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  3. Capsule Noise Specs & Application

Capsule Noise Specs & Application

  • MW

    Hi

    Im looking to buy a second hand FS XLR instead of doing a project (Im an industrial designer and thought a custom dummy head would be cool...like spock or something lol) but Im finding some confusion. Most miniature condensor capsules are not great for noise...obviously. I have been doing field stuff simply with a Rode i-xy for many years and I use ORTF in the studio for various things purely because point source has been pretty good up til now.

    I like how Peter Gabriels latest offering had 2 mix versions so Im thinking of going ahead by offering clients mix jobs with an A and B mix; standard stereo and binaural (with dearvr for the non recorded binaural) as I really do love the dimensionality

    However 

    Im confused as the FX Pro states 23db noise (which is important for studio use) which is on the high side vs the XLR which states 14db self noise? How can this be...thats an incredibly low noise floor for this type of capsule and trumps the DPA by a long shot?

     

    Cheers

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  • 3Dio

    Hi @Mark W,

    Thank you for your post. Great question! Apologies for the delay in responding.

    The reason you see the difference of 9dB and the FS and FS XLR microphones showing a lower self-noise is due to the frequency response difference between the two types of capsules we use.

    The FS and FS XLR microphones capsules have a frequency range of 60Hz - 20kHz, however the response is only flat from 60Hz to about 10kHz before it begins to roll-off above that level.

    The FS Pro II microphone capsules have a FLAT frequency range of 20Hz - 20kHz.

    If the FS and FS XLR microphone capsules were EQ'd to match the flat frequency response range of the FS Pro II capsules, then the self noise would be higher than the FS Pro II.

    In other words, the lower self-noise of the FS and FS XLR is due to the missing high-end frequencies.

    Below, you can see the differences in the frequency response between the two microphones.

    I hope this helps. Let us know if you have any other questions.

    Best regards,
    ~Brian

     

    FS and FS XLR Frequency Response (bare microphone w/out presense of ear or ear canal)

    Primo EM272J Frequency Response Curve

     

    FS Pro II Frequency Response (bare microphone w/out presense of ear or ear canal)

    DPA 4060 CORE Frequency Response Curve

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  • MW

    Thanks so much for the reply

    The non pro looks very similar to the primo capsule (Ive made/modded lots of mics) but of course that all changes with ear canal and post process but make sense now. Appreciate you clearing that up.

     

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  • km

    Beyond the current project, do you have plans for future projects that might influence your choice of microphone? Would versatility play a role in your decision?

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  • MW

    @kyrie milan Thanks for the question

    In the end, as I do industrial design, Im working on a bespoke solution tbh

    Indeed versatility is paramount and have created a marriage between a neumann, 3DIO and some other of previous rigs (try riding a horse and getting close mic of hooves in binaural lol) and am close to the end of that as I had to source a head that was unique but still a STEP file so I could mod it. Im just doing it for myself, no commercial inentions but purely because there was nothing close to what I wanted. 

    This will allow me a modular choice of applications and includes ortf/xy coincident with swapout capsules etc.

    HTH

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