K3 microphone input noise

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K3 microphone input noise

g0afh
Hi,

My K3 last arrived last week and I have been getting to grips with it.
However, I think I may have an issue with noise in the mic amp /adc.

The headset I hoped to use is one that I have successfully used with my
FT1000MP, a Sennheiser HMD25-1. This has a 200 ohm dynamic mic insert.
With the K3 I find that I need to use the high gain setting and a
relatively high mic gain level (30 -40) to get anywhere near the
required 4-5 bars of ALC. With that much gain I hear more noise than I
would expect to. The noise is mostly white but has a distinct whine
which I estimate to be at around 1500Hz. The situation is the same using
the front or rear mic sockets.

I have also tried a number of other headsets. A Bayer DT190  with a 200
ohm dynamic mic insert gives similar results to the HMD25-1. A
Sennheiser HME25-1 which has an electret mic insert is a little better
(probably because it has a higher output level) although still requires
fairly high gain.

The best results so far have been with a low cost computer headset or a
£1.00 electret mic capsule. With both of these I was able to use the low
gain setting and a mic gain less than 20.

So, some questions...

What sort of gain level should I expect to use for a dynamic mic?

Are other K3 mic amps as noisy as the one I have, if not then where
should I start looking for the noise issues?

Does anyone else hear the tone in the noise with the mic gain turned up?

73
Ian.
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Re: K3 microphone input noise

Jim Brown-10
On Tue, 29 Jun 2010 09:45:13 +0100, g0afh wrote:

>So, some questions..

Ian,

I've used an EV RE16 dynamic mic with my K3 with no issues at all.
It got excellent reports. It's a handheld mic, and I've replaced
it with a Yamaha CM500, only because I wanted a boom mic on the
headset.

I suspect something simple, like mis-wiring of the mic connector.
Pin-out is documented in the manual.
 
73, Jim Brown K9YC


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