Just an easy question.
As I can understand, a battery box has to be used to power mics instead of using plug in power, while a preamp....it's a preamp.
So things should be:
External mics with battery box= mic input
Preamp = line input
In previous posts I've read that somebody uses mics+bb and goes into line-in. How can it be since a battery box just powers the mics and doesn't (as far as I know) boost the signal?
thank you
c
The edirol only provides about 3.8 volts of bias power for your mics this is not enough power for most microphones.
The battery box is most often used with the line input because the mic input on most recorders tend to overload fairly easily because its a mic input and is more sensitive then the line input is.
So most tapers use the line input and a battery box for really loud shows and dont end up needing a preamp.
You can use a battery box with the mic input and get better bias voltage for your mics and then rely on the mic input for gain. The HR has a good mic preamp for most things.
A well designed mic preamp can power the mics and provide a lower noise recording then just the mic input alone.
In some cases you can also use a preamp on the mic input but you have to be careful not to get to much gain out of the preamp this would be useful in situations where there was really quiet things being recorded.
IMO an external preamp can be very handy but if you only tape really loud shows you might not need one.
Chris