Topic: Are the specs for this mic good?

[Cheesecadet]

Just a quick question for all you microphone enthusiasts...are these specs good for live music audio recording like most of us on here do today? 

Why or why not?

It is a vintage microphone from the early '70s.



Type:            Electret Condenser Microphone
Capsule:            Electret Capsule (Cardioid)
Impedance Translator:   FET
Microphone Cable:      One-Conductor Cadmium Bronze
Frequency Response:      50 - 12,000 hz
Output Impedance:      250 ohms (1,000 hz)
Output Level (dBm):          -54.6 @ 250 ohms impedance  (1mW/10 bar)
Open Circuit Voltage (dB):  -54.8 @ 250 ohms impedance  (1V/10 bar)
EIA Rating GM: (dB):         -146.6 @ 250 ohms impedance (EIA Standard)
Norm. Operating Voltage:  1.5v
Min. Operating Voltage:   1.1v
S/N Ratio:            Better Than 46 dB (1.000 hz)
Inherent Noise:         Less Than 28 dB SPL
Wind Noise:         40 dB +/- 5 dB SPL *   

* = Measured by applying wind velocity of 6.6 ft/sec. from all directions to the microphones.  The mean value is taken and converted to the equivalent input sound volume

Maximum SPL Input:      126 dB


Would love to hear back from anyone who has knowledge of such things! 

[JasonSobel]

I'd say, "not very good".

Frequency Response:      50 - 12,000 hz

most mics that people use have a frequency response of 20hz - 20,000 hz (aka 20kHz).  the frequency response of this mic only goes to 12 kHz, so you won't pick up very much high frequency sounds.

S/N Ratio:            Better Than 46 dB (1.000 hz)

also, a signal to noise ratio (s/n ratio) of 46 dB means that it's a noisy mic, and you'll likely hear some hiss/noise under the audio signal.

of course, specs alone never tell the whole story about how a mic sounds, but I'd stay away from this one.

[DLay]

Yeah, I agree with Jason. The frequency response of this mic isnt too hot. Of course human ears naturally lose the high end first but with this mic being limited to 12k, youll be missing a good chunk of information of the bat. Found a video that goes through the range...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00y198cE-IU

And of course the signal to noise ratio is a biggy. The pres in my Digi 002 for example are an absolute joke, even at halfway open....loud, dirty little bastards.

Plus, its from the seventies so unless you the know the previous owner(s) well, its likely that its seen a bit of abuse.

[ArchivalAudio]

agreed
look for 20 - 20k
and in today's digital age you want the S/N (signal to noise) ratio much higher depending on how it's measured

also
 for live sound an ability to handle  high SPL (Sound Pressure Levels)  at least over 110db if not over 120 db

at 50-12k
it has no low end and at 12k not much in the ways of high end it would even be  a poor vocal mic

the Sure SM58 would be better

at
Frequency response: 50 to 15,000 Hz
http://www.shure.com/americas/products/microphones/sm/sm58-vocal-microphone

--Ian

[ghellquist]

I would say that the specs are useless. This probably implies that it is a bad microphone. See discussion below:

Top of all, there is no reference to any standard on how the measurements are arrived at. We cannot even be sure they are measurements, they might be taken out of thin air.

>>>Frequency Response:      50 - 12,000 hz
At what deviation from flat? +/- 100 dB could be the case.
Generally, the less deviation you allow in the specs, the smaller the frequency range.

>>>Maximum SPL Input:      126 dB
At what distortion level? Normal mic measurements typically says at 1% distortion, this might be at 50% distortion.
Generally, the lower distortion you allow, the smaller Maximum SPL.


// Gunnar

[John Willett]

Just a quick question for all you microphone enthusiasts...are these specs good for live music audio recording like most of us on here do today? 

Why or why not?

It is a vintage microphone from the early '70s.



Type:            Electret Condenser Microphone
Capsule:            Electret Capsule (Cardioid)
Impedance Translator:   FET
Microphone Cable:      One-Conductor Cadmium Bronze
Frequency Response:      50 - 12,000 hz
Output Impedance:      250 ohms (1,000 hz)
Output Level (dBm):          -54.6 @ 250 ohms impedance  (1mW/10 bar)
Open Circuit Voltage (dB):  -54.8 @ 250 ohms impedance  (1V/10 bar)
EIA Rating GM: (dB):         -146.6 @ 250 ohms impedance (EIA Standard)
Norm. Operating Voltage:  1.5v
Min. Operating Voltage:   1.1v
S/N Ratio:            Better Than 46 dB (1.000 hz)
Inherent Noise:         Less Than 28 dB SPL
Wind Noise:         40 dB +/- 5 dB SPL *   

* = Measured by applying wind velocity of 6.6 ft/sec. from all directions to the microphones.  The mean value is taken and converted to the equivalent input sound volume

Maximum SPL Input:      126 dB


Would love to hear back from anyone who has knowledge of such things! 

This is an unbalanced electret condenser with a limited frequency response and rather noisy.

A good condenser should have a frequency response from about 40 or 50Hz (if it's directional) to 20,000Hz.  An onni will go down to 20Hz and below.

[Roger Gustavsson]

The specification is without tolerance limits. It must not be as bad as the figures seems to indicate. The noise figure is probably refered to 74dB not 94 dB as is the norm nowdays. 50-12000 Hz with tight limits is really not bad. 20-20k is very seldom a true figure! If the microphone is directional, the low frequency varies with distance. The full specification should have several frequency plots (look at DPA, http://tinyurl.com/34fjyde). SPL of 126 dB with perhaps 3% of THD, is really not a dissaster.   

Roger