Topic: Microtrack Phantom- Which mics work?

[paulcargill]

Just bought a pair of Behringer C2's (£44 inc delivery) and I'm delighted to find they work really well with the Microtrack despite the mic spec being very specific about 48v. Is there a list anywhere of mics that have been found to be compatible even though they technically shouldn't be?

Paul

[cmoorevt]

This list certainly isn't inclusive of all mics that work with the MT but it is a start.

http://www.m-audio.com/index.php?do=support.faq&ID=7fb377f3ef962038a26bc5c2291bafc1

[willndmb]

i don't know about your mic specifically but some mics "work" with lower voltage however they don't give you the best sound or "work" 100% compaired to how they do with 48v

so it might "work" but you might not like the results

[paulcargill]

That's why I was so pleased with the Behringer mics: their response and distortion levels appear to be the same as with true 48V....

Paul

[rodeen]

I've had good results with my AKG 391/3's powered by the MT.  I'd recommend using an external battery pack if you are going to use phantom power.  The preamp in the MT isn't the greatest but the A/D works well.  Overall I was pretty happy with the results.

[Busman Audio]

I ran my Neumann 140s with the microtrack phantom once and it turned out just fine.

[headroom]

I can tell you from my expirience the Audio Technica 3031/33 are very quiet and neutral sounding. They work from 11 till 52 Volt. The Octava`s MC 012 SE3 Electronics will not work.

[paulcargill]

I'm getting the cleanest and quietest results from the Behringer C2's using the "Boost" setting on the Microtrack, and keeping the preamp gains on minimum: am I right in thinking that the "boost" is digital gain after the pre-amps?


Paul

[jcrab66]

yes, i believe the boost is post preamp

[yousef]

Just bought a pair of Behringer C2's (£44 inc delivery) and I'm delighted to find they work really well with the Microtrack

I've been thinking of picking up a pair of these from a place on Salford Quays but can't seem to find much info from people who have used them.

For open taping are they a worthwhile alternative to my DPA 4060s or would I just be shelling out for bigger mics so that soundmen won't laugh at me?

[paulcargill]

>For open taping are they a worthwhile alternative to my DPA 4060s or would I just be shelling out for bigger mics so that soundmen won't laugh at me?

They're Cardioid rather than Omni, and I think DPA quality would always be better, but I'm getting good results with them on acoustic guitar and drum overheads and for the money they are useful to have in your kit bag!

Paul

[yousef]

I'm getting good results with them on acoustic guitar and drum overheads and for the money they are useful to have in your kit bag!

Cool. Seeing as it's my birthday this weekend, I think I might just treat myself to a pair. Ta for the recommendation.

[yousef]

Well, I picked up a pair of these today (£40!) and I'm impressed by the build quality on first looks.

Would I be right in thinking that I need female XLR>TRS jack in order to use the MT's phantom power? If so, where the devil do you get the cables from? - I seem to have walked the length and breadth of Manchester this afternoon looking for such a thing but to no avail. And that's no way to spend your 28th birthday.

The best anyone could offer me was female>male XLR plus a huge female XLR>TRS adaptor. But even if two of these adaptors could fit side-by-side, I don't really fancy having that sort of load on the MT's sockets.

I suppose I could always get the soldering iron out.

But cheers for the tip-off, Paul - I'll have fun experimenting with these once I've got them fired up.

[paulcargill]

First of all Happy Birthday Yousef! I made my own: I think that's the only way to do it without adaptors which as you say will put a lot of strain on the sockets...

Paul

[dallman]

Well, I picked up a pair of these today (£40!) and I'm impressed by the build quality on first looks.

Would I be right in thinking that I need female XLR>TRS jack in order to use the MT's phantom power? If so, where the devil do you get the cables from? - I seem to have walked the length and breadth of Manchester this afternoon looking for such a thing but to no avail. And that's no way to spend your 28th birthday.

The best anyone could offer me was female>male XLR plus a huge female XLR>TRS adaptor. But even if two of these adaptors could fit side-by-side, I don't really fancy having that sort of load on the MT's sockets.

I suppose I could always get the soldering iron out.

But cheers for the tip-off, Paul - I'll have fun experimenting with these once I've got them fired up.

I think there are a lot of websites out there carrying what you are looking for. Here is one I found quickly looking in the cable section here at TS.com.

http://www.ramelectronics.net/html/mic-cables.html

They seemed pretty reasonable, but I also know a while back when I was looking for something similar, I came a cross a lot of cable sites.

eBay has a ton of stuff too.
http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?from=R40&satitle=mic+cables

[yousef]

Thanks for the replies - I've ordered some from an Ebay seller that seem suspiciously cheap but should be good enough to get an idea of how useful these mics are going to be to me.

If all is good, I guess I'll try making my own - the sense of satisfation from doing it will hopefully outweigh the fear that they'll fall apart at any moment.

I dunno... I reckon UK electronics/audio places don't have quite the range of stock their US counterparts have.