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Comprehensive Exams > Microphones > Flashcards

Microphones Flashcards

1
Q

Backplate

A

fixed piece of metal in a condenser microphone; the moving diaphragm in the microphone causes fluctuation in capacitance, yielding a variation in electrical voltage, making our analog audio signal

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2
Q

Boundary mic (PZM)

A

pressure zone mic; consists basically of an omnidirectional microphone capsule mounted on a plate usually of around 6 inches (15 cm) square or 6 inches in diameter such that the capsule points directly at the plate and is around 2 or 3 millimeters away from it

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3
Q

Directional

A

having a direct sound, coming from one direction

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4
Q

Bi-directional

A

figure-8; output produced by sound picked up on rear will be 180 degrees out of phase with identical sound picked up by front lobe; response uniform at all frequencies except for slight narrowing above 10k

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5
Q

Omni-directional

A

ideally picks up sound from all directions; achieved by leaving diaphragm open at front but closed at back, so it becomes a pressure transducer, responding to pressure change in air waves

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6
Q

Capsule

A

part of microphone responsible for conversion of sound waves into mic signals

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7
Q

Cardioid

A

heart-shaped unidirectional microphone pickup pattern; product of omni and figure-8

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8
Q

Coloration

A

change in the timbre of the sound, usually not desired

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9
Q

Hypercardioid

A

very directional microphone, rejects sound from sides; leans toward a bi-directional

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10
Q

Condenser mircophone

A

microphone that uses the difference in capacitance between diaphragm and back plate as a means of transduction; requires phantom power

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11
Q

Diaphragm

A

moving part of microphone that picks up fluctuations in air pressure around it; movements are converted into electrical representation of the sound wave

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12
Q

Large diaphragm

A

microphone with a bigger moving plate; typically has the best sensitivity at low levels and a peak in the mid range

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13
Q

Small diaphragm

A

microphone with a smaller moving plate; good for transient detail, usually called a “pencil condenser”

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14
Q

Dynamic microphone

A

sturdy microphone consisting of a rigid diaphragm (20-30mm diameter), suspended in front of a magnet; a cylindrical former is attached to the diaphragm and a coil of very fine gauge wire is attached to that; this mechanism sits in the gap of a strong permanent magnet, and when sound waves move the diaphragm, the coil moves in the gap, causing an alternating electrical current in the coil, which creates the electrical output

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15
Q

EIN

A

equivalent input noise; how noise is specified on mixing consoles, stand-alone mic preamps and other signal processing units with mic inputs, or the amount of noise added to the input signal (since the input signal is variable)

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16
Q

Electret

A

condenser microphone with a permanent electric charge, eliminating the need for phantom power; power for the head amplifier is supplied usually by a small dry-cell battery in the stem of the mic; since the diaphragm needs to be larger in these microphones, they perform more like moving coil mics

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17
Q

EMI

A

electromagnetic interference; causes noise in the form of hum or buzz

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18
Q

End-address

A

microphone with a diaphragm placed perpendicular to the body of the microphone

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19
Q

Gold sputtered

A

microphone with a very thin layer of gold on its surface, making it a better electrical conductor; allows the diaphragm to be very rigid yet agile for better transient response

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20
Q

Grill

A

outer protective layer of a microphone, protecting the diaphragm from damage and protecting the listener from the voltage of the microphone

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21
Q

Handling noise

A

specification for quantifying the sensitivity of a microphone to movement and shock, expressed in dBSPL

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22
Q

Inductor

A

usually a coil in a moving coil microphone; naturally presents lower opposition to low frequencies and a greater opposition to high frequencies

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23
Q

Lavalier microphone

A

small microphone designed to be worn on a strap around a person’s neck; usually has low rolloff to increase intelligibility of speech

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24
Q

Lobe

A

portion of a directional microphone between two null points in the polar pattern

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25
Q

Lobar polar pattern

A

microphone with the highest possible directionality (ex. cardioid, supercardioid)

26
Q

Localization

A

where one perceives a sound to be coming from, based on binaural cues

27
Q

Maximum SPL

A

how much volume a microphone can take before it starts to distort audibly

28
Q

Microphone

A

electroacoustic device that delivers an electric signal
when actuated by a sound; consists of an acoustic system that supplies mechanical (acoustic) energy to a transducer, which converts the energy into electrical energy

29
Q

Microphone level

A

low-level audio signal transmission; the nominal values are typically at least 30 dB below line level

30
Q

Pad

A

an input attenuator, usually used for attenuating the mic input signal by something like 20 dB, for situations when the mic is in a field of high sound pressure

31
Q

Microphone preamp

A

a device that brings a microphone signal from mic-level to line level (close to 1V)

32
Q

Moving coil

A

another term for dynamic microphone

33
Q

Multi-pattern

A

microphone that has capability of being switched between multiple polar patterns (cardioid, omni, fig-8, etc.)

