Battery operated phantom power for sennheiser mkh-70

L

Lor

Well-known member
Does anyone know of a generic/brand portable battery operated phantom power that will work for the Sennheiser mkh-70 mic? I'm looking to connect this mic to my Nikon D810. Since the Nikon D810 does not provide phantom power, I need a way to provide for this mic. Any suggestion is much appreciated.
 
There are battery operated Phantom power units. You can search this forum, it's come up before, or google. The least obtrusive ones are in line and use button cels.
 
Lor said:
Since the Nikon D810 does not provide phantom power, I need a way to provide for this mic. Any suggestion is much appreciated.
Click to expand...

The D810 also doesn't supply micpreamps that are equal to the mkh-70. You wouldn't be using such a good mic unless you wanted good sound. Best advice I can give you is to use a mixer between the D810 and the mic. I'm thinking something like an SD MixPre-D which would be killer in this situation. But really anything down to a Tascam DR-70D or DR-60D would be a marked improvement. Also look at Beachtek.

But if all you want is a phantom power supply, Noiz2 has your answer.
 
I'm not aware of any 'affordable'... under $150) battery Phantom Power supplies that would run a Sennheiser MKH70. That particular mic requires 48 volts (or close to it). AFAIK, the only 'low cost' battery PP supply was the discontinued (Crown PHI) which only provides a maximum of 24 volts.
But as Bruce stated, feeding an inferior preamp/audio recorder does not make sense.
 
Well I was kind of shocked to find out Rick was mostly correct.
But there are still a few, but none of the button cel ones that look like an inline pad.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/403002-REG/Denecke_PS_1A_PS_1A_Portable_Single.html
$128

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/178395-REG/Rolls_PB224_PB224_2_Channel.html
$75

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/577469-REG/PSC_FPSC0001_48_PHantom_Single.html
$120

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/288123-REG/ART_PHANTOMIIPRO_PHANTOMII_Battery_Operated.html
$70 - though a bit unclear if it delivers 48V on battery power.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/296080-REG/Countryman_AXBPM_Battery_Power_Module.html
$87, but again a bit vague on output voltage. I have a couple of these and have used them with a number of mics. Just put a meter to it and got 48V
 
I thought the Denecke and PSC were more expensive. Note sure either if the ART delivers 48V on batteries. The Countryman 'appears' to be the smallest.
 
Denecke PS-1A is the one I've used, but plugging a 70 into a camera? I would NOT do this. I'd use a good audio recorder. That's a good mic. A Sound Devices or Zaxcom recorder would be appropriate. The lowest I'd go would be a Tascam DR-70D (which is not to say that is a bad recorder, it's quite good and I use it for most of my DSLR stuff that I do on my own), but that's a top end mic and deserves top end equipment to go with it.
 
Many thanks for all your responses. It's very helpful to me. I have looked at the the ART Phantom II Pro but I'm not sure if it will work with my MK-70. I have thought of using external recording but I don't really want to sync them in post if I don't have to.
 
Thanks, Noiz2! I just realized that one of your links is the ART Phantom II Pro. I would prefer a device with smaller footprint but I guess I will see if this will work.
 
Okay, is there a portable device (if possible battery operated) that has both phantom power and micpreamp?
 
Lor said:
Okay, is there a portable device (if possible battery operated) that has both phantom power and micpreamp?
Click to expand...
Well, sort of... a battery powered preamp. I would recommend the Sound Devices MP-1 or MM-1. They are small (belt pack size) and very high quality. Neither is 'low cost' though. Both output line level only though.
 
There are. But to get good quality you start to get pretty expensive. Behringer used to make a small battery powered mixer that was "OK". It probably didn't put out 48V though. Sound Devices makes a couple but they are not cheap.

What I would actually suggest is to get something like the DR70 from Tascam. You can feed the camera from it and also record. So you get what you have been asking for and you have a backup for sound, that will almost certainly sound better than what the camera records.
 
"so the Tascam DR70D should be able to power my MKH-70 no problem, right?"
- Right.. providing Phantom Power is engaged and in the 48 volt mode.
The DR70 has a 24 volt Phantom Power option, but that would not work well (or at all) with your Sennheiser mic.
(Page 21 of the Tascam DR-70D manual)
 
Last edited:
Awesome! That would seemed to be the best option for now. I will definitely get that one unless I can get my Zoom H4 to work again.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top