Great Article. Aside from the topic of dual switching ADCs with 32 bit float, I was reminded how proper gain staging between microphones and mic preamps is still one of the most important considerations when matching gear for a signal chain, regardless of the final capture method. The math has been around since the days of analog tape, and there are x/y type charts available online to make it easy. You just need to know the sensitivity, self noise, and max SPL of the microphone being considered. Then you need to know the preamp's max input capacity and it EIN rating.
He mentions a Sennheiser shotgun with a sensitivity of -24dbu, and I found it's max sound pressure is 129db.
With a mic that sensitive and a preamp with max input of +4 dbV, the preamp will overload before the max sound pressure of the mic is reached, but not until your source is 120db.
Based on this, I see almost no way the overload point of the mic inputs could be realistically reached with the mics we use for recording music with average sensitivity specs in the -36 to -40 range, not out putting +4dbV to the input of the preamp until they are subjected to 134db to 138db of sound pressure.
I assume we all know the dynamic range of a microphone is the max sound pressure, minus the self noise. Reading the article, I was reminded how the effective audible noise fron the mic to the preamp is impacted by mic sensitivity. Going back to the mk4/cmc6, even though the self noise is 14db, with -36 db sensitivity the effective noise level (what you can actually measure) is down to -116 db at 1 pascal. Pretty darn quiet I think.
