with the pile of bedclothes test, you have got extra noise added. The
> ultimate test is to listen for input noise with a "dummy mic" which is ju=
st
> a resistor of the same value as the mic impedance. (About 100 Ohms for a=
> powered mic)
>
> David Brinicombe
>
>
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