One of the most often asked questions from people getting started in Pro Audio is “What’s the difference between Dynamic and Condenser Microphones?”

I grew up surrounded by talented craftsmen, professional audio engineers, pro working musicians and recording artists. One day at the speaker shop my father demonstrated how a dynamic mic works and he explained it so even I could understand it. He took a small speaker driver, I think it was a little extended range 6″ woofer and he wired a mic cable to it. Then he plugged it into a mic input on a test system we had setup in our prototyping room. Tada!!  Instant Dynamic Microphone… kind of. Not the best sound but it worked and I was amazed. I think that was about the same time he explained the difference between shielded cable and unshielded cable.

Being the geeky kid I was I immediately exploited this new knowledge by gathering up as many small cheap speaker drivers as I could get my hands on. I proceeded to wire up a system of surveillance “microphones” and my listening array so I could monitor important goings on around the property… and wherever I could hide a little speaker wrapped in a baggie.  It worked well enough that I got in trouble as I often did.

In the day we worked with the engineers at Six Flags Over Mid America. Dad helped them wire the Screaming Eagle with small speakers as cheap “Hidden Microphones” so they could monitor the roller coaster at night. Why? Because kids were sneaking in and climbing the supports in the evenings and the use of this Dynamic Speaker Mic Setup helped put an immediate stop to the problem.

So if you are 12 and need to setup cheap microphones to spy on your friends or you need to listen to your Roller Coaster in the evenings, I highly suggest using small cheap speakers as microphones. But if you are looking for something that helps reproduce and record at a higher quality, the graphic below helps explain more about these 2 microphone types.

The questions that usually follow “What’s the difference between a Dynamic Microphone and Condenser Microphone?” usually refers to when to use what and why. A great place to start is to understand the basics as well as some advantages and disadvantages of both.

A Set Of Illustrations Demonstrating The Science Of Speaker Technology

Technology has advanced over the years but “Sound Waves” still work the same way they have for thousands of years… probably since the creation of air and the evolution of the ear to perceive it.

Speakers may have not been around for thousands of years but they basically work the same as when they were invented. In fact not much has really changed in their basic design. Sure, new materials and manufacturing processes have been introduced along with tighter tolerances but for the most part they still function the same way.

Being a geeky kid that loved audio, music, equipment, electronics… and Rock n Roll, I was very lucky growing up. Our family owned a speaker manufacturing company and the Gregsons were involved in the success of Tandy and Radio Shack, my Dad and Uncles worked for Charles Tandy and were personal friends. So you can guess as a kid I had some interesting Christmas mornings not to mention that my off time was spent hanging around Radio Shack storerooms and warehouses. Later I spent a lot of time at our speaker factory and around a very interesting team of individuals, from audio engineers and musicians to electronic experts and wood craftsmen.

It was standard procedure to “Check out the inerts” of a new driver series and it was a great thrill to get to surgically use a razor knife to cut open a speaker and explore its construction. Also when we fried them it was fun to rip them open to check out the damage. I quickly learned how a speaker worked from the inside out and took it upon myself to do my own tests to push them to the limits… including testing my theory of AC outlets at 60hz. Never connect an extension cord to speaker terminals, plug it into the wall and hit the light switch. But that’s how we learn right?

Or you can explore these fantastic animated graphics that do an incredible job of demonstrating how speakers work and create sound waves. Plus there is less smoke and fire and no need for extinguishers.

Anatomy Of A Turntable

Vinyl has made a comeback and my LP collection is cool again. Now if only beer can collections can come full circle.

LPs and Vinyl are cool for a number of reasons. One of my theories is also because of the tactile qualities and manual interaction with a player and album. You don’t just push buttons, there is a delicate art and a science to a turntable.

First off it is important to understand the anatomy of a turntable, how it works and what the controls actually do. You need to know what a cartridge is, how to control speed or “Pitch” and a whole host of other pieces, parts, buttons and doodads. See illustration below.

Wiring a Turntable is fairly straight forward (watch that ground wire)

Below you will also see the differences between a “Direct Drive” and “Belt Drive” technologies

If you purchase an old turntable or used turntable be sure you can find a “cartridge” for that model. We will supply some links in the future as we research and experiment with some older turntables ourselves. Other things to look for are obviously make sure the motor works but on belt drive units be sure that the belt has not dry rotted, if it has make sure you can find a replacement belt which is a good idea anyway.

There are some new interesting technologies available and we have even seen some cool new retro all in one designs that would be great for the youngsters.. And those of us who are still young at heart. There are also USB turntables that allow you to play your vinyl and record them to digital audio formats when hooked up to a computer, with the correct software running. We will post some links to these as well, once we check them out.

What’s the difference between balanced and unbalanced cables, do balanced cables make a balanced connection?

 A quick review of XLR, TRS, TS RCA, Midi and USB Cables and connectors. It’s a great visual guide to audio cables.