1 Topic by Bharlow

  • Bharlow
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  • From: Reno, NV
  • Registered: 2008-05-29
  • Posts: 23

Topic: Mic Input Level's - Can Nware help?

Right now we have a few 200+ foot mic line runs to a new location on our property.  The lines are direct from the wall plate to a N3 box (8ml II input card).  The input level from the mic's is extremely low (barely coming in at -35db).   Without installing any other hardware..  is there a device in NWare that can actually help ramp up the level on these mics?  Apart from just straight gain? 

Just trying to get around installing any other hardware if possible since we plan on using them next week.   That being said, we may have to just purchase something to install in line. 

Thank you!

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2 Reply by Bharlow

  • Bharlow
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  • From: Reno, NV
  • Registered: 2008-05-29
  • Posts: 23

Re: Mic Input Level's - Can Nware help?

Got the answer from Scott yesterday.  Just posting for information.  The 8ml II cards Maximum Analog Sine Input level by default is set to 18dBu.   I had to lower that to -9dBu in order to achieve the sensitivity for the mics we were using.

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3 Reply by JoshM

  • JoshM
  • JoshM
  • Recording Engineer at Burnt Orange Studio
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  • From: Meridian, MS
  • Registered: 2007-08-13
  • Posts: 1,498

Re: Mic Input Level's - Can Nware help?

...and if you noticed, the input sensitivity of the NIO-8ml II card can be set so high that a -42dBu signal will drive the input full scale. This is reported in the NION as +23dB, or as it says on the NIO-8mlII tab in the NioNode device, "23dB Equals Full-Scale Digital Input). -42dBu is, of course, 33dB more gain than you need, but this whole exercise brings up the point about remembering to optimize the analog gain stages in any audio system. It really does make a big difference.

Josh Millward
Burnt Orange Studios

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