can you damage a mic by...

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Member Since: Jan 18, 2003

say you have a shure 57 dynamic mic. standard mic. can you wreck it by turning phantom power on, over there on your interface?

just wondering. my friend's shure died the ohter day. he says he might have done this.

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edit0r
Member
Since: Aug 17, 2004


Apr 07, 2008 02:43 am

Naw, as long as the cable and mic are wired balanced the phantom power cancels out.

String bender
Member
Since: Unknown


Apr 07, 2008 08:58 pm

Thats kind of surprising. I didn't think it was possible to kill a shure dynamic. I use mine as a lawn dart from time to time just to make sure its not going soft on me. :)

Czar of Midi
Administrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002


Apr 07, 2008 09:56 pm

I've stirred cocktails with em and then hung em on the guitar cab 10 minutes later with no ill effect.

And no, turning the phantom on won't kill a 57. Only exception would be if it were a bad cable and that is a very small chance as well.

Member
Since: Jan 18, 2003


Apr 08, 2008 03:03 am

weird, then. i have told the guy (it's cliff, from here) that i can't quite believe the thing broke. it's five years old but has been used just once in that time. he said something about how it worked at first when he tried it this last time, and then it got really quiet. i am thinking it might not be the mic, but i don't know what else it could be.

Czar of Midi
Administrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002


Apr 08, 2008 10:10 pm

Cable or mixer/interface channel.

The Czar of BS
Member
Since: Dec 31, 2007


Apr 08, 2008 10:48 pm

A dynamic mic has the ground attached to the body of the mic. Pins 2 and 3 go to a transformer. The transformer will not allow phantom power to pass to the element. So, no. Phantom power will not damage a dynamic mic.

However. It can cause a hum or a buzz on the line. Since pin 2 carries the +48v, it can cause a out of balance problem with the timed varied current to encounter resistance. This is where the hum and buzz can come in.

If the mic is intermittent, check the cable. If the cable is fine, check the XLR connector on the mic.

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