Hi,
I'm looking for a preamp to connect to either a Zoom H2 or a Tascam DR-1 (or other recorder, I guess). This Nady is cheap and battery powered, which is the only preamp I've found that fits the criteria. The specs are all on this link:
http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/product/Nady-DMP2-Dual-Mic-PreAmp-?sku=180156I tried to calculate battery life:
Current Drain (of the above NADY preamp on 9V battery):
Phantom Power Off ............................................................................................24mA no signal,
27mA max signal
Phantom Power On ............................................................................................27mA no signal,
40mA max signal
therefore,
no phantom power, no signal:
500 mAh (battery capacity) / 24 mAh (preamp consumption) = 20.83 hours
or, with phantom power at max signal:
500 mAh / 40 mAh = 12.5 hours
Not sure if this is at all accurate.
Anyways, does anyone have any first-hand experience with this? I basically need something to get my phantom-powered microphones (which I haven't even bought yet...) to line-level so I can connect to a recorder, without making too much noise (this is the only thing to look for in a non-tube preamp, right?). The only budget recorders that offer phantom power on-board (correct me if I'm wrong) are the Zoom H4 and the two Microtracks, both of which have issues with their inputs, so I'm forced to use external.
Thanks!