Question about phantom power and line-in for loud shows

[mrsoul]

I have a question about Phantom Power...

If I ran my AT853 mics with just phantom power and no preamp, would I have a problem with a low recording levels due to lack of gain (which I presume would be provided by the preamp)? In other words, is a phantom power supply just a 48v battery box?

I realize there is an equipment change that is necessary but I am strongly considering it for very loud shows...

[greenmachine]

In other words, is a phantom power supply just a 48v battery box?

One could say so.

If I ran my AT853 mics with just phantom power and no preamp, would I have a problem with a low recording levels due to lack of gain (which I presume would be provided by the preamp)?

Depends strongly on the loudness of the source (SPL), your recording level setting and the sensitivity of your mics (which seems to be in the average range). In other words, with the right level setting your recording levels should be in the normal range at very loud shows. Why don't you give it a try?

[mrsoul]

One could say so.

Depends strongly on the loudness of the source (SPL), your recording level setting and the sensitivity of your mics (which seems to be in the average range). In other words, with the right level setting your recording levels should be in the normal range at very loud shows. Why don't you give it a try?

Thanks for the reply. I was also thinking of adding some Hosa line transformers for a little added gain when the source isn't so loud...

[greenmachine]

From my understanding a line transformer is for impedance matching and doesn't add any gain itself (although you might gain some gain from a better impedance matching). From what i've read your mics have a relatively low impedance of about 200 ohms, while the line-in performs best at higher values (~10k-50k), so it could be worth a try. I've never tried something like that myself though.