ShurePGA98D
microphone
New retail price (MSRP)
$155
Used market: $120*
Specifications
2 of 9 values have a recorded source- Connectors
- XLR 3-Pin Male·
- Built-in converter
- no·
- Self-noise
- 27✓
- Transducer
- Condenser Electret·
- Sensitivity
- -52·
- Output impedance
- 850·
- Phantom power required
- yes·
- Connection
- XLR-Only·
- Indexable Locales
- ·
Expert Audio Engineering Commentary
Tonal profile
The cheap clip-on drum condenser: gooseneck capsule, rim clamp, 11 to 52 V phantom at 2 mA. Self-noise of 27 dB SPL-A is nine decibels better than the Beta 98AMP/C on paper, but both live at a hand's distance from a drum head where nothing about noise floor matters.
Gain staging
850 ohms of output impedance is unusually high for a phantom-powered condenser - roughly five times what the Beta 98 series presents. Feed it into an input rated at least 8.5 kilohms if you want the printed level; a 1 kilohm input is a bad match here even though it would be fine for a 150 ohm dynamic.
* Estimated with the depreciation fallback (~77% retained value).