mshilarious, I remember asking you to make binaural microphones before I ended up buying the ones from Microphone Madness. Is that what gave you the idea?
What idea? I don't make an in-ear mic
Vagodeoz - Yes, I think the battery module is extremely overpriced. Which sucks. I looked inside and it looks like a very simple circuit that takes 2 small watch batteries which are easy to find at Wal-Mart. They're RS16 or something. I don't know about the "RS" part but I know they're 16's and not 32's.
Battery boxes take a bit of fabrication. First, the case costs more than the batteries. Then you have to drill it, add the circuit (the simplest would be a couple of resistors, but they can be more sophisticated), add the connectors. It doesn't take a ton of time, but when you're done, you're gonna charge $50 for the thing if you want to feed your family. This stuff is often low volume, custom made electronics--even if it is very simple, you are paying for first world hand labor because the demand is low.
If you can bang together your own battery box, go for it, it isn't that hard. But many people are totally allergic to any kind of DIY.
Also, on their "Cables" section, you can get a 1/8" to dual XLR cable for about $20. This will let you hook them up into whatever preamp you may have. I think that will remove the need for a battery module but you may want to ask someone who knows more like mshilarious. I've e-mailed them about this and they said it will work. But they are intended for portable recorders with "plug-in" power.
I would directly ask them if that cable converts phantom power to plug-in power, because the MM product doesn't say that it does. It could be just a simple adaptor cable, which you wouldn't want to use with phantom (potentially fried mics will result). There are phantom adaptor cables and boxes available, I didn't see one on the MM site, but I didn't look too hard. I don't think you could get that for $20 though, it requires a circuit.
Not all PC mics ports are Mono. And not all provide the "plug-in" power / bias voltage. My laptop is Mono with voltage(ATI IXP). My desktop is stereo with voltage (nVidia MCP61 / hda-intel). My Delta 44(PCI) and Mobile Pre(USB) provide no plug-in power, and need a battery box to record anything with said mics.
I didn't say all of them were, I said most. You said that plug-in mics were intended for most PC mic ports. That's not true. Most PC mic ports are Soundblaster-compatible, which is not directly compatible with stereo plug-in mics. Perhaps that is changing, but the installed base is mono powered. And while we're on the topic, Macs have used different standards that aren't compatible with anything non-proprietary. Maybe that is changing too, I don't know.
The primary use of plug-in mics is with portable recorders. I am trying to help people avoid buying something that will not work with the equipment they have. Unfortunately, the consumer end of the business has no standards, so caveat emptor, and read your manuals (if your PC has one).
The Delta 44 and Mobile Pre are interfaces . . . I don't know what your point is there. Those aren't PC mic ports.
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