1、Sensitivity
Sensitivity refers to the degree of response to the volume and sound source.
Testing method: input a 1Pa( Pascal unit of atmospheric pressure) or 94dB-SPL sine wave at 1khz into mics, watch how much voltage (mV) or sound pressure (dBV) the microphone can generate. For example, mic A generates -58dBV, mic B generates -43dBV,B>A,so mic B is a little bit sensitive than A. Mic B can pick up more sound range than mic A.
2、Impedance
Mic low-Z range is from 150-600ohms, mid-Z range is from 1000-4000ohms, high-Z range is from 25kilohms. We recommend low-Z mic, because high-Z mic may prone to frequency attenuation and current sound.
3.Dynamic range
General speaking, human can hear sound range from 0dB to 120dB. And mics also have collective range, we called dynamic range. Max SPL and E.I.N are normal specification, Max SPL minus E.I.N equal to dynamic range. Dynamic range actually determines sound sampling authenticity under high sound pressure and Noise Floor. If dynamic range is not so well, it may cause sound distortion or covered by noise that is a big problem for post processing.
4.Frequency response
Frequency Response refers to different frequency response mic has different volume level.
Human can hear the frequency response from 20Hz~20kHz, mic also will tag this specification. The higher frequency response the better mic is. Even human can hear frequency response from 20Hz~20kHz, but we can feel the wider rang frequency response and also help post processing. A good frequency response should have smooth curve that suits for realization sound. Of course, some mic used in recording specific instruments or vocal the frequency response may differ from this one. This is another problem.
5.Normal mic specification
(1)High pass filter
Mic may pick up low frequency (such as track or mechanical noise), HPF will solve this problem. We often set the frequency at 40-100hz and choose 60hz as usual.
(2)Low cut
Many condenser mic’s output level is more than dynamic mics or ribbon mics. If recording devices with large sound source (such as the drum), the output may be too large to overload.
(3)Polar pattern knob
Large part of large diaphragm condenser mics support multi-polar pattern. Engineers always choose cardioids polar pattern, but a smart engineer will pay attention to the environment to choose the right polar pattern that makes output sound more wonderful.