Phantom power XLR -> RCA amps

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Hi there, I need help, I'm really struggling with understanding what I need to mic up a small office area. We're trying to move away from the table top mics that we have and are going give a pair of ceiling mics a go (not ideal but we want to test it). For example these.

So my main problem is getting around phantom power, I understand the concept but am still not able to look at the example mics and know what I need to get the signal at the right volume into our current system. The mics will be passed straight through into another room or into a DVD recording which is all running with RCA cables. We have some small mic pre-amps that have 1/4 jack inputs that would be handy to use.

My plan was to just use an XLR to RCA cable and see what I got. Step two is work out what XLR phantom PSU I needed with line out sockets.

Can anyone fill in the blanks and suggest a piece of hardware for step 2 if you think it will be required? We want everything run off the mains - no batteries to be changed.

Thanks!
 
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If you don't supply phantom power the mics won't work at all.

You need either a phantom power injector/supply or pre-amp.

http://www.canford.co.uk/Products/2...M-POWER-SUPPLY-P48-2-channel-AC-mains-powered would be suitable but there are bound to be other possibly cheaper boxes around.

You'll still need a pre-amp between the mic and the dvd recorder as you have to convert from mic to line-level.

It may be cheaper/easier to get a 2 channel mic preamp which has phantom built in or use the 2 you've got with suitable adapters.
 
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Ah right. We have these preamps before the DVD input. So we'll get some balanced XLR cables to the phantom PSU, then some XLR to RCA cables to the preamp. Then we should have the right line level. Anything else to consider?

Thanks.
 
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This will allow you to use phantom power, and has some simple EQ options available.
http://www.gak.co.uk/en/art-tube-mp-studio-v3/778

Phono preamps are really only for turntables. They add 15db gain per channel and a huge dash of EQ (+20db at 20Hz, 0db at 1KHz and -20db at 20KHz) In other words, cutting out the most important frequencies for the human voice (1KHz to about 10KHz). Use a different preamp (such as the one above, if you have 2 mics, you'll need to buy 2 as these don't have stereo in/out) and you should find that your vocal recordings will sound a LOT clearer.
 
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Isn't that pre-amp designed for turntables?

If it is then it will include RIAA EQ correction which is completely wrong for mics.

Sounds like you're better off getting either a cheap mixer or a 2 channel mic preamp

Somthing like this would do http://www.soundslive.co.uk/product~name~Alto-Professional-Zephyr-ZMX-862~ID~15085.asp

If you need to record mics to separate Left and Right channels on the DVD then you can pan each mic hard left or right.
 
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I'm open to the fact that the preamps might not be ideal. Although we've been happy with their output (because we don't know any different :) )

Because of this, I'm reluctant to go for something like the mini mixing desk as we just want something to plug in and hide away hung up behind a wall or in the suspended ceiling. The ART Studio V3 looks better in that respect - we can do some quick tweaks then hide it away. But if the solution I'm testing for one room works, we'll want a mirror system in the reverse direction and I can't justify 4*separate amps.

*Edit, actually I could justify the equivalent of 4 amps, but in two tidy, simple packages. :)
 
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That looks like a good balance. Purchased! Will be able to have a play next week once the microphones and cables are here. Then the fun of finding the right place for them begins...

Thanks people, I may be back :)
 
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Minor update, the cables and amp are all great. Unfortunately the ceiling mics are great too so we're going to have to sell them on and get some directional ones rather than omnis. We have a suspended ceiling, then a thin ceiling and they pick up too much office chair noise from the hard floor upstairs.

Thanks for the help at this stage anyway.
 
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