Use a Battery Box With Plug In Power Microphones: Better Recordings from PiP Mics On Loud Sounds With

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Use a Battery Box With Plug In Power Microphones

Better Recordings from PiP Mics On Loud Sounds With External Power
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Aug 19, 2009

Richard Mudhar
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Battery Box (L) and recorder - Richard Mudhar

Recorder plug-in-power is poorly specified and often too low to power the microphone properly on loud sounds leading to distortion on
sounds like rock concerts.
Plug-in-power was introduced by Sony with their Walkman recorder range more than twenty years ago. Unlike professional phantom
microphone powering, manufacturers can implement it in various ways. Plug-in-power is rarely high enough in modern equipment to
allow for a lot of headroom.
The result is clipping on loud sounds, which is bad enough, but where those loud sounds are sustained, like at a rock concert, the
whole recording becomes muddy and unclear. Concert tapers can get better recordings with a battery box.
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Why Electret Microphones Need a Battery Box to Record Loud Sounds Clearly
According to Shure (makers of the popular SM58 vocal microphone) a rock concert can reach 120dB SPL at the back of the hall. Using
the values for a typical electret microphone capsule such as the Panasonic WM61A, the output signal is in the order of 1Vp-p at this
SPL. There just is not enough headroom since there should always be at least 1.5V DC across the capsule. Modern recorders often use
a low voltage of 2-3V to power the microphone, and often 1V of that is lost in the series resistance of the PiP circuit. (see diagram)

The microphone output can be estimated from the sensitivity of -35dB relative to 1V/Pa. Since 1Pa is 96dBSPL (at 1kHz) the rock
concert can reach 120-96-35 = -11dBV or 0.28Vrms or 0.8Vp-p

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Schematic of a Battery Box to Power Electret Plug-in-Power Microphones

A battery box contains a battery and a replacement powering circuit for the microphone. These typically use a 6 to 9V battery to power
the microphone via a resistor, in exactly the same way as the recorder's original plug in power circuit did. The key difference is that the
battery voltage is 2 or 3 times higher. Battery boxes are available from several companies such as Soundman, Sound Professionals and
Core Sound.
Building a battery box is easy enough for someone who is reasonably handy with a soldering iron. Most electret microphone capsules
have a current drain of between 0.5mA and 1.5mA and require a voltage across them of 1.5V up to a maximum of at least 8V. If a 9V
battery is used with a 4.7k resistor, then the capsule will have between 1.95V and 6.7V across it depending on current drain. Purists
would adjust the value to give about 5V at the capsule, optimising headroom. However, the values indicated will give a great
improvement in headroom for most electret plug-in-power microphones. The schematic is shown below.

Use a Battery Box for Better Sound with Plug-In-Power Inputs

http://richard-mudhar.suite101.com/use-a-battery-box-with-plug-in-power-microphones-a140741[04/04/2012 12:11:37]

Use a Battery Box With Plug In Power Microphones: Better Recordings from PiP Mics On Loud Sounds With External Power | Suite101.com

Using a battery box improves the large signal handling capability of PiP microphones, particularly when compared to some later
minidisc recorder inputs, which sourced PiP from a low voltage and a relatively high resistance. The result is clearer gig or garage band
recordings, and the difference is also noticeable on urban street recording which can have a lot of low-frequency noise from traffic.
Even the recording of quieter outdoor sounds like birdsong can benefit, because wind noise will not push the microphone into overload
so easily, giving some more chance against wind rumble.
Readers may also be interested in How to Fix Plug In Power Problems , the Audio Field Recording Guide and Binaural In-Ear Head Worn
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Copyright Richard Mudhar. Contact the author to obtain permission for republication.

Richard Mudhar - Originally from London, now enjoying a less hectic pace of life in Suffolk, Richard Mudhar is a keen wildlife sound
recordist and ...
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Battery Box (L)

and recorder Richard Mudhar

Schematic of a
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Comments
Mar 11, 2010 5:31 PM
Guest :
Thanks again for another great article! I already built the piezo preamp with power supply box and now im looking forward to
making this rather than spending a ridiculous amount on a commercial one!
Mar 16, 2010 3:33 PM
Guest :
Hi Richard. I made this device, but the voltage coming out after the resistors is 9.14v (no load), and it's 9.29v coming straight out of
the battery. I'm worried that it might be too much voltage for my OKM II classic microphones, because I know their battery box has
a 6 volt battery. Also, is there any danger to the recording device when it receives the initial voltage from the battery? Thank you!
Mar 17, 2010 1:58 PM
Richard Mudhar :
The current from the OKMs will load down the terminal voltage, it sounds like you are measuring the open circuit voltage at the mic
input. If you want peace of mind, temporarily rig a bench PSU instead of the battery and bring up the voltage while the mics are
connected, & monitor the mic voltage. Or use a couple of 3V lithium coin cells. If you look carefully at the mic you will see I use
OKM Classic with this rig, they work just fine :)
Mar 17, 2010 2:02 PM
Richard Mudhar :
> look carefully at the mic
what I meant was if you look carefully at the pic...
The 1uF keeps the terminal voltage out of the recorder, and will discharge into the input impedance of ~6k. You can put a 47k bleed
resistor from the outputs to ground to discharge the plug-in surge, I don't bother personally
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