Hi All,
I never heard that running phantom power to a dynamic mic could damage the mic, but I read in Sound On Sounds review of the Korg D888, their statement about the phantom power switch…
“so if it were being used to power a set of condenser mics, any dynamic mics would have to be connected via the jacks to avoid damage”.

Could they mean damage to the D888? I’ve never heard that running phantom to a dynamic mic could damage the mic or the mixer for that matter.

Have you guys any knowledge of the deal here? Thanks
Peace. Bob <><

Bob,

Here is a link to an article on the Shure website.  The third paragraph addresses the fact that it depends on whether the dynamic mic is balanced or unbalanced.

http://www.shure.com/ProAudio/Products/us_pro_ea_phantom

Hope this helps,

Eric

Modern dynamic mics should not be affected by phantom power.  They are shielded from it, usually by filter caps inside the mic.  Now if those filter caps are damaged…

Most cheaper mixing boards have global phantom switches as opposed to letting you send it from individual channels.  Phantom power is transmitted on both pins 2 and pin 3 (with pin 1 being ground).  That way if you have a faulty mic cable with an open pin 2 or 3, the mic can still get phantom via the other pin.  The connection won’t be balanced anymore, but things should at least function, though an unbalanced connection is normally reduced in volume as well as more noisy.

Older ribbon mics were very susceptible to damage from phantom power.  Any mic that is likely to be damaged by phantom power is also likely to have a huge warning label on it these days.  If you have an extremely old mic, then you need to do the research individually on it.

In short, dynamics should not be affected by phantom power either way.  Hope that helps.

Thanks Guys,

Basically, I only use SM58s for dynamic mics and a couple of cheap MXL condensors to record with. As it turns out for me I bought a Zoom HD16 which has individual phantom power switches, which is one of the reasons I went with it.

But I also use a Mackie 808S for band practice and small rooms and although I’ve not used the phantom power on it (as I’ve only been using SM58’s live), I was considering getting an SM86 or a Beta87A, and I thought simply turning on the global phantom on the 808S for the condensor mic and thought nothing about any harm that might come to the SM58s. I guess I ought to check to see if the SM58s have the filter. Anyone here know? Thanks.

Bob <><

wvujazzman - 08 April 2009 04:19 PM

Bob,

Here is a link to an article on the Shure website.  The third paragraph addresses the fact that it depends on whether the dynamic mic is balanced or unbalanced.

http://www.shure.com/ProAudio/Products/us_pro_ea_phantom

Hope this helps,

Eric

Hi! Tried to click on the link,but it;s not working. kindly check. Thanks!

Regards,
Ana Kaye
Pret travaux

S80Bob - 20 April 2009 12:13 PM

Thanks Guys,

I guess I ought to check to see if the SM58s have the filter. Anyone here know? Thanks.

Bob <><

I don’t know if the SM58 has the filter, but i used it with phantom power on many, many times. No problem, still works fine!

Slightly off-topic, but I would like to know what happens if I plug in cables in my Motif XS with phantom power on it.
I remember an event at which the people of the soundcrew gave me two cables with (accidentally I hope) phantom power on it and my K2vx went bezerk.

Connecting on stage would normally be done via a DI box - The DI box isolates the phantom power - active ones usually use the power for themselves. The jack socket is then free of the 48v power.
Phantom power would not normally be supplied via a single mono jack. It shoudl only be supplied on a stereo TRS jack or via an XLR cable. If your keybaord has XLR connections then I woudl assume that they are set in such a way as to reject the DC voltage of Phantom power. As in any things such as this, always worth checking for yourself.

Cheers