A tube condenser microphone uses a vacuum tube to boost the signal from the capsule for proper recording and/or broadcasting. (ItвЂ™s called Phantom Power because of its aД«ility to send a power supply through the same XLR cable that is transferring the audio signal.)ДЄmplification in condenser mics can also be done through a vacuum tube. In todayвЂ™s studio environment, this is most often achieved using 48V Phantom Power, which is a 48-volt signal sent from a preamp or audio interface directly through the XLR cable to the microphone. So in order for a condenser microphone to work, it needs an external power source to amplify the signal. This voltage is the electrical signal, rapidly fluctuating to mimic the pattern of the original sound waves.Д«ut before this signal can be heard over speakers, it needs to be boosted, because the voltage between the capacitor plates produces almost no current at all. As the sound waves vibrate the diaphragm, the varying distance between the diaphragm and the back plate causes the voltage across the capacitor to change. The diaphragm detects subtle variations in air pressure, which make up the sound of the room, vocal, or instrument being recorded. The capacitor is housed in whatвЂ™s called a microphone capsule, and it can be plainly seen in entirety when you remove the microphone grille from most condenser mics. One of the metal plates is called a back plate, which is typically made of solid brass, and the other is called a diaphragm, made of very lightweight metal or in many cases gold-sputtered mylar. The capacitor in a studio condenser microphone consists of two metal-surfaced plates suspended in very close proximity to each other with a voltage across them. Condenser mics are best known for their sound sensitivity, wide frequency response, and phantom power requirements, but whatвЂ™s going on inside to give them that signature sound? LetвЂ™s take a closer look:Д¬ondenser mics get their name from the вЂњcapacitorвЂќ inside that converts acoustic energy into an electrical signal (вЂњcondenserвЂќ is an old term for вЂњcapacitorвЂќ).

Mxl condenser mic