Freesound Forums

Hi there,

well I am looking for a portable, therefore battery operated microphone preamp, with very low noise and if possible a 3.5mm stereo socket or 2 x 6.3mm mono jack plugs input, to connect the microphones I use to a DAT recorder or a minidisc recorder.

What is most important is, that the preamp is as noiseless as possible. Any ideas?

Inchadney :?:

Hi inchadney,
to me only the Sound Devices preamps meet the low noise (and gain) requirements for recording in the field. Problem is they are expensive but when you read the noise specs it really is good value for money. They also have only XLR inputs for balanced connections with or without phantom power. They do have mini jack output to connect to minidisc. Others on freesound here use their minidiscs as preamps to recording devices. I don't think "very low noise input" and 3.5 or 6.3 mm jack input go together.
--Peter

Hi Peter,

thank you for your message! : )

Which preamp from sound devices do you think is best for stereo recordings and do you have any recordings with one used?

Inchadney

Today I only have a Sound Devices 702 recorder, no preamp/mixer yet. Planning to get one though. The MixPre is a very good machine I am told. Also availlable as the Shure FP24. Same machine, same specs. Has 66dB of gain which is acceptable. Freesound contributor Dobroide uses one. Search for "FP24" and you'll get a good feel of it. Great recordings.

Using a low noise mixer/preamp raises the bar on microphones to use. You might want to check out RaneNote 148.

http://www.rane.com/note148.html

--Peter

pcaeldries
The MixPre is a very good machine I am told. Also availlable as the Shure FP24. --Peter

Indeed I have a MixPre and it's just about perfect for field recording. Very low noise, transparent preamp, built-in limiter, runs on a pair of AA batteries...and has the 1/8" jack for connecting to consumer level recorders. I use mine with an Edirol R-09.

Not cheap tho...about $650 USD

digifish.

pcaeldries
The MixPre is a very good machine I am told. Also availlable as the Shure FP24. --Peter

Indeed I have a MixPre and it's just about perfect for field recording. Very low noise, transparent preamp, 2 channels, built-in limiter, runs on a pair of AA batteries...and has the 1/8" jack for connecting to consumer level recorders. I use mine with an Edirol R-09.

Not cheap tho...about $650 USD

digifish.

Thanks for all your advice, but is there not a preamp, which has a 2 x 6.3mm jack plugs input?

My AT 822, the Sennheiser K6 /ME 64 and some of the other microphones have those kind of plugs.

Inchadney

hi there,
inchadney you may want to have a look at this
http://www.felmicamps.co.uk/index.html
Also, the mics you mention have detachable cables so you can chose either xlr or jack

saludos

dobroide
Also, the mics you mention have detachable cables so you can chose either xlr or jack
saludos

Indeed, and you should use XLR connection/cables where possible as it's balanced and has lower noise than the alternative, I assume the phono-jack cables are unbalanced?

'Friends, dont let friends used unbalanced mic connections'

digifish.

jack connections are not necessarily unbalanced. TRS 'tip-ring-sleave" jack connectors were indeed designed to carry balanced signals. See RaneNote 110 'Sound system interconnection'

http://www.rane.com/note110.html

One rarely sees balanced jack connections carrying phantom I have the impression. The M-Audio MicroTrack is an exception I think.

TS jack (tip-sleeve) connectors carry unbalanced signals.

--Peter

pcaeldries
jack connections are not necessarily unbalanced. TRS 'tip-ring-sleave" jack connectors were indeed designed to carry balanced signals. See RaneNote 110 'Sound system interconnection'

http://www.rane.com/note110.html

One rarely sees balanced jack connections carrying phantom I have the impression. The M-Audio MicroTrack is an exception I think.

TS jack (tip-sleeve) connectors carry unbalanced signals.

--Peter

Thanks Peter, yes as you point out TRS connectors can be balanced (you just need 3 independent wires). It was because this is so rare it's better to ignore it and just look for gear with XLR connectors on it...plenty about and a more relaiable connector.

digifish

Well, in the meantime I bought the BeachTek DXA 10 and are quiete happy with it, after building a connector to have an external battery. :lol:

Inchadney

inchadney
Well, in the meantime I bought the BeachTek DXA 10 and are quiete happy with it, after building a connector to have an external battery. :lol:

Inchadney

Great, nice pre-amp, similar to the MixPre...how much did you pay?

digifish

Well, I payed US $239,95 for it, which equals EUR 178,53, plus postage and tax.

Inchadney

Quite a number of years ago i used a Rode NT3 with an MD recorder. The NT3 take a 9volt battery so it doesnt need phantom power, and i used an XLR to 1/4" TRS then a 1/4" TRS to 1/8" TRS to the MD. It was my first field recorder and i used it on games and even took it around Europe on a holiday for some interesting recordings. The NT3 is hypercardiod too to nice and directional.

Leant the hard way though that it must have some interesting metal content in the casing, which is long and cylindrical... airport scanners, machine guns and tense faces abound!

Can you guys recommend a preamp for the ihp-140 with sound professionals' SP-TFB-2 binaural mic?

Anyone ?

IMHO the RME Quadmic is very, very noiseless, it operates with batteries and can use voltages from 7 - 28V AC or DC.
The price is quite low, it just costs 400 Euro.