Test your basic knowledge |

Microphones Theory

Subject : engineering
Instructions:
  • Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
  • If you are not ready to take this test, you can study here.
  • Match each statement with the correct term.
  • Don't refresh. All questions and answers are randomly picked and ordered every time you load a test.

This is a study tool. The 3 wrong answers for each question are randomly chosen from answers to other questions. So, you might find at times the answers obvious, but you will see it re-enforces your understanding as you take the test each time.
1. First to mass produce the condenser microphone in 1929; Improved cutting lathe technology by developing direct drive turntables; Invents 48V Phantom Power to power the new condenser microphone for Norwegian State Television.






2. Extremely narrow area of sensitivity in front with extended reach; Also has multiple lobes which vary in position with frequency; Not made from combining pure patterns - but created by using an interference tube.






3. Stereo coincident pairing where the middle mic (usually a cardiod) is facing source and a bidirectional side mic is placed at 90






4. An electrical device characterized by its capacity to store an electric charge;






5. Voltage applied to piezoelectric material will cause it to deform or change shape; NO PHANTOM POWER!






6. Device used to calibrate sound pressure measurement devices; Emits a single 1 kHz frequency over a sustained period of time.






7. Sensitive in a slightly narrower pattern in the front than cardioid and has a small lobe at rear; Rejects most signals arriving from 125






8. Consumers can listen to live broadcasts over telephone lines; Individual one- way experience that required a subscription service to listen to performances.






9. Condenser; Cardioid; End Address; Manufactured by Shure; Small condenser design that is great for instrument recording.






10. 1 Bidirectional & 1 Cardioid placed coincidentally; Bidirectional faces left and right and cardioid faces the sound; Gives control of the focus and size of the stereo image;






11. Founded AKG at the end of WWII in Austria.






12. Method of creating low end effects from a bass drum by creating a tunnel at the mic end thus trapping sound and amplifying low end boost.






13. Condenser; Cardioid; Side Address; 48V Required; Large Diaphragm; Manufactured by Rode; Widely recognised as the world's quietest studio microphone; Ideal for vocals - voiceover - and acoustic instruments.






14. An electromagnetic microphone - in which a thin - corrugated ribbon is suspended within a high magnetic flux field; Excellent transient response due to the small amount of acoustic energy required to move diaphragm.






15. Condenser; Multiple; Side Address; 48V Required; Manufactured by AKG; Dual Diaphragm; Nine selectable pickup patterns; Peak Hold LED; The reference microphone for almost all comparative microphone tests.






16. Condenser; Cardioid; End Address; 48V Required; Manufactured by AudioTechnica; Switchable 80 Hz Hi-Pass Filter; Ideal for professional recording and critical applications in broadcast.






17. When using two microphones reverse the polarity of the bottom mic.






18. Early example of switchable polar patterns; Had both a dynamic and a ribbon capsule inside of it which when combined produced other polar patterns.






19. Coincident pairing angled between 90






20. More compelling sound - giving both depth and perspective.






21. Radio Frequency Interference






22. The method by which microphones are classified.






23. Coincident pairing of two bidirectional mics that make a pattern of crossing Figure 8's.






24. A 3- mic array using omni mics with left - right and center placement; Center is placed about 5 ft. closer to the source to eliminate 'holes' in the middle and the center levels are reduced for an even sound; Forms a triangle.






25. Quartz; Barium Titaniate - Tourmaline; Rochelle Salt - and even cane sugar.






26. Solid State and Tube.






27. Microphone with 4 large diaphragm condenser capsules; 3 bidirectional and 1 omni; Can be combined to make any polar pattern.






28. Verify that the boom is placed over a microphone leg prior to use to provide added balance and stability.






29. Angle of maximum signal rejection in a microphone polar pattern.






30. Condenser; Cardioid/Hypercardioid; End Address; 48V Required; Manufactured by AKG; Can be powered by internal 9 V battery for field recording; Improves clarity of speech with the PB 1000 Presence Boost Adapter.






31. Captures sounds arriving 90






32. Shows the total range of the mic's internal pre- amp; Measured in dB (decibels).






33. Built by AKG for Telefunken and regarded as one of the best vintage condenser microphones ever.






34. Dynamic; Cardioid; End Address; Manufactured by Shure; Popular musicians' choice due to its sturdy construction and ability to work well with instruments that produce high sound pressure levels.






35. Flat plate that controls or directs the flow of sound energy in a crystal/ceramic mic.






36. The combination of the ribbon and magnet in a ribbon microphone.






37. 4 to 6 ft. from the player; Mic should be placed below the line of sight of the bell - rotated at about 40 degrees off- axis - and tilted upward.






38. Used in production sound for multiple perspectives on the set; Used in Audio Post to record a number of mics into a recorder with minimal set- up & tear down.






39. Used in adverse conditions to protect from elements like sand - or dust.






40. A gradual - continuous decrease in low frequency response.






41. 12V DC; 24V DC; 48V DC






42. + (only); (Front capsule alone)






43. + & - (Front & rear in opposite equal amounts)






44. Cable wrapping method that reduces interference and makes it easier to unravel the cable.






45. Cable wrapping method that keeps every coil on top of the next; May cause interference and tiny curls or tangles.






46. The first microphone sold by Shure; Military awarded Shure a contract to build microphones in WWII.






47. Digital device used to Fourier Forms; Used to measure the specific number of sine waves in a specific frequency in a specific setting.






48. Considered to be the best mic ever made; VF14 Tube.






49. To capture two perspectives on the same sound.






50. Condenser; Cardioid; Side Address; 48V Required; Large Diaphragm; Manufactured by AudioTechnica; Transformerless circuitry virtually eliminates low- frequency distortion.