34
Q

Mylar

A

also called polyester; a tough plastic that is used for recording tape and for diaphragms on microphones

35
Q

Neodymium

A

rare-earth metal element, atomic number 60, used in making strong magnets, usually used in dynamic microphones

36
Q

Omnidirectional

A

ideally picks up sound from all directions; pressure microphone

37
Q

Polar pattern

A

plot of the sensitivity of an audio device as a function of
angle around the device

38
Q

Piezoelectric

A

mic pickups that exploit the fact that certain materials, such as a quartz crystal, when physically stressed, emit a very controllable electrical current

39
Q

Pre-polarized

A

another term for electret microphones

40
Q

Calibrated microphone

A

mic with a defined frequency response; calibration is the process of defining this characteristic of a microphone

41
Q

Dual-diaphragm

A

mic with two separate diaphragms; usually used to describe condenser designs where a single mic capsule has two separate vibrating diaphragms mounted parallel to one another, with either a single backplate or two backplates (mounted back-to-back)

42
Q

Medium diaphragm

A

mic with a diaphragm around 16mm

43
Q

Presence peak

A

a boost in the “attack” range of frequencies, around 2kHz-5kHz, in dynamic microphones, making them useful on drums

44
Q

Presence

A

range of a microphone around 5k, usually around vocal range

45
Q

Pressure microphone

A

any microphone sensitive to changes in the instantaneous air pressure surrounding it; dynamic and condenser mics in their simplest forms are pressure microphones; a perfect pressure microphone would be omnidirectional

46
Q

Pressure gradient microphone

A

microphone that is sensitive to the variation of pressure over a distance rather than to the pressure itself

47
Q

Proximity effect (bass tip-up)

A

an increased level of low frequencies when placed close to a sound source, produced in directional microphones

48
Q

Ribbon microphone

A

consists of a long thin strip of conductive metal foil, pleated to give it rigidity and ‘spring’, lightly tensioned between two end clamps; opposing magnetic poles create
a magnetic field across the ribbon such that when it is excited by sound waves a current is induced into it

49
Q

Shotgun microphone

A

also called line microphone, this is a highly directional microphone that has an acoustical transmission line in front of its active element; fairly long tube (12 to 24 inches long) protruding from its front with a series of holes along
the side; sound coming from directly in front of the unit will enter the holes in succession, and each wave coming into a hole will add in phase to produce the composite sound reaching the transducer; sounds coming from the rear reach the holes in reverse order, and the phasing is such that they cancel each other out on the way to the transducer, resulting in very little or no output; the longer the tube, the more directional the microphone will be

50
Q

Sibilance

A

the whistling sound of s, sh, ch, and t noises from vocal signals

51
Q

Side address

A

a microphone with the capsule facing to the side of the microphone, such as an AKG C414

52
Q

Super cardioid

A

modification of the cardioid microphone to reduce sensitivity to sounds coming from the sides; like a cross between a cardioid and a figure 8 with a large rear lobe; advantage is that it reduces the apparent reverberation by about 1.3 decibels if placed at the same location as a true cardioid

53
Q

Wide cardioid

A

microphone with a polar pattern between a cardioid and an omnidirectional microphone

54
Q

Rolloff

A

a high- or low-pass filter used on a microphone to reduce low or high frequencies

55
Q

Self-noise

A

noise power generated by a microphone in the absence of any input signal

56
Q

Sensitivity

A

indication of the electrical output which will be obtained for a given acoustical sound pressure level (SPL)

57
Q

Transducer

A

any element that converts energy from one form into another, e.g., from sound pressure to mechanical energy (vibrating membrane/diaphragm) to electrical energy (alternating voltage)

58
Q

Tube microphone

A

microphones that use vacuum tubes instead of transistors for power, come with their own proprietary power supply, and do not need to be fed with the console’s phantom power

59
Q

Velocity microphone

A

type of microphone that has a polar pattern shaped like a figure 8; for example, in a ribbon microphone the motion of the ribbon is “mass controlled,” or is proportional to the velocity of the air particles

60
Q

Voice coil

A

a coil immersed in a strong magnetic field emanating from a permanent magnet; current in the coil causes another magnetic field to be developed, and the two fields interact to cause the force on the coil; current in one direction moves the coil one way, and current in the other direction
moves it the other way, moving the coil in a similar fashion to a waveform

Comprehensive Exams (25 decks)

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