We all know that if you are recording or broadcasting at home, a cardioid condenser
microphone is essential, which is standard as a podcast. But now the question is coming. As
a novice podcast, how do we choose a cardioid condenser microphone? What do we need to
know about microphones? Below I will share some knowledge about the microphone about
the above questions, I hope it can useful for you.
First of all, let me talk about the knowledge of the polar pattern. If you are a podcast or a
worker who will use the usb-c microphone, then you will have heard or understood that the
microphone has both omnidirectional and unidirectional.
The working principle of directivity:
Microphone directivity is a description of the microphone's sound inspiration mode from all
directions in space, and is an important attribute of the microphone. Many times, the first
consideration of the choice of the microphone is its directivity, followed by other properties of
the microphone. In addition to omnidirectional microphones, other directivity is based on
multi-diaphragm technology. The microphone obtains sensitivity to sound in different
directions by transforming the cavity settings of the microphone and mixing and modulating
the sound signals received by the multi-mode film. Most microphones are single-directional,
but some have the ability to switch their directivity.
Omnidirectional:
Omnidirectional has the same sensitivity for sounds from different angles. The microphone
head is designed with the principle of Pressure-operated, and the diaphragm only accepts
pressure from the outside. However, since this omnidirectional condenser microphone usb
has the same pickup effect in each direction, generally such a microphone is applied to a
conference venue. For example, this product: AU-903 has a omnidirectional pickup function,
which is generally suitable for conferences.
Unidirectionality:
Unidirectionality microphones are primarily designed using the principle of Pressure
Gradient. Through the small hole behind the microphone cavity, the diaphragm receives the
pressure on both sides. Therefore, the diaphragm is not subjected to different pressures in
different directions, and the condenser microphone usb has directivity. The single-directional
microphones mainly have the following categories:
Cardioid:
Cardioid has the best sound for sound from the front of the microphone, while sound from
other directions is attenuated. For example, the maono brand AU-902 is a typical cardioid
condenser microphone, which is very good for the front radio, especially suitable for indoor
live games.
Hyper-cardioid:
Compared to cardioid pointing, the hyper-cardioid offsets more of the sound from the side of
the microphone. This microphone is more used for multi-track recording of indoor music,
which can reduce the sound of other nearby instruments. It is also often used in live sound
reinforcement, which reduces the risk of many recycled sounds.
We learned about the directivity of the condenser microphone USB. Let's take a look at the
microphone classification. We all know that microphones can be divided into different types
according to different purposes and functions. Below I mainly talk about condenser
microphone.
The working principle of condenser microphone:
The humming principle of a condenser microphone is to use a very thin gold-plated film,
which is a pole of the capacitor, separated by a few tenths of a millimeter, and has another
fixed electrode, thus forming a capacitor of several P-farads, which is caused by the vibration
of the film. The capacitance of the capacitor changes to form an electrical signal. Since this
capacitor has only a few P-farads, its internal resistance is extremely high, reaching the level
of G Ω. So a circuit is needed to convert this G Ω impedance into a common impedance of
about 600 Ω.
This circuit, also called a "preamplifier circuit", is usually integrated inside the condenser
microphone and requires "phantom power" to power the circuit. It is the existence of this pre-
amplification circuit, so the condenser microphone must be powered by phantom power to
work properly. The condenser microphone + phantom power is generally very sensitive,
much more sensitive than the commonly used dynamic microphone.
Condenser microphone features:
Unlike the dynamic microphone, the sensitivity of the usb-c microphone is extremely high,
and the pickup effect is very good, which can capture every subtle sound. Therefore, this
type of condenser microphone is generally used in recording studios or home recording.
Through this article, I hope that you can easily understand some basic knowledge about the
microphone, so that you can choose the usb-c microphone that suits you when you choose a
microphone.