What could be the cause of this noise?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Adrian Lopez
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Adrian Lopez

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What could be causing the crackling noise in this audio sample? Could the microphone be defective or is it more likely to be something else such as a bad mic cable or bad phantom power from my Behringer mixer?

I just received this microphone in the mail (a Behringer ECM8000) and this is what I got. I used to get similar but less prominent noises from my MXL 990, but lately the 990 has stopped doing that and it's now my new mic that's doing it.
 
sounds like movement in the hardware but without getting close to the setup, it's hard to tell. Is everything stationary? Sounds like something is being moved.
 
It could be poor electrical connections but it sounds duller than that. Maybe worn cable-shield noise. Try holding the mic steady and moving connectors and/or flexing the cord to check the shield. If it's a mechanical or suspension noise -physical mounting inside the mic- and you've eliminated electrical, try gently shaking or tapping on the mic.
Wayne
 
Sounds exactly like one of two things:

-wind or breath into the mic (something touching the mic screen)

-cable is being moved while the mic is hot. If moving the cable does that then you got a super cheap cable and dont ever buy that kind of cable again.

does the correct answer win a prize??
 
Given the level of the noise, I would certainyl say it sounds like some sort of handling noise and not really an electrical (cabling) issue. Typically cabling issues are much louder and more percussive than that if you really do have a bad cable or phantom power load.
 
Thank you all for your help. I've tried pinning down the problem according to your suggestions, but I haven't been able to reproduce the noise. It's definitely not wind noise because I've tried placing it inside a covered box and it still makes the same noises. I've also tried holding the mic in my hand and tapping it lightly but it still won't make the noise on command. I finally tried twisting the cable at each end of the XLR plugs, and while it seemed to react at first when I twisted the mixer end of the plug I couldn't get it to do so consistently so I think it might have been a coincidence.

Seems like I'm going to have to try the mic on different equipment, but I have none.
 
Adrian Lopez said:
Seems like I'm going to have to try the mic on different equipment, but I have none.
Click to expand...

You would rather do that than try a better mic?
 
Aside from spending about two-thousand dollars on a high-quality flat omni, I don't think there's any microphone out there that would give me what I want. Considering that my recording environment is really poor, I don't think spending a lot of money on a microphone would be a good idea.

I'm thinking of exchanging the microphone for another of the same model, but not being sure that the microphone is the cause makes me reluctant to do so.
 
I have two ECM800s. One is very quiet, the other has a higher self-noise that gives an audible hiss. The crackling you're getting isn't self-noise. Something's definitely wrong, but without extra cables and pre's to swap out it's going to be tough to pinpoint it. Maybe take your mixer and mic to a music retailer and see if using a new cable fixes it - if that isn't it, then test the mic with a different pre and your mixer's pre's (thinking phantom power problem maybe) with a different condenser mic. You could identify the problem source that way.

Tim
 
Sounds like any given condenser mic facing the wind. Box or no box, it's picking up the birds behind the noise just fine, so it's totally possible. Whatever you're doing, put a windscreen on it and see what happens. The only other thing I can think of is maybe you have a component somewhere in your signal chain that's dying, but that seems less likely. That, or maybe it's just Behringer tone. :D

Are you trying to record some outdoor sounds by chance?
 
The noise did not seem sustained or consistent enough to me to be wind.
 
It's definitely not wind noise. The recording I submitted was not recorded from inside the box, but the fact that you can hear the crickets when the mic is inside a box doesn't mean you'll be able to hear any wind noise. Wind noise comes from the wind hitting the mic in a particular way, which is definitely not what happens when the mic is placed inside a covered box. I did also use a windscreen at some point, but the problem did not go away. Finally, I'm not trying to record any outside sounds. It's just background noise that happens to be loud enough to hear inside. Some of the animals you hear are crickets and others are Coquís.

I guess my only option at this point is to find a local store that is willing to let me test some cables and equipment.
 
Dunno, that crackling noise sounds like a really tiny frog crawled inside your mixer and is shorting things out as it moves around. Only one thing will fix the mixer... a tiny snake.

EDIT: another thought... if it's damp enough to have treefrogs there, you might have a humidity problem with the mic. Some condenser mic's are touchy about it. If you get a bag of silica gel and keep the mic in a ziplock bag with it it'll rule that out.

Tim
 
Last edited:
Timothy Lawler said:
Some condenser mic's are touchy about [humidity]. If you get a bag of silica gel and keep the mic in a ziplock bag with it it'll rule that out.
Click to expand...
It's worth a try. I've done as you suggest and will see how it turns out on monday.
 
After listening to my MXL 990 for a very long time I've noticed that it produces noises similar to those produced by the ECM8000 except a lot less often and less audibly. I had noticed something like this before but thought it had gone away. It hasn't.

Clearly the mics aren't broken. Must be the cable or the mixer.
 
I took my mixer, XLR cable and microphone to a local music store but the damn thing refused to misbehave. At home it's quite a different story.

It's a mystery.
 
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