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9v batt box or pre amp

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kylieshotpants

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Hi

I'm looking for some advice.

I'm currently using line-in to the 9v batt box & and am happy with the results (no overloads).

The recordings are clear but quiet, but this can be improved once uploaded.

I like to have a backup of everything for when the 1st one breaks.

Is it worth spending the extra cash on a pre amp, or do you suffer from overload problems as when you go through the mini disc mic input?

Thanks

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If your device has a mic-in, use it - its quality is often more than sufficient. If it doesn't, it might be wiser to invest in a unit with mic-in instead of using external preamps. External preamps are generally said expensive additional bulk you have to carry around. The quality isn't necessarily higher unless maybe you spend enormous amounts of cash.

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I'm currently using line-in to the 9v batt box & and am happy with the results (no overloads).

I've been using a 9V battery box with my binaural mics without issue. But then again, I record mainly loud rock/metal concerts so that's why levels aren't too big an issue for me.

However, I have been finding a need to get a decent preamp for the quieter jazz/ambience gigs that I check out from time to time, just to lower the noise floor to something a little more useable at such low levels. Perhaps something with a selectable compression (dynamic, that is) would be the way to go too in such situations. The only way I see myself accomplishing this would be to design my own, however, as I have not seen any portable version of such a preamp.

Ultimately, my point being it really depends on what you're recording. That will dictate whether or not you really need the wider dynamic range achieveable through the use of a preamp.

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[attachmentid=1401]Not true you can buy one of my preamps and my stereo cardioid mics (Church-Audio)for $199.99 here is a sample recording made with them this is a live recording in a theator at the sound board

via a minidisc recorder tranfered to my computer via line in now I have Hi Md so I can transfer digitally

Chris Church

Church-Audio

If your device has a mic-in, use it - its quality is often more than sufficient. If it doesn't, it might be wiser to invest in a unit with mic-in instead of using external preamps. External preamps are generally said expensive additional bulk you have to carry around. The quality isn't necessarily higher unless maybe you spend enormous amounts of cash.

ST2000SAMPLE.mp3

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  • 2 weeks later...

[attachmentid=1401]Not true you can buy one of my preamps and my stereo cardioid mics (Church-Audio)for $199.99 here is a sample recording made with them this is a live recording in a theator at the sound board

via a minidisc recorder tranfered to my computer via line in now I have Hi Md so I can transfer digitally

Chris Church

Church-Audio

I mentioned this earlier, but the battery box I have (VisivoX) works well as a pre amp as well -- when uploading to the PC.

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Battery boxes and preamps both have there place. As for using one as a headphone amp it really depends on how it is made and what the input and output impedance is and how much level it can put out. And how much level in can handle comming in, most mic preamps are designed to handle 1 volt maybe 1.2 volts most headphone amps can handle between 2volts and 5 volts peek to peek. There is a big differnece in input headroom. The other factor is the plug in power voltage on the input side of most of these small preamps can NOT be turned off so that means that you would be sending voltage into the output of what ever device you were trying to amplify the signal from. Most outputs have coupling capcitors on them. Meaning they are protected from voltage being present on the outputs, but some ARE NOT and might not react kindly to voltage! so be warned its not a good idea. There are alot of guys on eBay that sell completed headphone amps for $50 or more they are very well built and come in a wide range of shapes and colors and functions I recomend getting one with a stereo or Dual volume pot and something with very low current drain to avoid wasting batterys some even have built in batteries that can be recharged.

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  • 1 month later...

I would appreciate some feedback on the use of a pre-amp for the following live recording applications.

After several years of live recordings (mostly classical orchestra concerts and live acoustic music, some amplified, some not), I think I need to expand my options beyond going simply mic-in with the NH900 and the SP in-ear binaural mics. Specifically, I'm considering trying a pre-amp/line-in. From my prior reading, I am concerned that the concerts I record are not loud enough to get a useable recording by using just a battery box/line-in.

