Mic Questions w/ GL2 and ME66 at DVinfo.net

Joshua Wachs · December 21st, 2002, 08:32 PM

I have a GL2 and the Sennheiser ME66. I've been mounting it on top of the camera with a shockmount and plugging it into the Mic mini port via a simple mini-XLR converter cable. However... at a recent visit to B&H photo (the store, not the website) I was told buy a number of sound guys (aka guys working in the pro audio department) that my simple cable wasn't matching the impediance of the mic with that of the mic jack on the GL2 and that it could / should be causing problems.

Of course their solution for this problem (I didn't even know I had this as a problem) was to spend $36 on a Shure A96F Low-to-Medium Impedance Matching Transformer.

I have been using my setup without this transformer for months and it seems to be working fine.

Am I missing something or possibly not noticing how much better it could or should be?

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

-- Joshua

Frank Granovski · February 18th, 2003, 06:01 AM

I would use a Beachtek or similar XLR adaptor.

http://www.beachtek.com

Don Palomaki · February 18th, 2003, 07:02 AM

If it works for you as is, there is no need to fix it.

In any case, there is not an impedance mismatch problem, the GL2 input impedance is 600 ohms, and that is fine with the ME66/K6 combo.

What you do have is a potential balanced to unbalanced issue, which will appear mainly as a potential for stray noise pickup if used with long cables in an electrically noisy enviironment.

The Studio One or Beachtek adapters area popular solutions for XLR balanced-to-unbalanced conversion.

Joshua Wachs · February 18th, 2003, 08:05 AM

Heh. Thanks the replies. I actually posted that question almost two months ago and have since got a BeachTek but your advice mearly confirms my decision.

Neil Slade · February 19th, 2003, 01:27 AM

ME66 and PREAMPS

I've been messing with mikes, including very quiet $1000 Neumans and my GL2. Here's what I discovered:

The mike preamps on the GL2 are so-so. Not bad, but not great. Certainly not as good as a decent audio board.
The result is that with cheap mikes you have to crank the manual audio trim at least halfway up-- and you get
mike preamp noise generated by the cheaper GL2 mike preamps.

This is not good if you want a pro end result.

Even with a GREAT mike, you still are bringing the camera mike levels up high enough that you get that audio
snow. Still not good.

Solution? Use a mike preamp. You can then lower your camera audio gain enough to eliminate the noise (hiss)
created by the camera audio amps.
If you can use an AC mixer to do this, fine. If you need a portable battery operated mixer-- I just bought a small 2
pound Samson Mixpad 4, which not only has phantom power, but plenty of gain, and good specs.

The signal then goes into your XLR adapter, like the Beachtech or Studio 1 XLR PRO (mine). Don't overdrive, naturally, but bring the camera level down. You'll get a cleaner audio with NO NOISE.

Don Palomaki · February 19th, 2003, 08:34 PM

The GL1 also has rather average mic preamps. For best S/N, use the MIC ATT setting anna hot mic. The ME66 is a relatively hot mic!.

December 21st, 2002, 08:32 PM	#1
Joshua Wachs Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Boston, MA Posts: 95	Mic Questions w/ GL2 and ME66 I have a GL2 and the Sennheiser ME66. I've been mounting it on top of the camera with a shockmount and plugging it into the Mic mini port via a simple mini-XLR converter cable. However... at a recent visit to B&H photo (the store, not the website) I was told buy a number of sound guys (aka guys working in the pro audio department) that my simple cable wasn't matching the impediance of the mic with that of the mic jack on the GL2 and that it could / should be causing problems. Of course their solution for this problem (I didn't even know I had this as a problem) was to spend $36 on a Shure A96F Low-to-Medium Impedance Matching Transformer. I have been using my setup without this transformer for months and it seems to be working fine. Am I missing something or possibly not noticing how much better it could or should be? Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. -- Joshua __________________ http://busybrain.com

February 18th, 2003, 08:05 AM	#4
Joshua Wachs Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Boston, MA Posts: 95	Heh. Thanks the replies. I actually posted that question almost two months ago and have since got a BeachTek but your advice mearly confirms my decision. __________________ http://busybrain.com

February 19th, 2003, 01:27 AM	#5
Neil Slade Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Denver Posts: 131	MIKES and PREAMP SOLUTION ME66 and PREAMPS I've been messing with mikes, including very quiet $1000 Neumans and my GL2. Here's what I discovered: The mike preamps on the GL2 are so-so. Not bad, but not great. Certainly not as good as a decent audio board. The result is that with cheap mikes you have to crank the manual audio trim at least halfway up-- and you get mike preamp noise generated by the cheaper GL2 mike preamps. This is not good if you want a pro end result. Even with a GREAT mike, you still are bringing the camera mike levels up high enough that you get that audio snow. Still not good. Solution? Use a mike preamp. You can then lower your camera audio gain enough to eliminate the noise (hiss) created by the camera audio amps. If you can use an AC mixer to do this, fine. If you need a portable battery operated mixer-- I just bought a small 2 pound Samson Mixpad 4, which not only has phantom power, but plenty of gain, and good specs. The signal then goes into your XLR adapter, like the Beachtech or Studio 1 XLR PRO (mine). Don't overdrive, naturally, but bring the camera level down. You'll get a cleaner audio with NO NOISE.

February 18th, 2003, 06:01 AM	#2
Frank Granovski Outer Circle Join Date: May 2002 Location: Hope, BC Posts: 7,524	I would use a Beachtek or similar XLR adaptor. http://www.beachtek.com

February 18th, 2003, 07:02 AM	#3
Don Palomaki Wrangler Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Northern VA Posts: 4,487	If it works for you as is, there is no need to fix it. In any case, there is not an impedance mismatch problem, the GL2 input impedance is 600 ohms, and that is fine with the ME66/K6 combo. What you do have is a potential balanced to unbalanced issue, which will appear mainly as a potential for stray noise pickup if used with long cables in an electrically noisy enviironment. The Studio One or Beachtek adapters area popular solutions for XLR balanced-to-unbalanced conversion.

February 19th, 2003, 08:34 PM	#6
Don Palomaki Wrangler Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Northern VA Posts: 4,487	The GL1 also has rather average mic preamps. For best S/N, use the MIC ATT setting anna hot mic. The ME66 is a relatively hot mic!.