« Reply #61 on: February 08, 2007, 02:05:16 PM »
I don't understand the problem here.
The three-wire box (or Chris' 4.7k mod) loses a bit of gain, but not much. I would guess something like -10dB or so. But it is not a problem in practice (see below).
For any reasonable level of amplified music, a minidisc mic-in/low-sens will work great. I've recorded a ton of shows with this. FYI, mic-in/low-sens on MD is pretty much the same as mic-in/low-sens setting on the Edirol R09. Both have moderate gain (around 20dB max) and a wide range of variation of input levels that will not overload (eg., from -20dBv to +10dBv). At these moderate levels of amplification mic pre noise is not usually a problem.
Problem cases are:
- recording quieter stuff, like acoustic music. You could run mic-in/hi-sens, but that is noisy. An external pre will help.
- recording with certain low output mics, like Sony ECM-907. These are about -10dB lower than the AT stuff.
- trying to run into line input on crappy analog inputs, like iRivier, NJB3, etc. These provide a little gain, but it is terrible quality,
so all the gain should come from an external preamp.
I suspect a preamp may provide a bit nicer/cleaner gain than the MD/Edirol mic-in/low-sens inputs. But it is not really needed per se.
Richard
Its not needed. Until you need it I always suggest people buy this preamp instead of a battery box because I sell the preamp for $79 more then a three wire battery box $100 so your are better off having the best of both worlds my preamp allows you to get hotter levels with out the noise and to be able to normalize less. Not to mention the clip light that allows you to monitor distortion levels while your recording. Something a battery box does not have. I would say if your using the new HIMD recorders you don't need a preamp or if your using the Edirol R-09 with my mics or a pair of my modded mics you don't need a battery box never mind a preamp. But if you record all kinds of stuff from quiet to loud its better to spend the extra $79 and get a preamp and a battery box then to just spend $100 and get a battery box that will not help you much in quiet situations you "might" find your self in.
Well said, Chris! Exactly what I just rambled on about in the previous post.
Remember, you never know when you need a preamp. You may use MD now and later on need to run into an iRiver/NJB3/etc that has no real gain stage, and then you will need it!
Richard
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Mics: Sennheiser MKE2002 (dummy head), Studio Projects C4, AT825 (unmodded), AT822 franken mic (x2), AT853(hc,c,sc,o), Senn. MKE2, Senn MKE40, Shure MX183/5, CA Cards, homebrew Panasonic and Transsound capsules.
Pre/ADC: Presonus Firepod & Firebox, DMIC20(x2), UA5(poorly-modded, AD8620+AD8512opamps), VX440
Recorders: Edirol R4, R09, IBM X24 laptop, NJB3(x2), HiMD(x2), MD(1).
** This individual has moved to user "illconditioned" **