This past weekend, I recorded a live amplified string band (acoustic) concert. I just posted one of the songs as an example, in two versions: unedited and edited (after applying a filter to remove 50Hz buzz):

http://forums.minidisc.org/index.php?act=m..._album&album=62

Venue was a college auditorium. We sat in the front row. Maybe we should have sat farther back, but the amplification was not loud. My settings were low mic sensitivity, manual rec volume 12/30. Level meters on the NH900 seemed to be in my normal range, mostly bouncing just over the first hash mark, no topping out the meter that I noticed.

My results were less than expected, considering some of the really good classical recordings I have achieved with the same settings. My biggest gripe is the overall bass-iness of the recording. It seems "boomy" where there was seemingly not that much bass coming from the performance. Some of this was considerably reduced when applying a bass filter to take out a low-level background hum...we did not hear any hum from the sound system...maybe this was some inaudible feedback from the stage monitors, or maybe noise from the NH900? I dunno, we didn't hear it during the show.

I'm not overly concerned about the price differential between a battery box vs. pre-amp (though the Spousal Unit might think differently B)). At Sound Pro's, it's essentially a choice between $50+ or $180. I just want to reliably record low-to-moderate volume level concerts with as little noise as possible and avoiding the risk of bass overload.

I understand that this SP pre-amp ( http://www.soundprofessionals.com/cgi-bin/.../item/SP-PREAMP ) also has 9v plug-in-power for the mics, which would act as a plain battery box if I turn the gain down to -0-, for the instances in which I might want to record a loud concert. I also like the idea of its 3 gain settings for recording either loud, moderate or very quiet sounds.

Am I on the right track by wanting to try a pre-amp for these applications?

Edited by smkranz
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  • 3 months later...

I would appreciate some feedback on the use of a pre-amp for the following live recording applications.

.........

Am I on the right track by wanting to try a pre-amp for these applications?

This post seems to have died, which is a shame because I'm in the same position and thought I'd struck gold when it showed up in my search results!

I currently use an NH900 with GreenMachine's mics and battery box through line in. This has served me very well but I'm going to be recording at lot of festivals and at some very quiet gigs over the summer. Also (and I'll say this quietly) I've just bought a cheap :o JB3 :o from Ebay as a backup and for festivals. Initial results indicate that I need some more oomph and at least another battery box so that I can use both units at the same time.

Anyone got direct experiences of a small and relatively low cost stereo mic preamp that will increase the quality of the recording (through line in) and double up as a battery box to power the mics?

Cheers

Richard

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  • 1 month later...

That is a false and misleading statement my preamps work great and they do not cost

"enormous amounts of cash" I guess you just want to sell more battery boxes so you put preamps down. Well maybe its because you don't know how to build a good preamp? Your misleading people in saying all anyone needs is a battery box. That is not true.

If your device has a mic-in, use it - its quality is often more than sufficient. If it doesn't, it might be wiser to invest in a unit with mic-in instead of using external preamps. External preamps are generally said expensive additional bulk you have to carry around. The quality isn't necessarily higher unless maybe you spend enormous amounts of cash.

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soundalike: The JB3 has not been designed for serious recording (particularly not from its analogue inputs). Any Hi-MD will give you much better quality unless you invest in good external preamps/analog digital converters and are willing to carry all that gear around. I have bought a JB3 a while ago as well and never use it for recording.

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Are you kidding me?? JB3 devices record great audio I have measured them in my lab and compaired them with MD. You dont want me to tell you who won. I guess you think your handing out good advice. But I have read most of your posts and to be honest I think you do not know what your talking about. When you say things like that about the JB3.

soundalike: The JB3 has not been designed for serious recording (particularly not from its analogue inputs). Any Hi-MD will give you much better quality unless you invest in good external preamps/analog digital converters and are willing to carry all that gear around. I have bought a JB3 a while ago as well and never use it for recording.

Edited by CHURCH-AUDIO
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