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Gear / Technical Help => Battery Boxes, Preamps, Mixers, ADCs, and Processors => Topic started by: Peterson Goodwyn on November 09, 2010, 02:13:43 AM
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Hi,
I've been lurking around here for a bit and haven't seen any mention of the Dantimax THATmic preamp. I'm building a rack of these right now for my studio, but they seem perfect for a portable taping rigg so I thought I'd share:
It's a DIY preamp based around a single THAT corp. 1512 IC. These chips are specifically designed for use in mic preamps and have been used in a lot of pro stuff lately, such as the FiveFish SC-1 and Toft ATB consoles. The PCB is tiny (about 4" x 1.5") and has an option for a stepped gain pot. It runs on +/-5 to 15v and only draws about 10mA of current, so it can easily be battery powered. Plus it's cheap! 30 euros for the kit.
More info:
http://www.diyrecordingequipment.com/directory/clean/dantimax-thatmic
http://electronics.dantimax.dk/
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The amp itself is the easiest part of a mic amp; it's the power supply that's tricky if you want phantom power. You'd end up stacking a whole lot of 9Vs, or doing a DC-DC converter circuit for that, which is the hard part.
What about making this for something like the AT853s and only putting out ~9volts? Would it be worth it?
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Ah... I hadn't thought of +48v. Using the AT853s is a good idea, or a pair of omni-dynamics like the Sennheiser MD211s.
Whether it's worth it probably depends on how good these things are. As I said, the chip itself has been used in some awesome preamps, but I will report back when I've got mine built.
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^^ I would even go one step further, and say that you don't need a preamp at all -- if the recorder is good. For condenser mics in rock clubs, you can do fine with Edirol R09 or similar. For condensor mics in ambient settings, the Sony PCM D50 or M10 work great. So, the main issue is getting battery or phantom power, depending on the mic. The simplest setup I used for recording live shows is a custom made battery box (two 9V batteries to give 18V, 2k resistors) powering a set of Beyerdynamic MC930 into an Edirol R09 recorder. A step-up phantom power supply would work as well.
Richard
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i built one of these last year powered with two 9v's. it sounds good.
the hardest thing about kits is metal/case work. can't stand it.