External Power fixes hiss?

[ninjaleprechaun]

Hello all,

I did some testing last night and found that the only way I can get audio through our Neumann mic will be accompanied with loud hiss that people seem to be encountering while using phantom power. I've tried every combination of channel for the mic, power and recording, and I always get hiss. When I turned the phantom power off, the hiss slowly dies down and I get normal clean sound for about 2 seconds and then it dies also, which I assume is the power level dropping.

So would I be correct in assuming that if we get an external power source for the mic, or a mic that runs on its own power, that the hiss problem goes away? Has anyone found a work around for this issue yet otherwise? I havent seen one in the posts I've read but it never hurts to ask... We have a shoot coming up and I need to get this solved ASAP.

Also, if external power is the way to go, could someone recommend a good product that provides this? We're using a Neumann KMR 82i.

Thanks!

[Kevin Halverson]

There are a number of products that you could consider including:

AKG B218E
AKG B29L
Crown PH-1A (check compatibility with this one first as not all mics will work)
Neumann BS48-1
Stewart Electronics BPS1
Rolls PB224
Sennheiser MZA14P48U

There are others, but this should give you a good starting point. Just make sure that you are using the RED supplied adapter cable with any of these devices and that you don't have the camera's internal phantom power enabled when using an external phantom power source.