Topic: Mic For Sony PCM-D50

[tonyuk]

I have just invested in a Sony PCM-D50 which I will be using for interviews for my podcast. Had a look at the specs for mics for the unti but I'm unsure which would be best. Could somebody please point in in the right direction please.

[guysonic]

Of course the obvious choice is to try the deck's internal mics deciding how useful for interview. There are many external handheld mics you could choose for interview purpose considering the following for sometimes adapting Sony D50's mic input jack.

Sony external mic input is mini stereo type with slide switched 'plug-in-power' on/off supplying up to 2.8 volts for electret type mics accepting this low powering voltage.  So you might try a wide variety of mics with mini-plug output with/without their own battery powering with D50 deck.

Sony's mic input is VERY quiet having an excellent mic input preamplifier inside.  So even very low output (dynamic) type interview mics should work well enough with the D50.

Standard handheld mono 'interview' type mics are usually balanced XLR-male output types needing a cable patch adapter unbalanced-wired to plug into the Sony deck's 3.5mm mic input. 


I make a 5 foot long patch adapter cable (M-XLR-F) for this purpose and over a 18 year period of time this adapter cable has found use on many hundreds of minidisc, DAT, and now small flash decks with mini-stereo input jacks for public radio and other interview requirements using a wide variety of mono microphones like the Beyer 58 and other makes/models of mics useful for interview purposes. 

Most recordists choose a somewhat directional type microphone so the distance from an interviewed person can be increased while the mic more or less rejects outside interfering noise.

Even a shotgun mic of some kind is sometimes used, but these have more or less very narrow focus and are increasing harder to aim for best voice sound, so be sure to monitor with phones until you know how to distance and point any and all types of directional mics.

Remember to get a windscreen for whatever mic you decide is most useful and affordable.

See this at: www.sonicstudios.com/access.htm#adapters

[tonyuk]

Good advice but which microphone should I buy?  I need a external mic as I will be recording in busy card rooms leaning over tables etc which will be very difficult using the internal mics. If anybody could suggest a mic that would be a great help.

[guysonic]

Good advice but which microphone should I buy?  I need a external mic as I will be recording in busy card rooms leaning over tables etc which will be very difficult using the internal mics. If anybody could suggest a mic that would be a great help.

While there are many models of handheld interview mics to choose from, there is another (stereo-surround) type being used by many radio producers worth mentioning.

Personally, and this is my specialty in mics, if I'd be using an HRTF DSM headworn stereo mic set leaving my hands free and eye contact direct for easy interview or recording banter.  No need to stick a mic into some one's face or point a mic around.  This also records everything as you are hearing it in surround sound. 

Being inside a card room, the surrounding noise level is usually fairly low so a mic that picks up everything in virtual reality coherent manner should work without a problem to clearly record all conversation within your hearing range with identical perspectives conveyed to your listening audience.

While Binaural HRTF mics may also be personally headworn for similar user advantages, the results are often not as media friendly for editing/playback compatibility making binaural type recordings considered not quite as consistently useful for general radio/film media purposes.

HRTF DSM mics are shown at: www.sonicstudios.com/dsm.htm

Drill deeper into binaural vs DSM differences/advantages/recording samples on pages linked at www.sonicstudios.com/tips.htm