Newbie here! need help with Condenser Mics, Mixers, and Phantom Power!

Z

Zetrox2k

New member
Hey guys!

hoping you guys can be of assistance! Just bought 4 x Dynamic Condenser Mic's like the ones here:

Wired Condenser Microphone Broadcasting Recording MIC Shock Mount BM 800 White | eBay

Now im looking for a mixer, but as far as im aware, the mics need phantom power.

1. Would i be correct in assuming this mixer wont work as it doesnt support phantom power?

4 Input Microphone Mixer Fast Ship From Sydney | eBay

2. If i went for a mixer with phantom power support, for example:

Behringer 502 Xenyx 5 Input Mixer With 48 V Phantom Power | eBay

is the 48v phantom power supply built into these units, or do i need something like this to plug into the mixer?

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/New-1-Ch...U-FAST-SHIP-/231683474424?hash=item35f16943f8

3. Also what equipment do you guys recommend if i want to get this done as cheaply as possible. dont care if equipment is no-brand or secondhand, as long as it "works".
 
Hi,
A couple of things.

'Dynamic condenser' mic isn't a thing.
Dynamic mics don't require power (unless they've got active circuitry - rare), and condenser (capacitor) mics do.
You're buying the latter so yes, you need phantom power.

Scrap the first 'mixer'. It's not appropriate at all.

The second mixer has phantom power built in. It'll be delivered, as expected, over two pins of the XRL connectors.
It only has one microphone input, though, so that means one mic at a time. No good.

Do you really need a mixer? The verb here is mix, so you wouldn't be able to do any meaningful post production if you're recording.
Unless you're planning some very small scale live work or rehearsal recording or something, there's a good chance you need an audio interface with 4 mic preamps (look for 4 XLR inputs)

Tell us more about what you're hoping to do. :)
 
i figured i probably wouldnt be saving that much by going with a preamp, in the event we did some live stuff at some point. but i could be wrong. i also figured it would be handy for using in conjunction with skype?
 
OK, cool.
Is this live streaming or pre-record?

You can do this with a mixer and there's an appeal there for hands-on control.
You can also do it with an audio interface and give yourself greater software control (plugins, sidechaining to talk over music) etc.

There are merits and drawbacks for both.

Either way you'll need a device with four microphone preamps built in.
Either a larger format Behry mixer or maybe a tascam US1800/800/16**.

If you want to add Skype users to the setup that complicates things a little.
The easiest way would probably be to have a dedicated computer for Skype and run its outputs into your mixer or interface.
That way you treat the Skype receive just the same way you would a mic in the room.
A mixer is useful here because you can send a feed from it to the Skype computer so that you are heard by the caller.

All things considered, mixer is probably the way to go, but it'd need to be much bigger than the one you listed.
 
I'd encourage you to think very carefully about how you want this to work....in very specific detail.

The short answer, however, is yes. Either of those could do the job.
 
Steenamaroo said:
I'd encourage you to think very carefully about how you want this to work....in very specific detail.

The short answer, however, is yes. Either of those could do the job.
Click to expand...

Will do! thanks heaps for your help steenamaroo! i really appreciate your time and effort.
 
hey guys thank you all again for your help!

so i ended up grabbing a Behringer Xenyx 1204USB mixer.

X1204USB | Small Format Mixers | Mixers | Behringer | Categories | MUSIC Group

i opted to go for this model as it has the 4 x XLR inputs as well as USB functionality. I figured the USB functionality is going to be a much better option than using my PC's onboard sound inputs in terms of quality.

Mixer should be arriving today, the mic's tomorrow. will do some testing and report back!

do you guys think ive made a decent choice?
 
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