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. Derived from two words; 'electr' from electrostatic and 'et' from magnet.






2. Allows all high frequencies to pass; Blocks the lower frequencies from being processed.






3. Close mic placement can help guard again bleed from other instruments and takes advantage of proximity effect; Center of cone = Brighter; Outside of cone = Darker; Reflections can create phase issues (can be reduced by putting the cabinet at an angle






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






5. Tube microphone capable of SPL's over 140dB.






6. French broadcasting stereo mic technique; An X-Y type with the mics 17cm apart and at a 110






7. Divisions on the fingerboard which represent the position of a specific note or tone.






8. Device used to measure sound loudness; Often used to measure and balance the loudness of each speaker in a home - studio - or live venue or theater system.






9. Pure polar pattern that receives sound from both the front and back; Also known as a 'Figure 8' pattern; More proximity effect that Cardioid or Hyper Cardioid; Often found in ribbon mics.






10. Modeled to mimic a human head for extremely good spatialization; Shaped like a human head.






11. Coincident pairing that is at 90






12. Rotating speaker cabinet design featuring separate treble and bass drivers that can switch speeds; Speaker rotate from front to back creating a Doppler effect; Resulted in new spatial perception for each note. Stereo miked up top and single miked at






13. Tough & rugged microphone that contains an element consisting of a dome- shaped diaphragm and a moving 'voice coil'; Operates on principles of magnetic induction.






14. Part of a mic stand that the mic stands on.






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






16. Often look like large diaphragm studio mics; Talk or sing into the side of the microphone.






17. Microphone consisting of two parallel metal plates - each holding an opposing charge (+ or -) and thus creating a capacitor to induce an electrical charge as sound waves move the diaphragm; Require a solid- state or tube preamplifier.






18. Adds two outer right and left rear facing mics to a Decca tree for surround sound depth.






19. Demonstrated the first stereophonic transmissions via the Theatrophone in 1881.






20. 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;






21. Small Diaphragm Electret condensers; Extremely flat frequency response; Omnidirectional pattern.






22. Filters only the bandwidth of frequencies that are supposed to (or allowed) to pass through; High and Low Pass are examples.






23. Delicate and require extreme care; NO PHANTOM POWER; Becoming more popular than ever because of highly efficient magnets - lower manufacturing costs - and great fidelity.






24. Pair of omni mic separated by a circular absorptive baffle.






25. One of the oldest mics; Diaphragm mounted on & compresses cup of tiny granules of carbon (100 microns big) that increase current flow when compressed by sound waves and vary electrical current; Also called Resistance Mics;






26. Sounds that arrive at the 0






27. One of the world's greatest condenser microphones prized for the CK12 capsule.






28. Works exactly like condenser mic but one of the two plates is manufactured as a capsule with a permanent static charge so there is no external power source necessary; Requires phantom or battery to charge internal mic preamp.






29. Developed the condenser microphone in 1916 at Bell Labs.






30. Pair of omni mic elements mounted on opposite sides of a spherical shaped capsule.






31. Sounds that arrive from angles other than the 0






32. Reduces the power of a signal used when the trim itself cannot prevent overload in the mic line level signal.






33. Forward facing bipolar mics spaced 20cm apart.






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






35. Electro- acoustic device attached to a transducer that vibrates to receive or produce sound waves which put the device into motion.






36. The outer covering of a microphone.






37. Big + & - (More front with less opposite rear)






38. The graphic representation plot of the sensitivity of a microphone from any direction over a 360






39. E = Blv - e - Electromotive Force (in volts) - B - is the magnetic field strength - l - is the length of the conductor - v - is the velocity of the conductor moving through the magnetic field






40. Pair of cardioids facing to the front and rear - plus a sideways - facing figure 8; Mid- sides pair plus another rear- facing cardioid which is combined with the same Figure 8 mic for the surrounds.






41. Barrier made of shaped wire covered with a piece of nylon that is placed between a sensitive mic and the talent to avoid damage to the diaphragm of the mic.






42. Magnetic field opposite to that which presently exists; Do this on the bottom mic when miking a snare with two mics.






43. Increasing magnetic field strength is the only practical means of increasing output voltage; Conductor movement is limited due to tension of the ribbon; and ribbon length increases lead to a loss of high frequency response.






44. EMI employee that was the innovator of many coincident pairing mic techniques; Mid/Side & Blumlein techniques are associated with him.






45. Raises the body of the microphone increasing height.






46. Shows the level of self- noise from a microphone's internal electronics; Measured in dB (decibels).






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






48. Dynamic; Super-Cardioid; End Address; Humbucking Coil; Brilliance Switch; Manufactured by Sennheiser; Acknowledged as the most accurate and versatile dynamic mic available.






49. Shure's ribbon microphone that utilizes Roswellite to prevent ribbon damage.






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