"C.J.Patten" wrote in message
...
Looked at the Beringer... nice unit (especially at that price) but it's
not
a practical option.

I don't "stealth" .. but I do "run and gun"... so "stealth" type gear is
what I'm stuck with.

That's going to cost you. The Core-Sound Mic2496 and Nomad Jukebox 3 run
about $650 total and are a little big if you're getting patted down, but
otherwise a perky combo.

"All mini-jack mic inputs suck" is a pretty sweeping statement. Can you
provide some sources to back that up?

Just common sense, good mic preamps deserve good input jacks, and where size
is a concern the preamps are generally comprimised for the sake of
compactness.

Looking at this from the opposite direction: are there small, powered
stereo
mics that would work well with a line input? Here's a link to a mic I've
used with an MD recorder with excellent results at a rock/jazz gig:
http://tinyurl.com/8tg4f

Oh, nearly forgot... Church Audio makes a handy $55 preamp unit that
apparently works well.
http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?...m=57722062 82
For future reference, here's Church Audio's eBay storefront:
http://stores.ebay.ca/CHURCH-AUDIO

The Edirol looks like a gorgeous alternative to the MD's - I don't think I
can shell out the greenbacks for it - but it's got 1/8" mic/line ins.
Comments?

I imagine Edirol breaks that rule, but I would also expect the preamps would
still fall short of the MXB1002 for the sake of physical size and power
supply minimizing. The MXB1002 pre's are mickey-mouse by pro standards, but
even pre's of that caliber take up space and draw considerable power.