In the simplest terms, microphones requiring phantom power are called
condenser mics.  Phantom power comes from the mic pre on your mixer or
an external power supply.  The power supply's sole function is to
provide voltage to operate the mic.  Regardless of the source, phantom
power applies voltage to a plate in the microphone.  Sound hits the
mic's diaphragm and the diaphragm moves toward the plate effectively
pushing voltage out of the plate, the output is directly proportional
to the amount the diaphragm moves.
As the other posters have said chances are the output of the microphone
would not be sufficient to get adequate level into a recorder.  That is
the preamps job to raise the gain of the incoming signal from the
microphone.		  
  Condensers generally require power, and that's what the phantom power or  battery do, but other devices or types of mics can require power too.   
 

 

 You need the pre amp to amplify the signal from the mic up to line
level so your mixer can handle it. Whether the pre amp supplies the
power or the internal battery supplies it is largely a matter of
convenience. Many small or battery powered pre-amps will not have the
facility to supply phantom power to the mic.

If your recorder has microphone level inputs, then very likely it can
not supply phantom power, and you will need to use the Rode's internal
batteries.		  
  
On 17 Mar 2005 19:37:24 -0800, "PhiloMertz" <PhiloMertz@gmail.com>
wrote:


>Thanks Richard.  Well, I don't have any equipment yet, but I was
>thinking of a scenario where you could use a professional level
>condensor mic with something like the Edirol R-1.
>
>The R-1 does have a mic input but the manual says only to use mics with
>plu-in power, which I understand would exclude mics like the NT4. So


   Looking at these specs:
http://www.edirol.com/products/info/r1.html
   "Plug-in power" is often called bias power, which is about 5 volts
with a series resistor, used to power small electret condenser mics
that plug into and come with computer soundcards, minidisc players and
such.


>then I thought you could use the NT4 with its battery power (before I
>understood what Mike explained above) into the R-1's line level input.


   No, you would need a preamp between the mic and the line level
input.


>So, I think the answer is you cannot use the NT4 directly into the
>mic-in, but you could use it in the line-in if you also have an
>external power source (preamp) to amplify the signal.


   An "external power source" (usually called Phantom Power) and a
preamp are two different things, though many (most?) preamps have
Phantom Power built in. Phantom Power is a 48V power source through
series resistors through the signal lines of a balanced microphone
that powers it. A preamp is an electronic circuit (either in its own
box or as part of a mixer) that amplifies a mic signal enough to drive
a "line-level" input.

   I found this on the Edirol site under  	
Product Support/Search our Knowledge Base and putting xlr mic into the
Search by Keyword box:

"How can I connect a good quality XLR mic to this device? Are they
good quality mics with 1/8 in connectors? (submitted 12/19/2004)
It's recommended that you use a stereo mic in order to record left and
right sound. If you use a mono mic, you need to set the R-1 to record
mono (see pg 13 of your manual). If you have an XLR mic, you'll need a
mic pre-amp. These devices are available in a wide array of styles,
functions (and costs) from your local music retailer. "

   The "you'll need a mic pre-amp" doesn't seem right to me (not that
you can't do that, but the mic input itself should be usable). I'm
thinking you should be able to hook up the NT4 to the input with an
adapter cable with capacitors in the signal lines, but I just found
this:

http://www.rodemicrophones.com/specsnt4/nt4specs.htm
which says (among other things):
Custom stereo cables (included) dual XLR and mini stereo jack
                                             ^^^^ ^^^^^^ ^^^^

   So it seems to me they designed the NT4 (while running on its own
internal battery) to plug directly into "bias-power" mic-input devices
such as minidisc recorders and the R-1. It would be good if the NT4
page actually said it has copacitively coupled outputs, but I think it
should work anyway.

Another site you might read is the FAQ, it explains phantom power for
mics, though it doesn't cover 1/8" jacks and plugs or bias power:

http://www.recaudiopro.net


>Did I get that right?


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