bm- 800, phantom power and a usb hub. HELP WITH PHANTOM POWER?

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jamkindez

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i am looking to buy a bm - 800 mic for youtube commentary from amazon Wanway 2016 Updated Version BM800 Condenser Microphone 3.5mm Studio Recording Mic,Comes with Suspension Boom Scissor Arm Stand,Shock Mount and Wind Screen Pop Filter Windshield For Studio Recording: Amazon.co.uk: Musical Instruments

i can see in the decription it needs Phantom Power. I have done some reasearch and know roughly what it is, but i would like to know wether i can use the mic with my mains powered usb hub. it has a microphone 3.5mm socket on it, but i would like to know wether this wouldbe able to power the mic.

i will attach imaages of the usb hub's power ratings and a picture of the hub.
 
These cheap mics will generally work with the "bias" voltage provided from the microphone jack on a computer.
Sound card microphone

Phantom might not be needed, but sometimes are suggested by the seller as "improving" the sound quality. Your USB hub will not provide phantom power. A phantom power accessory box can provide it.....
InnoGear® Single Channel 48V Phantom Power Supply with Adapter for Any Condenser Microphone Music Voice Recording Equipment: Amazon.co.uk: Musical Instruments

Rather than the mic you linked I would recommend spending a bit more money and purchase a USB microphone, possibly like this if just for simple narration....
Audio-Technica ATR2100-USB microphone - microphones (50 - 50000 Hz, Wired, Black): Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories
 
I have this one..BTSKYâ„¢BM-800 Condenser Sound Recording Microphone + Mic Shock Mount, Ideal for radio broadcasting studio, voice-over sound studio, recording and so on (Blue): Amazon.co.uk: Musical Instruments
and find it remarkably good for the silly money. It came with an XLR to "stereo" 3.5mm jack and works quite well plugged straight into a laptop.

The microphone will also work with an XLR-XLR mic cable into a spook juiced interface and this is vastly to be preferred as the MO.

So, get the £20 mic and an Alesis i02 interface and you are good to go for around 100quid.

Dave.
 
idk if im gonna bother. i was hoping to spend around 40 quid at the max lol. :(
 
wait, so if i plug the mic straight into the laptop i would be ok, just less quality? (im an audio noob so please explain in lamens terms :P)
 
jamkindez said:
wait, so if i plug the mic straight into the laptop i would be ok, just less quality? (im an audio noob so please explain in lamens terms :P)
Click to expand...

It might work plugged directly into the laptop (depending on if the laptop has the "bias" voltage on the jack, which most do). Whether the "quality" would be better is subjective and the seller may be only saying this as a way to promote selling a phantom power supply. Interface would be a better option.
If you have a maximum on the budget, buy the basic mic with no phantom power and give it a try. Amazon is good on returns, so if it doesn't work out, you could return it. If it works and you keep it, you could save up for a decent interface to use it with and perhaps further along an upgrade of the mic if you get good at the narrations.

I think I remember Dave had a voice sample posted of his mic somewhere.
 
ok, ill try it.thanks. i have no idea what an interface is though (sorry :P) is it like a phantom psu?
 
jamkindez said:
ok, ill try it.thanks. i have no idea what an interface is though (sorry :P) is it like a phantom psu?
Click to expand...

Okay, sorry! An Audio Interface is a box of electronics that contains (usually at least one) a microphone pre amp an audio to digital converter and a corresponding D to A converter to allow you to listen to the results , both via "Line outs" and a headphone jack.
Yes, much of this is built into almost every PC and mac but an AI, even the very cheapest ones are better pre amps and converters than the 50cent chips in PCs and VASTLY more flexible and easy to use in almost every way. One BIG plus (you will find out when they break!) is that the connectors, XLR and 1/4" jacks are made for "men" and are vastly more rugged than 1/8* jacks on computers.

Did not do a voice test but I shall dig out the mic and see what I can do later.

Dave.
 
Thanks! I've had a look and i'm probably not going to get an interface, if its avoidable, as they are very expensive and its quite unlikley ill be able to afford one on a £40 budget.
 
Ok, attached is a bit of my awful Northamptonian twang.
The mic was on a 1/2 sized boom stand (I sit a lot these days!) and had the rather nice spit sock they supply on it.

The mic was simply plugged into this HP G type i3 laptop. Note to OP! Remember to set the external mic as default and DISABLE any internal one. I set the gain for this test at 20% YMMV.

Recording was done in Samplitude SE8 24 bits/44.1kHz but gets bounced to 16 bits when you export as .wav.
Slot that into Sam Pro X Silver for the 320kbps MP3 conversion.

The whole system noise, room mic etc seems to be at -60dB peak, way better than cassette Dolby B got.

Dave.
 

Attachments

Considering the price of the mic that sounds pretty decent Dave.
 
arcaxis said:
Considering the price of the mic that sounds pretty decent Dave.
Click to expand...

Cheers Mark. If it sounds a bit rough that is because I have the remnants of a cold plus, I am NO actor!

Dave.
 
thanks! thats really good compared to the cheapy xbox one headset i'm currently using. Ill definetly make sure i buy the mic, if it isnt clear enough, ill invest in some decent powering equipment :D
 
I'm struggling with the concept of a phantom powered microphone being able to run from an unbalanced computer 3.5mm input with basic 5V polarising voltage. I can only assume they've built in some kind of crafty interface, unbalancing the XLR input, and 'extracting' the voltage on just one input leg. As 48V is applied via 2 resistors, shorting one, would then produce more than 5V on the other which could be used for powering? This is pretty clever making the mic more useful and able to work on far more gear. neat!
 
rob aylestone said:
I'm struggling with the concept of a phantom powered microphone being able to run from an unbalanced computer 3.5mm input with basic 5V polarising voltage. I can only assume they've built in some kind of crafty interface, unbalancing the XLR input, and 'extracting' the voltage on just one input leg. As 48V is applied via 2 resistors, shorting one, would then produce more than 5V on the other which could be used for powering? This is pretty clever making the mic more useful and able to work on far more gear. neat!
Click to expand...

Ok Rob, let's start with what we know? The mic MUST be wired conventionally, pin 2 signal hot, 3 signal cold* and pin 1 common/shield otherwise it could not work on a standard balanced P pwrd mic input. It does, my KA6.

The XLR to stereo min jack however is wired weird! Pin 1 sleeve/comm', pin 3 strapped to pin 1 and pin 2 wired to both tip AND ring. The mic is a back electret type so no clever polarizing supply needed just a feeble 5V to run the impedance converter chip. I Dare say the phantom power feed Rs are higher than the usual 6k8? This means that the mic probably has limited headroom but I would trade low noise for a home jockey recording mic over a 140dB SPL capability anyday!

*It is entirely possible that the output is in fact "impedance balanced"? No great harm in that IMHO. The mic is unlikely to be used on 100mtrs of cable.

I fully intend to get at least one more of these then construct a mic mount to run them as a co-I pair.

If anyone is wondering what the advantage of this mic is over a USB format? I had a £50 usb mic and it was significantly noisier than this one plus of course this can run on XLR cables.

Dave.
 
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