Comparing mic noise
On Thursday, July 13, 2017 at 7:40:23 PM UTC-4, Tobiah wrote:
On 7/13/17 4:07 PM, Scott Dorsey wrote:
In article , Tobiah wrote:
I have a pair of mics that claim Equivalent Noise Level of 5dB-A.
Another mic claims 70dB Signal to noise ratio. How can I compare
the noisiness of the two mics?
You cannot. The first number is actually a measurement of noise floor,
but because it's A-weighted it's going to ignore all the low frequency
noise (and that's primarily what you're going to have in a condenser
microphone).
The second number isn't a measurement of noise floor at all, but is a
measurement of the _difference_ between the noise floor and the overload
point at some unknown frequency.
Neither one of these measurements is measuring what you want to know.
They are measuring two different things, neither of which is what you want.
--scott
Still, couldn't an experienced individual give me some idea, given these
incompatible statistics, what level of noise I might notice from one to
the other.
The one pair is Rode NT1-A, and the other is an Audio-Technica AT8010.
I don't yet have the AT8010. I was just considering it. I'm trying to
find any omni condenser that has a noise floor that is as close as I can
get to the NT1-A's. Any other suggestions?
Thanks,
Tobiah
May I ask, why are you concerned with "noise"? I've listened to recordings from Pros and I hear magnetic tape and improper EMI shielding being the two MAJOR problems, not the microphones.
Jack
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