What Is Phantom Power And Why Do You Need It? - RecordingRevolution.com

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Have you ever seen that little button on your audio interface or microphone preamp labeled 48V and wondered to yourself:
What is a "V" and why do I need 48 of them?!
That little button (also labeled at times "phantom power") is a critical thing to understand depending on what type of microphone you are using in your home studio.
Today I'm going to clearly explain what it is, and why/when you would need it.

[@Darshil-P]

What is a V why do I need 48 of em 😂

[@luqmanzarid]

People aren't here for mic selection. You can tell them what phantom power is in a minute rather than wasting their time

[@jackjames7806]

So phantom power is a power source needed only for condenser mics? Thanks Graham this was a great video!

[@kdbwiz]

“And it’s called phantom power because … I don’t know!”

[@ReeeeeToaded]

"What Is Phantom Power And Why Do You Need It?" he answers with "I Don't know."

[@dustinf11]

Good video.. but what's with the thumbnail face?

[@walternugent1367]

Just got a Rode Nt1 and realized my sound card is as old as I am and doesn't have phantom power... guess I'm going to guitar center in a bit.. lol

[@Moshavnik7272]

There are condenser mics that use batteries inside them so they won’t need phantom power. These are typically inexpensive high impedance unbalanced mics used in consumer systems. Those mics are quieter than dynamic mics as they keep background noise down and their sound is cleaner.

[@MindReaderAudios]

Haha thought phantom power was a feature that made the voice sound ghostly 😂😂😂😂

[@rogertyler3237]

None Of My Vocopro Mics Use Battery's.

[@squidcaps4308]

The history of 48V is weird. It comes from Norway radio relay stations that had to be able to be run from backup battery. They used 4 x 12V lead-acid batteries (or 2 x 24v) because of availability. There had to be equipment designed to use that power and that solution started to spread elsewhere. So when it came time to actually implement "phantom" power, 48V was logical choice as there were already gear that used it.

[@EYTPS]

"I am your angel of music recording"

[@SamMangubat]

Whoo. Now i know what phantom power is. Thank you so much!

[@nkemebenezer]

I love the way you make things easy for young music producers. Your videos are really helping me and i look forward to join the recording revolution pretty soon. Thank you Sir

[@hmtp177]

Starts at

[@ColossalView]

Fantastic video for reference and refreshers on microphone types. I used a condenser microphone years ago and want to get one again to combine with my SM57 dynamic.

[@jordanmeltzer7489]

This is probably the most informative, easy-to-understand audio-related video I have ever seen. Thank you!!!

[@demerit5]

This is one of the best recording videos I've ever watched. Thank you for the upload

[@EnzoMujica]

Awesome. Super helpful for a newbie in music production. Thank you.

[@GrandpaBob1957]

Thank you for your informative and easy to understand video. I am setting up a professional studio and am studying as much as I can so it will be done right. I know what to do and now have a very nice studio with a recording booth to do it in. I am stepping up from a home studio so I'm looking for top of the line equipment and think I have found a good resource to get what I need. Looking forward to watching more videos. Keep up the great work!