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#1
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Microphone distortion
Everyone is concerned about distortion in speakers, amplifiers, CD
players, and even cables. How about microphones. We never hear about whether microphones distort when driven to high levels (such as close proximity to a large chorus and orchestra). Are there any specs for microphones? -MIKE |
#2
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Microphone distortion
Sure, they work similarly to speakers in reverse. Good recordings are
made using good microphones and all better studios incorporate them. They can be very expensive and even exotic/collectable just like loudspeakers. Among other vintage audio relics such as Victrolas and radios, I actually collect antique microphones myself as they are relatively easy to store and display while offering some snapshots of audio history and industrial design in one viewing. One of my oldest is a carbon mic which works by vibrating carbon against an aluminum diaphram in response to the voice's pressure against it. You can imagine the level of distortion and lack of sensitivity of that design vs a more modern tube mic which can be so sensitive that most singers use processing after the mic to shape the tone to their liking. Not everyone likes to hear things so realistically as be transported to the gargle at the back of the singers throat or the smack of their lips and subsequent drops of spittle. It can be captured that realistically with ease. - Bill www.uptownaudio.com Roanoke VA (540) 343-1250 "---MIKE---" wrote in message ... Everyone is concerned about distortion in speakers, amplifiers, CD players, and even cables. How about microphones. We never hear about whether microphones distort when driven to high levels (such as close proximity to a large chorus and orchestra). Are there any specs for microphones? -MIKE |
#3
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Microphone distortion
"---MIKE---" wrote in message
... Everyone is concerned about distortion in speakers, amplifiers, CD players, and even cables. How about microphones. We never hear about whether microphones distort when driven to high levels (such as close proximity to a large chorus and orchestra). Are there any specs for microphones? The only reason you "never hear about" microphones distorting at high levels is because you must not be in the recording business, but rather in the business of enjoying the final product. Virtually every microphone on the market today will have a max. SPL rating included in the published specifications. Bill Balmer |
#4
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Microphone distortion
"Cossie" wrote in message ...
"---MIKE---" wrote in message ... Everyone is concerned about distortion in speakers, amplifiers, CD players, and even cables. How about microphones. We never hear about whether microphones distort when driven to high levels (such as close proximity to a large chorus and orchestra). Are there any specs for microphones? The only reason you "never hear about" microphones distorting at high levels is because you must not be in the recording business, but rather in the business of enjoying the final product. Virtually every microphone on the market today will have a max. SPL rating included in the published specifications. Beyond that, which is all very true, is also the notion implied often that microphones are somehow magically a neutral, unimpassioned and utterly faithful player in the reproduction chain. Such a view is certainly naive, and most certainly just plain wrong. True, there are some microphones that are capable of quite faithfully and accurately sampling (in the borader sense) the acoustical information at the position of the microphone and converting it to an electrical representation with very minimal distortion and change. However, not a small number of these very expensive microphones have very DEFINITE and UNIQUE signatures: in one dimension or another, they most certainly DO distort. For example, vocal mics are often because they have a very definite, non-flat, no accurate frequency response. Many microphones have this property, and recording engineers will often exploit this fact, conciously or otherwise, to, in their view, enhance a recording. What I find ironic is the wholesale condemnation of tone controls, equalizers and such by the high-end audio community, contrasted against the wholesale embrace of recordings made with microphones that are, in every sense of the word, tone-controls and equalizers. |
#5
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Microphone distortion
"Dick Pierce" wrote in message
... not a small number of these very expensive microphones have very DEFINITE and UNIQUE signatures: in one dimension or another, they most certainly DO distort. For example, vocal mics are often because they have a very definite, non-flat, no accurate frequency response. Many microphones have this property, and recording engineers will often exploit this fact, conciously or otherwise, to, in their view, enhance a recording. What I find ironic is the wholesale condemnation of tone controls, equalizers and such by the high-end audio community, contrasted against the wholesale embrace of recordings made with microphones that are, in every sense of the word, tone-controls and equalizers. Very true. If microphones were perfectly flat and uncolored, you would really only need one kind. They are tools, used by engineers to achieve the sound they want. Of course, a reproduction sytem can do no more than attempt to duplicate THAT sound - which isn't necessarily the sound of the actual performance. In making that attempt, the flattest and most neutral reproduction possible IS valid. In other words, you cannot squeeze performance elements out of a recording which were not included in said recording. You are at the mercy of the engineer/producer/mastering engineer. The question will undoubtedly come up--"Then why don't they always use those few microphones that ARE uncolored?" The answer is complex, but boils down to two things: 1) They don't always WANT an uncolored sound 2) The mikes that are flat are most commonly measurement mikes with omnidirectional polar patterns. They are often impractical for use in real world recording situations. Bill Balmer |
#6
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Microphone distortion
"Cossie" wrote in message news:jdq%b.418269$na.808378@attbi_s04...
"Dick Pierce" wrote in message ... Very true. If microphones were perfectly flat and uncolored, you would really only need one kind. They are tools, used by engineers to achieve the sound they want. The mic does have built in distortion. It's the saturation point. One mic that can withstand high SPL is a Crown PZM. All professional microphones use pads or adjustable attenuators to prevent overload distortion. Consumer equipment does not have that feature. You can buy an external small mic preamp or mixer with that feature. You guys are so afraid of EQ. I grew up being taught just the same. Now I relize EQ is one of the three greatest improvements to hi fi, even to a very trained listener. Dare to EQ. |
#7
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Microphone distortion
MYKEY wrote:
The mic does have built in distortion. It's the saturation point. One mic that can withstand high SPL is a Crown PZM. All professional microphones use pads or adjustable attenuators to prevent overload distortion. Consumer equipment does not have that feature. You can buy an external small mic preamp or mixer with that feature. You guys are so afraid of EQ. I grew up being taught just the same. Now I relize EQ is one of the three greatest improvements to hi fi, even to a very trained listener. Dare to EQ. You're right that there is really nothing wrong with the concept of equalization. The one essential component in every phono-preamp is the RIAA equalization network. Vinyl would be a disaster without equalization. Done incompetently, equalization can really increase the noise floor and add distortion, though. So what are the other 2 great improvements to hi-fi in your opinion? That could be the start of an interesting thread. |
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