48 or 12 Volts for my condenser mic?
July 25, 2005 5:01 PM Subscribe
MicrophoneFilter: Should I connect my MXL 990 condenser mics to preamps providing 12V or 48V of phantom power?
I recently purchased a pair of MXL 990 capacitor mics, as well as an Audiotrak MAYA 1010 audio interface. The MAYA provides 12V of phantom power, and I also have a small mixer with two channels of 48V phantom. The MXL 990 info sheet specifically states:
So what I would like to know is: does it matter which preamp I use? More specifically, is there any influence of the phantom voltage on the signal quality or is it merely a matter of "it works or it doesn't"?
I recently purchased a pair of MXL 990 capacitor mics, as well as an Audiotrak MAYA 1010 audio interface. The MAYA provides 12V of phantom power, and I also have a small mixer with two channels of 48V phantom. The MXL 990 info sheet specifically states:
IMPORTANT - This unit requires phantom power at 48 volts, +/- 4 volts.I can, of course, steer on the safe side and just use the mixer's preamps, but I know I'm going to use more mics/inputs for a project soon and the MAYA's preamps will come in very handy.
So what I would like to know is: does it matter which preamp I use? More specifically, is there any influence of the phantom voltage on the signal quality or is it merely a matter of "it works or it doesn't"?
Best answer: The mic will just not work if you're giving it only 12v. You can use a Phantom Power Adaptor of some sort if you want to use the pre-amps on the Maya.
In a wider answer to your question - if your Phantom Power happened to fluctuate within the +/-4v range of the 48v required, yes, there would be a sonic influence on the sound of the output of the mic, but as coach_mcguirk says, you'll get most out of the mic by using it with a good pre-amp and that ought to provide stable +48v pp.
posted by benzo8 at 1:41 AM on July 26, 2005
In a wider answer to your question - if your Phantom Power happened to fluctuate within the +/-4v range of the 48v required, yes, there would be a sonic influence on the sound of the output of the mic, but as coach_mcguirk says, you'll get most out of the mic by using it with a good pre-amp and that ought to provide stable +48v pp.
posted by benzo8 at 1:41 AM on July 26, 2005
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From a sonic perspective, I think it's safe to say you'd get the best performance from that mic by using a decent mic preamp with it.
posted by coach_mcguirk at 6:19 PM on July 25, 2005