Line Level vs. Mic?

[taperwheeler]

I recently picked up a Microphone Madness Preamp off a fellow taper here at ts in anticipation of using it to boost up my signal from a pair of modded sp-cmc-8 mics. After reading the details on the preamp, it indicates that it works well with any "line" level inputs.  After contacting MM i was told that "it will work with microphone inputs but it will double amplify your recordings.  Will probably cause saturation in higher sound pressure level environments..."
I am using the MT2 as my recorder which only has a 1/8th mic input.  I was also told by Guy Sonic that:

"MT2 minijack mic maximum ~ -2.4dBu (the ZOOM H2 maximum LINE input!) compared to MT1 -13.3dBu, so MT2 has slightly over 10dBu MORE headroom than MT1; this is a significant improvement."

My questions here are:

What are the differences between line and mic in's?

Am I likely to over saturate my recorder?

Obviously field testing will uncover whether-or-not the signal from the MM Preamp will overload the MT2, but wanted to see if anyone had any insight...

Thanks...

[willndmb]

i have a mt1 so it might be slightly different
mics > mm pre > mt (set on L)
you should be fine

[taperwheeler]

How do you switch to line? 

[Church-Audio]

I recently picked up a Microphone Madness Preamp off a fellow taper here at ts in anticipation of using it to boost up my signal from a pair of modded sp-cmc-8 mics. After reading the details on the preamp, it indicates that it works well with any "line" level inputs.  After contacting MM i was told that "it will work with microphone inputs but it will double amplify your recordings.  Will probably cause saturation in higher sound pressure level environments..."
I am using the MT2 as my recorder which only has a 1/8th mic input.  I was also told by Guy Sonic that:

"MT2 minijack mic maximum ~ -2.4dBu (the ZOOM H2 maximum LINE input!) compared to MT1 -13.3dBu, so MT2 has slightly over 10dBu MORE headroom than MT1; this is a significant improvement."

My questions here are:

What are the differences between line and mic in's?

Am I likely to over saturate my recorder?

Obviously field testing will uncover whether-or-not the signal from the MM Preamp will overload the MT2, but wanted to see if anyone had any insight...

Thanks...

The difference between line level and mic level is this

Mic level is typically around -40 to -50 db Line level is typically around -20 to +4 db When you use a preamp in the mic input * you can only do so * if the preamp in question has a low noise floor and you are not getting a lot of gain from the recorder * this can be used when you need a lot of gain for a quiet show * For loud shows where your mics will be putting out anywhere from -20 to -10 you only really need about 10 to 20 db for really loud shows so using the mic input would not be a good idea in these situations.

Mics like the ones you have typically put out about -30 to -15 db at an acoustic input level of around 103 db if they are two wire. If they are three wire they put out around -40 to -30 db If they have my mod they put out around -38 to -30 db of output so 20db from a good external preamp + 10 db or so from your recorder is often all that is needed. As the acoustic level goes down your gain must go up. Its always a fine line between noise floor and max gain. A good idea to find out how much you can get away with is to site in a quite room with your mics. Make sure there is no noise in the room. Then try the different levels of gain on your preamp and see how loud you can go before you get noise.

You can simply try different settings and say what your levels are in your recording then listen to the playback on a computer. For example * preamp on full output recorder at 50% then dont talk and listen to the noise floor. This is not a dead accurate way but it will give you an idea of your usable gain range for recording quiet shows. For loud shows you need to crank your stereo to simulate a concert. Something that can not always be done in some homes. But its an essential part of understanding your gear and its limitations if there are any.

I hope that helps.

Chris

[taperwheeler]

Thanks Chris.  Helps a lot.  Gonna fiddle around with it as soon as my mics get back.  Think I will take you up on your offer if it still stands.