headphones with mounted mic

[starfish]

hello

i am looking for headphones with the microphone mounted to the headphones so that the microphone is very discreet. buds or headphones. i do not know what the term would be for such a device. does anyone know where i can find this please.

[A440]

http://www.soundprofessionals.com/cgi-bin/.../item/ISI-HMA-1

[kylieshotpants]

I've bought a pair from this ebay seller

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/STEREO-BINAURAL-MD-D...1QQcmdZViewItem

I've bought a few mics from him and they are all good only problem is the frequence range is 20-16,000hz, but I've found this to be of benefit in loud situations

[A440]

the frequence range is 20-16,000hz, but I've found this to be of benefit in loud situations

Looking at the listing, he seems to be using the same basic Panasonic capsules as everyone else, 20-20,000 K, so you're not losing anything. As long as they're well-built, this is a good alternative.

For what it's worth, a mic that picked up 20-16,000 wouldn't be much additional help in loud situations--it's the bass that overloads the preamp, not the high frequencies.

Edited November 5, 2005 by A440

[kylieshotpants]

Would it be the way they are built then that makes them better in loud situations?.

For instance I have a capsule mic (which is made by the same e-bay seller) that I carry with me and sometimes a regular lapel mic or another mic with a 20-20,000hz range, overloads and when I use the capsule mic it tends not too, the only difference is a slight dullness to the recording, but less bass

[A440]

The microphone capsule is the guts of the mic, the little thing inside that actually picks up the sound and is connected through the wires. Obviously you want the mic to be solidly built, but whatever's holding that capsule ought to be sonically transparent. And it's what the capsule inside picks up that matters.

There are all sorts of mic capsules. Some are more sensitive, some are less sensitive. Some pick up a broad frequency range (20-20,000 Hz) and some a narrower one (100-16,000 Hz , like a lot of Sony mics).

What you're calling a capsule mic--a little one-point stereo mic?--must use different capsules (two for a stereo mic, one for mono) inside than your 20-20,000K mic. You might ask your eBay guy for the specs.

A more sensitive mic will overload the preamp more easily--there's more signal coming in. And for some reason bass overloads the preamp. This is why Sony makes its microphones "for minidisc," like the DS70P, with limited bass response, only going down to 100 Hz. (Not much highs, either, 15K). It won't overload the preamp unless the music is really blasting. But the recording doesn't have any bottom. The lowest key on a piano is 27.5 Hz--that's nearly two octaves below 100Hz. That's a lot of music to miss.

To keep your better mics from overloading, first go into REC SET and switch to Low Sens unless you are recording something exceedingly quiet. And for loud music, plug the mic into an attenuator (Maplin VC-1 headphone volume control, about 3 GBP) through mic-in, which in effect lowers the sensitivity of the mic, or a battery box through line-in, which has more headroom. Either way will make your duller mic obsolete.

[kylieshotpants]

thanks for the help as ever A440, the mic in qusetion is this one

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SILVER-LAPTOP-OR-THI...1QQcmdZViewItem

it has the same capsule as the headphone mic

It's a great mic that I carry with the mini disc recorder in case of damage to the main mic

[greenmachine]

Mono mics might be suited for close miking applications like interviews, single instruments but not great for far miking. Everything's flat and one-dimensinal. There's no life.