StarCapt Posted October 22, 2004 Report Share Posted October 22, 2004 I recently bought the Sound Professionals battery-powered stereo mike mentioned here when it was on sale for $99. (I don't remember the Model designation and it's not printed on the mike itself.) I bought this mike to record Foley-type sound effects for a radio drama series I produce and direct. I have no previous experience with a stereo mike. When using the mike to record on my Sony NH-900 some sound effects at home -- pouring drinks, door open and close, etc. -- I could barely hear what was being recorded through my Sennheiser headphones. So I held the mike very near the sound source. When played back through SonicStage, however, and as recorded via Total Recorder, the sounds were so loud as to be unuseable and Total Recorder's bar was blasting into the red zone. The Sony recorder had the automatic recording level on as the default. I'm puzzled as to how to judge, while recording, what is an acceptable recording level through the headphones, which are a good quality consumer level set. Thanks in advance for any helpful replies. SC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dex Otaku Posted October 23, 2004 Report Share Posted October 23, 2004 There's only one way to do this kind of thing properly [especially with close-micing]: Use manual levels. And rehearse the sound several times to make sure the levels are in range. The headphone output on most MDs is a bit anemic when it comes to driving full-sized headphones. If you can find a pair of decent earbuds or canalphones for monitoring while recording, it makes things much easier. Their generally [much] higher sensitivity [more SPL with less power] make them ideal for portable use. I use a cheap pair of Koss "pseudo-canalphones" that have a horrid response curve, but are designed with plugs like "EAR" brand earplugs. They're excellent for monitoring location recordings because they isolate you from the outside sound quite a bit. They sort of suck for general listening, but are ideal for this purpose, especially since a HiMD like my NH700 [5mw/chan I believe] is almost ear-splittingly loud at 13/30. By contrast, my Sennheiser HD330s [old, 'mid'-sized open studio cans] have to be turned up to maybe 25/30 to get the same sort of volume. So yeah, Manual levels, and rehearse. After a while, you start to get to know your recorder and your mic, and know roughly where to set the levels for a certain SPL at a certain distance. Also: if your mic is M/S stereo, know that when you get very close to sources with one side or the other of the mic, stereo separation basically disappears completely. M/S is -ideal- though for close-mic'ing that you'll be mixing down to mono, as there's a true center there. Just point the mic straight at your subject. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StarCapt Posted October 23, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2004 Dex -- Thanks very much for the helpful reply. What is "SPL"? And what do the ratios 13/30 and 25/30 refer to? SC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dex Otaku Posted October 24, 2004 Report Share Posted October 24, 2004 The record and volume levels on HiMDs have a range of 0-30, setting wise. SPL = Sound Pressure Level, i.e. the actual measureable loudness of a sound, in dB, decibels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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