Topic: What's the smallest 48(ish) V phantom power source available?

[landshark]

Hi all -

As the subject indicates, does anyone know the smallest phantom power source available?  I'm asking because I have a pair of Sen MKH8040's (their "actives") and am thinking of running them into something like the upcoming Sony M10 (which only has 1/8" stereo mic input).  To do so, I'll need to feed the MKHs some 48v phantom.  Size is an issue, so I'm trying to find something similar to the AKG B15 in-line phantom power supply, only smaller.

Alternatively, how difficult is it to make a phantom power supply?  I can burn myself crispy with a soldering iron, and have a basic knowledge of circuitry - is there a chance I could rig this up myself?

Thanks!

Mike

[Todd R]

Don't let Jon/mshilarious be shy -- he also is now making the Naiant littlebox preamp that is very small, very affordably priced, and has both phantom power and preamp functions.  I know you only asked about phantom, but the Naiant littlebox provides that and might be a much better alternative than using the internal preamp to your recorder.

That said, are you taking about the old Sony D10 DAT deck?  Doesn't that provide phantom power?  But then you said upcoming. Color me confused.

[Matt Quinn]

That said, are you taking about the old Sony D10 DAT deck?  Doesn't that provide phantom power?  But then you said upcoming. Color me confused.

He probably meant the upcoming M-10.

[JasonSobel]

instead of running a small phantom power box > cable > recorder, it might be worthwhile to run the mics directly into something like a Marantz PMD-661.  That's a little larger than the upcoming sony deck, but you only have one box to deal with.

[landshark]

That said, are you taking about the old Sony D10 DAT deck?  Doesn't that provide phantom power?  But then you said upcoming. Color me confused.

He probably meant the upcoming M-10.

My bad - yes, I meant the M-10.....

[DSatz]

You not only need a phantom power source, you need a way to unbalance the signals coming from the microphones. That has to be done somewhat differently for different manufacturers and models of microphone, because of the different output circuits that are used.

Have you got the instruction manual from Sennheiser yet? I'm pretty sure it can be downloaded as a PDF from their Web site. It should tell you how to connect them to unbalanced inputs; then make sure that whatever you use follows those instructions exactly. Don't just assume that an arrangement that works for some other type of microphone (even if it's another Sennheiser model!) will work correctly for the type you're going to use.

--best regards

[H₂O]

Sonosax Mini-R82 http://www.sonosax.ch/recorders/minir82/minir82_index.html

[sunjan]

Smallest? 2phant, but it's way overpriced, IMHO.

Surprised noone mentioned the PS2 (the soundpro mod with 1/8" out).
Otherwise, John could surely work out a custom Littlebox for you.

Aerco MP2, but I guess it's bigger than both of the above.