Uploaded May 2020 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
How can you tell if the noise (hiss) you are hearing in your audio is coming from your recording environment or your preamp? Test it! All parts and gear used to make this video at kit.co/rayortega
Music by PremiumBeat.com.
License this music: bit.ly/1BJbspm
Track: New Frontier by Flashing Lights
Track: Poolside by Aulx Studio
Track: Neons Eyes by Hartley
If you want to measure the amount of noise that your preamp is adding or isn't adding to your audio productions, you need to measure the noise from the preamp separate from the ambient sound in your environment which is being picked up by your microphone.
Making a 150 ohm resistor housed inside an XLR plug will allow you to plug into your audio interface and measure the amount of noise being produced by the preamp without being influenced by ambient sound of your room. This works because the 150 ohm resistor is equal to the resistance of the average dynamic microphone like the one I used in this video, the SM7B. So when you plug it in, the preamp acts like there is a microphone connected however there is no element to actually pick up sound from the environment and thus you get to measure only the noise that is within the device itself.
The way I use this is quite practical in that I'm less interested in the specs/numbers produced by the measurement for the purpose of comparing one preamp to the next and much more interested in knowing how much of the noise in my recording is being produced from the environment or microphone that I'm using. If the noise floor of the preamp is well below that of the noise when the microphone is plugged in, I know it's not the preamp that is contributing to my noise and that if i want to reduce the ambient noise I need to treat the space I'm in and not that I'm using subpar gear.
The build is quite simple and even someone like myself who hadn't soldered since he was a teenager was easily able to create this simple device.
Shoutout to youtube.com/juliankrause where I first learned of this dummy plug for measuring preamp noise and who helped me make my own. Subscribe to Julian!
SUBSCRIBE: youtube.com/rayortega
INSTAGRAM: instagram.com/podcasthelper
TWITTER: twitter.com/podcasthelper
Parts to Build Your Own:
► XLR Male Connector amzn.to/2SRgrRA
► 150 ohm metal film resistors amzn.to/3bhOzMW
► Soldering iron kit (shop for the quality you desire, this is a cheap one but worked for me) amzn.to/3dnMSim
🎥 🖥 📱🎤 GEAR USED TO MAKE THIS VIDEO 🤘
► Sony a6500: podhelp.me/a6500kit1BH
► LENS: Sigma 16mm F1.4: podhelp.me/SigmaE16mmBH
► Rode VideoMic Pro podhelp.me/RodeVMP-R_BH
► SmallHD 5" Focus Monitor: podhelp.me/SmallHDFocusBH
► Transcend 65GB SDXC card for 4K podhelp.me/Trans64U3zon
► SmallRig Cage for Sony a6500/a6300 podhelp.me/smallriga65006300BH
► Aputure Light Storm COB 120D amzn.to/2mD7JFC
► Aputure Light Dome Mini amzn.to/2DEIj2v
► Shure SM7B microphone: podhelp.me/sm7bZon
► Adobe Creative Cloud podhelp.me/CC1yearBHdownload
*all links should be considered affiliate links. I encourage you to shop around for the best prices at the time you are viewing this. You can read my ethics statement via thepodcastersstudio.com/ethics. Thanks!
#audio #DIY #preamp
How can you tell if the noise (hiss) you are hearing in your audio is coming from your recording environment or your preamp? Test it! All parts and gear used to make this video at kit.co/rayortega
Music by PremiumBeat.com.
License this music: bit.ly/1BJbspm
Track: New Frontier by Flashing Lights
Track: Poolside by Aulx Studio
Track: Neons Eyes by Hartley
If you want to measure the amount of noise that your preamp is adding or isn't adding to your audio productions, you need to measure the noise from the preamp separate from the ambient sound in your environment which is being picked up by your microphone.
Making a 150 ohm resistor housed inside an XLR plug will allow you to plug into your audio interface and measure the amount of noise being produced by the preamp without being influenced by ambient sound of your room. This works because the 150 ohm resistor is equal to the resistance of the average dynamic microphone like the one I used in this video, the SM7B. So when you plug it in, the preamp acts like there is a microphone connected however there is no element to actually pick up sound from the environment and thus you get to measure only the noise that is within the device itself.
The way I use this is quite practical in that I'm less interested in the specs/numbers produced by the measurement for the purpose of comparing one preamp to the next and much more interested in knowing how much of the noise in my recording is being produced from the environment or microphone that I'm using. If the noise floor of the preamp is well below that of the noise when the microphone is plugged in, I know it's not the preamp that is contributing to my noise and that if i want to reduce the ambient noise I need to treat the space I'm in and not that I'm using subpar gear.
The build is quite simple and even someone like myself who hadn't soldered since he was a teenager was easily able to create this simple device.
Shoutout to youtube.com/juliankrause where I first learned of this dummy plug for measuring preamp noise and who helped me make my own. Subscribe to Julian!
SUBSCRIBE: youtube.com/rayortega
INSTAGRAM: instagram.com/podcasthelper
TWITTER: twitter.com/podcasthelper
Parts to Build Your Own:
► XLR Male Connector amzn.to/2SRgrRA
► 150 ohm metal film resistors amzn.to/3bhOzMW
► Soldering iron kit (shop for the quality you desire, this is a cheap one but worked for me) amzn.to/3dnMSim
🎥 🖥 📱🎤 GEAR USED TO MAKE THIS VIDEO 🤘
► Sony a6500: podhelp.me/a6500kit1BH
► LENS: Sigma 16mm F1.4: podhelp.me/SigmaE16mmBH
► Rode VideoMic Pro podhelp.me/RodeVMP-R_BH
► SmallHD 5" Focus Monitor: podhelp.me/SmallHDFocusBH
► Transcend 65GB SDXC card for 4K podhelp.me/Trans64U3zon
► SmallRig Cage for Sony a6500/a6300 podhelp.me/smallriga65006300BH
► Aputure Light Storm COB 120D amzn.to/2mD7JFC
► Aputure Light Dome Mini amzn.to/2DEIj2v
► Shure SM7B microphone: podhelp.me/sm7bZon
► Adobe Creative Cloud podhelp.me/CC1yearBHdownload
*all links should be considered affiliate links. I encourage you to shop around for the best prices at the time you are viewing this. You can read my ethics statement via thepodcastersstudio.com/ethics. Thanks!
#audio #DIY #preamp
