I dont have money to throw around, kthx
Will it work or not, I dont feel like spending more money atm than I have to.
Work? Yes
Work well? No - take it anywhere loud and it'll overload and you'll be unhappy with the results.
I don't think there is any sonic difference between 3-wire battery box and phantom power, but hey, you guys go ahead and correct me if I'm wrong.
OK, maybe someone can help me understand exactly what is going on here. I was under the impression that a normal 9V battery box was adequate for mics of this nature. According to sp's website, with 9V of power, the CMC4's can handle up to 125db. Arent most concerts 130db at the stacks, with the number having a rapid decrease as you move away from the stacks? Is something more to the issue that Im missing here?
I just wanna stop fucking around and start taping shows and not worrying about it. And whats this 3 wire batt box?
There are two issues: 1) voltage, 2) wiring.
1) voltage, can be between 1.5 and 9V. 9V is best, although, in reality, 3 or more volts is enough. Plug in power on minidisc only gives about 2V, not enough. All battery boxes give 9V. Phantom power adapters give 9V (by stepping down from 48 to 9V).
2) wiring. Inside the mic body there is a three wire transistor called a FET ("field effect transistor). This strengthens the *very* weak signal from the electret element. (All condenser mics have a fet, either in the mic body, or in the capsule it self.) Now, there are two ways to wire the FET. Proper wiring is called "three wire", three connections (battery, mic signal, and ground). Cheaper wiring uses "two wire", two connections (battery and mic signal share one wire, the second wire is ground). To handle loud signals (and to sound good, period) you need a three wire configuration.
The "three wire" battery box provides 9V, and proper "three wire" connection.
The phantom adapters provide 9V (stepdown from 48V) and proper "three wire" connection.
The standard battery box provides 9V, but only "two wire" connection.
Plug in power (eg., minidisc) provides 2V and only "two wire" connection.
You want either a three wire battery box, or a phantom adapter.
Oh yeah, see Sanjay about the three wire battery box.
Richard