Hi,

I'm thinking of buying a condenser mic which requires an external
phantom power of 11 to 52 Vdc. I have a Live Drive II which is able to
supple a phantom power of 12v (by changing the jumper). Is there any
difference if I get an external phantom power supply which supplies
48v? Does this affect the volume of the microphone output? If it does,
how much difference in volume if you do know btw?

Thanx

You have to specify which mic you mean, but usually there is no
difference, if the phantom powering of the live drive is reasonable.
Samuel

In article writes:

I'm thinking of buying a condenser mic which requires an external
phantom power of 11 to 52 Vdc. I have a Live Drive II which is able to
supple a phantom power of 12v (by changing the jumper).

What's a Live Drive II? (If you just post a link without comment, I
won't read it. If I'm off base and you want to help me understand what
this is, please explain it in your own words.)

If this is a sound card with a microphone input and costs less than
about $300, I'll bet it's not phantom power (even if that's what the
specs say) but rather, it's an unbalanced mic level input with 3 or 12
volts applied to the hot terminal of the connector. This is
appropriate for the cheap "computer microphones" but not for a real
phantom powered condenser mic.

They are two different powering systems. I used to capitalize Phantom
because I thought it was the name of the powering system developed by
Neumann which has become a generic term. It turns out that even
Neumann doesn't capitalize it, so I don't any more. For 40 years, this
was the way that condenser microphones were powered without using any
additional wires in their cable. There is another powereing system
that lasted longer in Europe than in the US called T-Power
(Tonemeister, I beleive) which also uses the signal leads for
microphone power.

The new computer (and often portable recorder) consumer grade powering
systems have more in common with T-power than Phantom (with a capital
P) power in that the voltage is across the signal leads rather than
between each of the two leads and a common (shield) point. They are
all incompatible. Connecting a mic to the wrong powering system will
produce undesirable effects ranging from simply not working to
damaging the mic or the input stage of the preamplifier.

As far as your question about using a mic with a phantom power range
of 11-52 volts on a 12 volt supply, chances are it will work just
fine. It's best to check the manufacturer's spec sheet for any
limitations, however. Some microphones have more headroom (ability to
work with loud sources without distortion) at higher powering
voltages, but others don't care.



--
I'm really Mike Rivers - )
However, until the spam goes away or Hell freezes over,
lots of IP addresses are blocked from this system. If
you e-mail me and it bounces, use your secret decoder ring
and reach me he double-m-eleven-double-zero at yahoo

I'm thinking of buying a condenser mic which requires an external
phantom power of 11 to 52 Vdc. I have a Live Drive II which is able to
supple a phantom power of 12v (by changing the jumper). Is there any
difference if I get an external phantom power supply which supplies
48v?

Yes. 36 volts difference.

Does this affect the volume of the microphone output?

No, microphone volume is not dependent on phantom voltage.

If it does,
how much difference in volume if you do know btw?


Some microphones will not work properly on less than 48 volts. Neumanns, for
example. You said your intended mic will take 11 to 52 volts, so it will work
just fine if the manufacturer is being honest. Some mics have increased self
noise or reduced headroom when using lower voltages. Depends on the make &
model. Volume is not an issue, though. If you do decide to get an external
phantom supply, be aware that it must plug into a balanced input.




Scott Fraser

Oh, btw, Live Drive II is from the Creative Labs. I've an Audigy 2
platinum ex. Yeah it's some cheap card... but so they said in theird
support that it has a jumper to set the External Front Panel to enable
phantom power at 12V instead of 8V. So i believed them and I haven't
bothered to open up the Front Panel yet... just hope what they said is
true.

Currently I'm insterested in the Shure SM86 microphone model just FYI.

Thanx for the answers. Really appreciate it



(Mike Rivers) wrote in message news:znr1069944789k@trad...
In article writes:

I'm thinking of buying a condenser mic which requires an external
phantom power of 11 to 52 Vdc. I have a Live Drive II which is able to
supple a phantom power of 12v (by changing the jumper).

What's a Live Drive II? (If you just post a link without comment, I
won't read it. If I'm off base and you want to help me understand what
this is, please explain it in your own words.)

If this is a sound card with a microphone input and costs less than
about $300, I'll bet it's not phantom power (even if that's what the
specs say) but rather, it's an unbalanced mic level input with 3 or 12
volts applied to the hot terminal of the connector. This is
appropriate for the cheap "computer microphones" but not for a real
phantom powered condenser mic.

They are two different powering systems. I used to capitalize Phantom
because I thought it was the name of the powering system developed by
Neumann which has become a generic term. It turns out that even
Neumann doesn't capitalize it, so I don't any more. For 40 years, this
was the way that condenser microphones were powered without using any
additional wires in their cable. There is another powereing system
that lasted longer in Europe than in the US called T-Power
(Tonemeister, I beleive) which also uses the signal leads for
microphone power.

The new computer (and often portable recorder) consumer grade powering
systems have more in common with T-power than Phantom (with a capital
P) power in that the voltage is across the signal leads rather than
between each of the two leads and a common (shield) point. They are
all incompatible. Connecting a mic to the wrong powering system will
produce undesirable effects ranging from simply not working to
damaging the mic or the input stage of the preamplifier.

As far as your question about using a mic with a phantom power range
of 11-52 volts on a 12 volt supply, chances are it will work just
fine. It's best to check the manufacturer's spec sheet for any
limitations, however. Some microphones have more headroom (ability to
work with loud sources without distortion) at higher powering
voltages, but others don't care.