Topic: difference in volume in mics?

[beefstew]

i own a pair of SP-CMC-19

i was looking at both channels of a recording in Goldwave

the right channel was considerably louder than the left and brickwalled slightly - the left channel was lower than the right but didnt brickwall

i taped 4 bands - each time moving posotions in the venue - same thing on all recordings - right channel louder than left

why is the right channel(mic) louder?

is this a defect in the mic?

[guysonic]

i own a pair of SP-CMC-19

i was looking at both channels of a recording in Goldwave

the right channel was considerably louder than the left and brickwalled slightly - the left channel was lower than the right but didnt brickwall

i taped 4 bands - each time moving posotions in the venue - same thing on all recordings - right channel louder than left

why is the right channel(mic) louder?

is this a defect in the mic?

Your mics are NOT a matched set and one mic may or may have equal sensitivity as compared to the other.  Some venders will match mics within a few dB so as not to be so way off especially for 'stereo' array purposes. 

My company produced mics are matched within .25 dB and 1 dB for having very precision stereo-surround imaging ability, but this kind of precision is unique and expensive to produce, so don't expect to find close match from most vendors or companies. 

Most companies do NOT specify the dB match, hoping you don't notice the lack of precision in their 'stereo' mic products.

[Church-Audio]

i own a pair of SP-CMC-19

i was looking at both channels of a recording in Goldwave

the right channel was considerably louder than the left and brickwalled slightly - the left channel was lower than the right but didnt brickwall

i taped 4 bands - each time moving posotions in the venue - same thing on all recordings - right channel louder than left

why is the right channel(mic) louder?

is this a defect in the mic?

Your mics are NOT a matched set and one mic may or may have equal sensitivity as compared to the other.  Some venders will match mics within a few dB so as not to be so way off especially for 'stereo' array purposes. 

My company produced mics are matched within .25 dB and 1 dB for having very precision stereo-surround imaging ability, but this kind of precision is unique and expensive to produce, so don't expect to find close match from most vendors or companies. 

Most companies do NOT specify the dB match, hoping you don't notice the lack of precision in their 'stereo' mic products.

It does not cost that much to match mics I do it all the time and they are with in .02db of each other. But you get what you pay for in the end. SP does match the higher end mics they sell.

[Brian Skalinder]

the right channel was considerably louder than the left and brickwalled slightly - the left channel was lower than the right but didnt brickwall

i taped 4 bands - each time moving posotions in the venue - same thing on all recordings - right channel louder than left

As Guy suggested, they're probably not matched, hence the variance.  But there are other variables here:  To what positions in the venue did you move?  Was the PA was simply louder on one side than the other?  Was one mic angled more directly at the source than the other (don't know how you had them mounted / configured)?  To get a better sense for how severe the problem is, or for that matter if it's even a problem with the mics themselves, try the following crude test:

• set them both in as close to a single point as possible (e.g. side by side; better yet, place each mic independently in front of the speaker, but only if you can ensure precisely the same position both times )
  
• place them in front of a speaker on your playback system (best to turn off the other speaker via balance control or removing the cabling)
• play back white noise, or a studio CD, or some such
• record via the mics
• analyze the record levels (and frequency if you wish) from each mic to see how much they vary

Since the mics are basically single point in front of the same speaker, this basically will remove any variances in the playback system or mic configuration that may contribute to different levels.  While a fairly crude test, it should at least give you an idea of what's going on, whether the difference in levels you experienced is due to the mics or some other factor.

[Church-Audio]

the right channel was considerably louder than the left and brickwalled slightly - the left channel was lower than the right but didnt brickwall

i taped 4 bands - each time moving posotions in the venue - same thing on all recordings - right channel louder than left

As Guy suggested, they're probably not matched, hence the variance.  But there are other variables here:  To what positions in the venue did you move?  Was the PA was simply louder on one side than the other?  Was one mic angled more directly at the source than the other (don't know how you had them mounted / configured)?  To get a better sense for how severe the problem is, or for that matter if it's even a problem with the mics themselves, try the following crude test:

• set them both in as close to a single point as possible (e.g. side by side; better yet, place each mic independently in front of the speaker, but only if you can ensure precisely the same position both times )
  
• place them in front of a speaker on your playback system (best to turn off the other speaker via balance control or removing the cabling)
• play back white noise, or a studio CD, or some such
• record via the mics
• analyze the record levels (and frequency if you wish) from each mic to see how much they vary

Since the mics are basically single point in front of the same speaker, this basically will remove any variances in the playback system or mic configuration that may contribute to different levels.  While a fairly crude test, it should at least give you an idea of what's going on, whether the difference in levels you experienced is due to the mics or some other factor.

That test would work better with a single tone like 1k because you will get into phase problems that might make the mics look like they are not matched. Just my two cents.