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Recommendations for a measurement microphone
Hey folks, I need some recommendations for a flat measurement microphone in the audible range. I believe I also need a digital interface.
Hey folks, I need some recommendations for a flat measurement microphone in the audible range. I believe I also need a digital interface.
I’ve heard good things about Earthworks—looks like they’ve got a variety of options depending on how high you need to measure: https://earthworksaudio.com/measurement-microphones/
I would assume you would need an interface that can do at least double the sampling rate of the highest frequencies you want to capture, for Nyquist reasons.
What’s the specific application?
Measuring a headphone driver, prior to housing it. So I need 20Hz-20kHz. I was hoping to find something cheaper than the Earthworks, though I have heard they’re good as well.
You won't find something cheaper for that full range. Most microphones are designed around not being fully 20-20k flat response because no one hears that in flat response, we have a curve to our hearing also.
ETA, some reading on that:
https://mynewmicrophone.com/complete-guide-to-microphone-frequency-response-with-mic-examples/
AKG 414 might work for you, I always used those for ambient drum mics.
There’s definitely cheapo measurement mics, I have a few of these e.g.: https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/ECM8000--behringer-ecm8000-measurement-condenser-microphone
But with any measurement apparatus your final result will always be constrained by the accuracy of the measurement tools. The $25 mic might be sufficient for comparative measurements where the mic is held constant, but the absolute trustworthiness of the measurement will be diminished.
I think there is probably some space between the Behringer and an Earthworks mic. I personally would not trust a mic that costs less than $100. I have used the DBX RTA-M for my RTA when mixing live audio, so I did not need it to be precise as it was just a visual reference. The DBX may not be as precise as an Earthworks mic, but it gets the job done for significantly cheaper, and would give me more confidence over the Behringer
This is actually the second recommendation for the DBX RTA-M I have gotten - might opt for it.
I will stress my caveat above that I have not used it for precise work. It was a mic that was available for me when I was setting up an RTA, and since the RTA was just a visual reference to double check what my ears were hearing, I did not need precision. If the mic lacked precision, I probably would not have noticed it for that usecase.
I keep one of the Behringer mics around for purposeful use of their less than stellar tracking. They're great for a broken phone effect inside a round HVAC duct and they sound gnarly pushed too hard.
This a great article (and site). I'm learning some things. Thanks for sharing.
I'm not completely sure this is what kind of mic you are looking for, but I've heard it's good: miniDSP UMIK-1.
https://www.minidsp.com/products/acoustic-measurement/umik-1