The best microphone sensitivity will depend on the recording application. A loud signal is ideal for low noise recordings because a lower gain can be used, keeping the noise floor low. The more sensitive a microphone is, the louder the signal will be for a given input of sound. The output of a microphone is refereed to as “the signal. The input is the sound you are recording and the output is the actual recording. To put it simply, microphone sensitivity measures the amount of output for a given input. Unnoticeable in any recording situation as even the quietest recording room still has more than 10dB of ambient noise. Conditions include rustling leaves and other sounds below 20dB (there’s not many).Įxcellent: 10 dB-A and below. Recordists may be able to discern some slight self noise under critical conditions. Some noise may be heard when recording whispers, quiet ambiances and other sounds below 30-40dB. Great for most dialog and booming applications. Self noise is still clearly audible at this level when recording anything below speaking volume (60dB). Recording any sound below 70 decibels (vacuum cleaner) will have audible self noise hissing.įair: 20-23 dB-A. Well, maybe that’s a slight exaggeration. At this level, self noise is obvious and obtrusive in any recording situation short of recording jet engines at takeoff. Noise-free recordings under these circumstances demands very low microphone self noise levels.įor easy comparison between shotgun mics, I’ve converted all self noise measurements to dB-A on the chart. However, quieter sounds and recording at a distance requires more gain, which also increases the self noise level of your microphone.

Under these circumstances, your gain will be set relatively low to avoid peaking, and your subject will easily overpower the microphone’s self noise. Recording loud sounds and short distances between microphone and subject will stretch the acceptable range of microphone self noise. The level of acceptable self noise will vary based on your application. All microphones produce some noise but the amount varies greatly. This noise is produced by current running through the circuitry and sounds like white noise. Self noise is the signal the microphone produces even when no sound source is present.

Shotgun sounds free