M-Audio Pulsar II's - Noisy Pair - Why?

M

MoBettaBlues

New member
I've got a matched pair of these and they are both noisy. One seems to be much quieter when I switch the high pass filter off.

I've tried different pre-amps, different cables, etc.

Is this just the characteristic of these mics or is something wrong with them?

Here's a short sample.

View attachment Mic Noise.mp3
 
Hi there,

That kind of intermittent noise suggests a fault, somewhere.

I'd troubleshoot to prove each piece of the chain, with one chain.

Try Mic A, Cable A, preamp A and see what's what.
Now switch microphones so it's B,A,A.
Keep notes.

Now do the same with a different cable - First mic then second mic.
A,B,A.
B,B,A.

Now repeat all of the above but in the second preamp.

A,A,B
B,A,B
A,B,B
B,B,B.


For each preamp rotate the gain knob a little as you listen, to find out of it's causing crackling/rustling.
I've seen that happen plenty of times.

My gut would tell me that the HPF switching thing is likely to be a separate issue,
but the above troubleshooting should conclusively tell you if any mic/cable/gain pot/preamp has an issue.
 
Steenamaroo said:
Hi there,

That kind of intermittent noise suggests a fault, somewhere.

I'd troubleshoot to prove each piece of the chain, with one chain.

Try Mic A, Cable A, preamp A and see what's what.
Now switch microphones so it's B,A,A.
Keep notes.

Now do the same with a different cable - First mic then second mic.
A,B,A.
B,B,A.

Now repeat all of the above but in the second preamp.

A,A,B
B,A,B
A,B,B
B,B,B.


For each preamp rotate the gain knob a little as you listen, to find out of it's causing crackling/rustling.
I've seen that happen plenty of times.

My gut would tell me that the HPF switching thing is likely to be a separate issue,
but the above troubleshooting should conclusively tell you if any mic/cable/gain pot/preamp has an issue.
Click to expand...

I'll give it a shot but I've noticed this noise on the same mic using 2 separate cables and 2 different interfaces that would include a total of 4 separate preamps.
 
Try drying them out in a ziplock plastic bag with some desiccant packs. If you can't get desiccant packs substitute dry white rice in a stocking. Mic capsules don't like moisture and could cause noise like that.
 
arcaxis said:
Try drying them out in a ziplock plastic bag with some desiccant packs. If you can't get desiccant packs substitute dry white rice in a stocking. Mic capsules don't like moisture and could cause noise like that.
Click to expand...

How many packs would it take?

I get those little packs in my vitamins, etc.
 
MoBettaBlues said:
How many packs would it take?

I get those little packs in my vitamins, etc.
Click to expand...

The ones that come in vitamins and similar may be a bit small and likely would take quite a few to do anything. Walmart shows some on their site, but it's difficult to know if an actual store would stock any.
If you have Prime account with Amazon you'd have them in a couple days Amazon.com: 10 Packets of 10 Gram "Dry&Dry" Premium Pure & Safe Silica Gel Desiccant- Rechargeable Fabric: Industrial & Scientific

Any place in your house that's warm (not hot and not damp warm) that you could set the mics near for a day or two?
 
The mics seem excellent value and get a good rep' here, M-Audio Pulsar II |

The problem might be condensation but my AKG P150s live in an unheated (but not damp) room and have never given any trouble. I would contact Avid PDQ.

Dave.
 
ecc83 said:
The mics seem excellent value and get a good rep' here, M-Audio Pulsar II |

The problem might be condensation but my AKG P150s live in an unheated (but not damp) room and have never given any trouble. I would contact Avid PDQ.

Dave.
Click to expand...

The area I keep my mics is not damp but I'm giving the idea a try.

Regarding contacting support - I purchased these mics used and you have to have a code from registering just to contact support.
 
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