Topic: What does a pre amp do if ..

[asmusu2]

Hi,

I am thinking about buying a pre amp.

I have a sony mz nh 700 hi-md recorder and a giant squid microphone with a battery.

If I tape a very loud show, will the pre amp then ruin the recording or what does it acutally do?

Or does it just give the recording a higher volume?

Hope someone can help.

Best wishes

Steen

[terrapinj]

the preamp will provide cleaner and likely more power to your mics, allowing them to handle louder SPLs without distorting

[poorlyconditioned]

Hi,

I am thinking about buying a pre amp.

I have a sony mz nh 700 hi-md recorder and a giant squid microphone with a battery.

If I tape a very loud show, will the pre amp then ruin the recording or what does it acutally do?

Or does it just give the recording a higher volume?

Hope someone can help.

Best wishes

Steen

With those mics a preamp won't make much of a difference.

Get a battery box.  For quiet shows use MIC IN, LOW SENS.
For loud shows use LINE IN.

That's it.  The analog circuitry inside the MD is pretty good.  You'll get better sound using the LINE IN, but MIC IN is still OK sounding.

  Richard

[asmusu2]

I have a 9 volts battery that I use in the microphone.

Is that what you mean by powersupply?

What is SPL ?

English is not my first language.

Best wishes

Steen

[live2496]

The primary purpose of a preamp is to take the output of the microphone and get it up to line level.
Most preamps have a trim control to match the input circuit of the preamp with the mics output. That way, you can avoid overloading the input stage of the preamp.

[udovdh]

What is SPL ?

Sound Pressure Level, I assume.

English is not my first language.

Same for me.

9V is OK for a battery-box like power supply; go line in and all will be OK.

[rustoleum]

If you're getting decent recording levels with this setup, then I'd agree a preamp may not matter with those mics/power supply, however, if your levels are consistently low, a preamp will help.

Here's why:

In digital recording, each bit holds 6db of dynamic range.  A 16 bit recording device can therefore hold (theoretically) 96 db of information.  If your levels are peaking at -40, then you're really only using 10 bits out of the 16 bits available to you (96 -40 = 56... 56/6 = 9.333).  Adding gain in post will raise the overall levels, but you're not gaining any information.  A preamp will allow you to push the levels higher (say, peaking at -4 instead) meaning you are using all 16 bits and effectively capturing more dynamic range.

Hope this helps

[dcbullet]

If you're getting decent recording levels with this setup, then I'd agree a preamp may not matter with those mics/power supply, however, if your levels are consistently low, a preamp will help.

Here's why:

In digital recording, each bit holds 6db of dynamic range.  A 16 bit recording device can therefore hold (theoretically) 96 db of information.  If your levels are peaking at -40, then you're really only using 10 bits out of the 16 bits available to you (96 -40 = 56... 56/6 = 9.333).  Adding gain in post will raise the overall levels, but you're not gaining any information.  A preamp will allow you to push the levels higher (say, peaking at -4 instead) meaning you are using all 16 bits and effectively capturing more dynamic range.

Hope this helps

Wow, thanks!  That's a very helpful explanation!

[anodyne33]

If you're getting decent recording levels with this setup, then I'd agree a preamp may not matter with those mics/power supply, however, if your levels are consistently low, a preamp will help.

Here's why:

In digital recording, each bit holds 6db of dynamic range.  A 16 bit recording device can therefore hold (theoretically) 96 db of information.  If your levels are peaking at -40, then you're really only using 10 bits out of the 16 bits available to you (96 -40 = 56... 56/6 = 9.333).  Adding gain in post will raise the overall levels, but you're not gaining any information.  A preamp will allow you to push the levels higher (say, peaking at -4 instead) meaning you are using all 16 bits and effectively capturing more dynamic range.

Hope this helps

Wow, thanks!  That's a very helpful explanation!

no doubt! +t