NT3
microphone
$199
Used market: $155*
Specifications
6 of 8 values have a recorded sourceExpert Audio Engineering Commentary
Tonal Profile
A three-quarter-inch externally biased cardioid - a true condenser, not an electret - with a transformerless output and a cast body. 20 Hz - 20 kHz, and it runs from a 9 V battery or P12, P24 or P48.
Gain Staging Advice
-39.0 dBV/Pa with 16 dBA of self noise: 17 dB louder than an SM57, so 30-35 dB of gain covers a close source and the preamp never gets near its noisy end. P12 support is the unusual part - it will work off portable recorders and field mixers whose phantom rail cannot reach 48 V.
What the datasheet actually says
Quoted verbatim from the manufacturer’s own page, with the date we checked it. We state what is printed, not what anyone intended by it.
«Output Impedance 200Ohm / Output Impedance 140dB SPL»
The specification list on the NT3 product page carries two rows under the same label, Output Impedance: one reads 200 ohms, the next reads 140dB SPL. The second is the maximum sound pressure level filed under the impedance heading; the NT3 data sheet prints no maximum SPL row at all. We store 200 ohms and leave maximum SPL out.
checked 8/5/2026* Estimated with the depreciation fallback (~78% retained value). · checked on 8/5/2026