Budget XLR Microphone Phantom Power Preamp Test - Behringer UMC202HD - MIC100 - Q502USB - PRELIM

This preliminary test video was originally uploaded to my test channel for me to have a good listen to so I could decide on what the best results were and make a couple of short videos about some of the XLR microphone preamp and phantom power supply options in the test. After listening back I thought that some of the tests may be of use to others who are interested in such microphone audio tests, so decided to slap an intro on it and upload here to my main YouTube channel.

The mic used was the Cascade V57. Although it's no longer in prodiction, in the UK you can still find it in a 3 mic set at Studiocare, who are based in my home city of Liverpool. Not surprisingly, this is where my set came from, about 15 years ago. The price from Studiocare is £210. So, if you look at it that each mic costs £70, this is stupid cheap for any of these mics but maybe more so the V57, as I think it's an excellent microphone, especially for dialogue recording. Anyway, here's a link to Studiocare. BTW, mine's 15 years old.

https://www.studiocare.com/cascade-mi...

As far as the preamps and the phantom power supply are concerned that were used in the test. I think the Behringer 202HD is an amazing bit of kit. I've recently worked out that it can be used as a stand alone microphone preamp and phantom power supply, this is how it was used in this test. Bearing in mind it can be used as a USB interface and a stand alone preamp, which is also capable of being powered by a USB battery or charger and sounds great. It's probably the most flexible option in the test as phantom preamp. I will be doing a video about the 202HD soon and specifically this function as a stand alone portable external phantom preamp. Here's some links to where you can buy it on Amazon.

http://geni.us/BehringerUMC202HD

Here's a link to whole bunch of Behringer stuff:

http://geni.us/Behringer

The Saramonic Smartrig is one of my favourite bits of audio kit ever. It is simply amazing value for money, even for the newer and more expensive MK2 version, although I'd recommend picking up a MK1 id you can one. The MK1 is exactly the same but without the quarter inch jack input. The Saramonic is especially useful for outdoor and location shooting where you need to power and preamp a condenser mic for a camera with a 3.5mm mic input. As standard, the Saramonic is wired TRRS for phone use etc. but can be easily adapted via a cable for TRS use and even unbalanced XLR out. I'll be doing some modification videos soon. Here's the Amazon link.

http://geni.us/SmartRig2

Here's a link to all things Saramonic:

http://geni.us/Saramonic

As for the phantom power supply. If all you need is to be able to power your XLR condenser mic and you have a way to cleanly amplify the signal, as I did with my camcorder. Then maybe all you need is just the power supply. As you can hear in this video, there is no added noise with this supply and it's pretty much transparent. As these types of phantom power supplies are usually just re-badged by the world and his wife. I'd just buy the cheapest one, although I do favour Neewer products out of all the cheap stuff. Here's a link to the Neewer but just buy the cheapest one that looks like this, like I said, they're all basically the same.

http://geni.us/NeewerPhantomPower

The Behringer Xenyx Q502USB is something I've only just bought and this test video was really my first test with it. It's a bit odd as it only supplies 15V for the phantom power, so may not work with mics that are power hungry. That said, it will work with all those cheap so called condenser mics, typical Neewer types from China, as these are usually electret condensers and don't require the full 48V. It also sound very clean in this test, has EQ and a compressor, both of which nothing else had and could be very useful. The fact that it's also USB and works as a microphone input for your computer, could make it perfect for gamers and their voice mics. Plus it also allows you to create a headphone monitor mix between your mic and the computer's stereo output, again this could be awesome for gamers. I will be doing a video about the Q502USB at some point. Here's a link to it on Amazon;

http://geni.us/BehringerXenyxQ502USB

And again, other Behringer stuff:

http://geni.us/Behringer

Finally, the Behringer MIC100 tube thing. To be honest, this one I use more as something to distort instruments with to get overdriven and distorted sounds. If you slam into its limiter you can get very good sustained sounds with it. That said, with a bit of setting up it's probably another good cheap XLR microphone preamp that also supplies phantom power. If you scout about you can pick these up cheap. If you can get one for £20, like I did, it's probably a no brainer as it will come in handy for something, if not a mic.

Thank you very much for watching this video, take care and goodbye now.

Dave.

http://www.DavidHarry.com
[email protected]