Freesound Forums

Hi all,

I am considering buying this http://microphonemadness.com/products/mmbinstermic.htm in order to make some ambient recordings.

Anyone know of any other good omni/binaural mics out there?

Tell us more about your budget, so we can tell you what mics are in that range.
But why do you want to have binaural mics?I never understood why people choose some of these. Dont want to offend you, I just wonder

Ah yes i'm not sure whether to go binaural, there seems to be downsides such as a lot of handling/wind noise.

My budget is probably no more than a couple of hundred at the most.

to make some ambient recordings.

Frogloggers might be a better option for quiet ambience/nature recordings

http://www.frogloggers.com/FORMgallery4.htm

These have a lower self noise than the ones you linked to.

As for wind noise, omnis are the least affected by wind compared to cardioid or hypercardioid. It is relatively simple to make your own windshields for them.

Alternatively you could make your own binaurals. Have a look at the Primo EM172 in the page I linked, pack of 10 for a few bucks more than the MM ready made binaurals and self noise of only 14dB !

What would be the easiest way to reduce the voltage sent to the Primo EM172 (that needs 5v and 600uA ) from a sound devices (that sends 48v and 10mA) ?
Is there an adapter of some kind?

You can easily build a battery box with a mini-jack input (from the mics) and 2x XLR outputs that go into the recorder. There are also some adapters available that convert 48v to PP, but apparently they are somewhat noisy, so a battery box might be a better (and cheaper) option.

You can use the pages below for instructions about how to build your own battery box. You will need to register to see the images on the first page.

http://forums.sonyinsider.com/topic/14343-how-to-build-a-stereo-microphone-and-battery-box/

mini jack to XLR wiring:
http://home.comcast.net/~zenkai-audio/gndtss/dwg/xlr_mini.gif

Thanks Yuval!

I've been trying to register to Sonyinsider.com (but still unable to for some reason)...
but I got some sketches to use a battery to power the EM172 and couple the signal into the recorder with a capacitor.

All the best.