Condenser Mic's

[SHARYNF]

Some like the AKG c1000s will allow you to use phantom or battery, just as long as you remember to turn on the on /off switch
Also remember that there are basically two types of condenser mics, one the true condenser, uses a plate voltage for the capacitor, and this one is more sensitive to the voltage based on the design.
The other is the Electret design which is pre charged, but uses the phantom power not for the capacitor, but for the preamp built into the mic, this one is less sensitive to the voltage

Sharyn

 

[cutlunch]

48 volts = 4 12 volt batteries in series, or 2 24 volters. Telephone exchanges are supplied with mains at 240 and a 48 volt supply reticulated throughout. Hmm. Is it not a general thing that the separation of lighting and audio supply was a good thing...

We would have been talking about incandescent bulbs. With these bulbs there is generaly no interference created except when you dim them. So in this case it wouldn't be much of a problem.

 

[the_dude]

The thought of a microphone running "better" off of battery power vs a consoles is one that I admittedly hadn't thought about. But, considering that vast improvements in a systems noise floor which uses balanced power vs a system running by normal means, I'm very intrigued. Seeing as a battery is a naturally balanced power source, I would be willing to bet there would be a noticeable improvement when compared to a console being feed by an unbalanced power source.

Maybe I'm just taking it too far on this one though.

 

[avkid]

I have noticed a difference in the noise floor when using a 9 volt battery in my C-1000S versus the phantom power on my USB interface.

 

[Peter]

I think the problem there is in the fact that the phantom power coming from your USB device is probably VERY noisy. On the computer, you are going from a 120v AC to a probably ~12v DC internal voltage, and then you are going to a 5v DC USB voltage, and then finally back to a ~48v DC phantom power... in otherwords, you are transforming you power so many times, and it is HIGHLY likely that somewhere along that chain there's a cheap transformer that is adding noise to your phanom power. When I am recording on the road with my laptop, before doing the real recording I alway try a sample with my laptop plugged in and a sample running off the battery, sometimes one is cleaner, sometimes the other is... it depends on ALOT of things. Also if it's a laptop, be sure you are not dimming your screen while recording, I have found that the technique most laptops use for dimming the screen adds TONs of noise to your power!

 

[avkid]

I have my PV14 back at home again, so the problem should be solved.

 

[Andy_Leviss]

But, considering that vast improvements in a systems noise floor which uses balanced power vs a system running by normal means, I'm very intrigued.

This is getting off on a tangent, but...

Is this statement based on personal observation, or what the ads tell you? While I've worked a few times on a balanced power system, I didn't really have oppurtunity to compare to the same system without the balanced distro. I do, however, have the word of a number of people who really know what they're talking about when it comes to noise reduction (like Bill Whitlock, of Jensen Transformers) who have written extensively in print and stated at various presentations that the benefits achieved by balanced power distro are so minimal as to not be at all worth the expense, when much cheaper solutions can provide much greater cost/benefit ratios in eliminating noise.

--A

 

[the_dude]

I have had a chance to hear two systems side by side and I'll agree the difference is minimal; and at 115db, nobody is going to notice the difference in any pro level gear.
The real benefit is with backline. The difference between balanced and unbalanced power on backline can be rather audible, especially on vintage equipment.

 

[SHARYNF]

Balanced power helps on backline especially vintage since a lot of this gear is just two wire powered, and tends to be noisey. Balanced power helps on recording at the high bit densities and frequency by getting the noise floor lower

Sharyn

 

[jkowtko]

Back to the original question and the mention of the snake ...

Can't you just get a 1/4" TRS female to XLR male converter? These are pretty easy to find, and as long as your snake is putting out TRS balanced, then the converter should let you plug into the mixing board through the XLR inputs and fire up the phantom power from the board.

Also, I'm a but surprised that you have a snake that converts only from XLR female to TRS male. Sounds a bit unconventional.