Topic: Do I need to buy something else with a SM7B to plug it to the pro fs ?

Hello, I never used an XLR mic before, do I need something in particular apart from buying the shure sm7b to have it work smoothly with the babyface pro fs ? Do I need some sort of power supply ?

Thanks

Re: Do I need to buy something else with a SM7B to plug it to the pro fs ?

You'll need an XLR-cable. Just plug it in and adjust your input gain from Totalmix.

Fireface UFX+ | Fireface UFX | Babyface Pro | 12Mic

Re: Do I need to buy something else with a SM7B to plug it to the pro fs ?

Thank you

Re: Do I need to buy something else with a SM7B to plug it to the pro fs ?

… and disable +48V phantom power, it’s not needed for this mic.

UCX - FF 400 - Babyface pro - Digiface USB - ADI-2 (original)
Mac mini M1 - Macbook pro - iPad Air2

Re: Do I need to buy something else with a SM7B to plug it to the pro fs ?

oli77sch wrote:

… and disable +48V phantom power, it’s not needed for this mic.


Thanks. Why is it that this mic doesn't need a phantom power ? what make a mic need a phantom power ? is it always the sign of a better quality mic ?

Re: Do I need to buy something else with a SM7B to plug it to the pro fs ?

Not a question of quality!
There are different types of microphones. Dynamic ones, like the SM7B, transduce the acoustic waves directly in electrical signals and don’t need external power. For this, such mics are less sensitive and need more preamp gain. I would say, the Babyface pro has clean and low noise preamps with enough headroom to work well with the SM7B.
Condenser mics have active electronics built in and need either the phantom power from the preamp or a battery.

UCX - FF 400 - Babyface pro - Digiface USB - ADI-2 (original)
Mac mini M1 - Macbook pro - iPad Air2

Re: Do I need to buy something else with a SM7B to plug it to the pro fs ?

bensmir.hbs wrote:
oli77sch wrote:

… and disable +48V phantom power, it’s not needed for this mic.


Thanks. Why is it that this mic doesn't need a phantom power ? what make a mic need a phantom power ? is it always the sign of a better quality mic ?

Google and you find a lot of articles to gather some basic knowledge.
You get tons of result, here a few.

https://www.gear4music.com/blog/differe … crophones/
https://www.gearank.com/articles/types-of-mics/
https://soundref.com/different-types-of-microphones/
https://audiouniversityonline.com/types-of-microphones/
https://mastering.com/types-of-microphones/

BR Ramses - UFX III, 12Mic, XTC, M-1620 Pro D, RayDAT, ADI-2 Pro FS R BE, X10SRi-F, E5-1680v4, Win10

8 (edited by gregd 2024-06-15 10:47:29)

Re: Do I need to buy something else with a SM7B to plug it to the pro fs ?

The SM7Bis a very nice mic - but even for a dynamic mic it's quite insensitive.

Many pre-amps need to be close to full gain when using it - and they often get noisy at full gain.

So choices are to either use a high gain mic pre-amp - or a signal booster.

When using mine in the studio I either use a Triton Audio fet head https://www.tritonaudio.com/product/fethead/ and a conventional pre-amp. Or a high gain AEA preamp.

The fethead would be a good option with the baby face (it needs 48V turned on).

But try it without and see how you get on.

9

Re: Do I need to buy something else with a SM7B to plug it to the pro fs ?

gregd wrote:

The SM7Bis a very nice mic - but even for a dynamic mic it's quite insensitive.
Many pre-amps need to be close to full gain when using it - and they often get noisy at full gain.

That's a myth. All mic preamps reach their best gain to noise ratio (EIN) > 30 dB of gain. The total amount of noise is the same with or without FetHead.

gregd wrote:

So choices are to either use a high gain mic pre-amp - or a signal booster.

'FetHeads' are not necesssary and ineffective with competent mic preamps, which all our units (and even most of our competition) have. FetHeads have just one valid application case: if the distance between mic and preamp is big, and the cabling is noisy. Then it makes sense to have a higher level already at the mic's place to send that higher level signal through the cable.

Regards
Matthias Carstens
RME

Re: Do I need to buy something else with a SM7B to plug it to the pro fs ?

MC wrote:

…FetHeads have just one valid application case: if the distance between mic and preamp is big, and the cabling is noisy. Then it makes sense to have a higher level already at the mic's place to send that higher level signal through the cable.

… second valid application case in my opinion is to protect dynamic (ribbon!) mics on multichannel units (cheap mixing desks or such) which only have global phantom switches and one wants to use different mic types at once.

UCX - FF 400 - Babyface pro - Digiface USB - ADI-2 (original)
Mac mini M1 - Macbook pro - iPad Air2

Re: Do I need to buy something else with a SM7B to plug it to the pro fs ?

bensmir.hbs wrote:

Hello, I never used an XLR mic before, do I need something in particular apart from buying the shure sm7b to have it work smoothly with the babyface pro fs ? Do I need some sort of power supply ?

Thanks

MANY THOUGHT A CLOUDLIFTER WAS NEEDED.
A Cloudlifter is a little device that helps boost the signal of microphones that are very quiet. Some microphones, like the Shure SM7B, have weak signals and need extra help to be loud enough for recording or listening. The Cloudlifter gives the signal a "head start" before it reaches your audio interface.

HERE IS THE FACT YOU WERE LOOKING FOR.
The RME Babyface Pro FS is a super high-quality audio interface. It has something built into it called preamps. These preamps take the quiet signal from your microphone and make it louder (this is called gain). The Babyface can boost the signal by up to 76 dB of gain, which is a lot—more than enough for most microphones, including quiet ones like the Shure SM7B.

NO CLOUDLIFTER NEEDED WITH A SM7B.
The Cloudlifter is only necessary if your audio interface can’t boost the mic signal enough without adding noise. But the RME Babyface Pro FS has:

High Gain (up to 76 dB): This is plenty of power to amplify even very quiet microphones.
Low Noise Preamps: The Babyface’s preamps are so clean and quiet that they don’t add hiss or static, even when you turn the gain up high.
Because the Babyface already does what the Cloudlifter is designed to do (and does it really well), you don’t need to add a Cloudlifter.

ONE MORE THING TO THINK ABOUT.
If your microphone is like a whisper and the Babyface is like a powerful megaphone, the Babyface is already strong enough to make the whisper loud and clear. You don’t need another booster like the Cloudlifter—it would be like using two megaphones when one is already enough.

In short: The RME Babyface Pro FS has strong, clean preamps built in, so it doesn’t need help from a Cloudlifter to make your microphone sound great!

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."

Arthur C. Clarke

12

Re: Do I need to buy something else with a SM7B to plug it to the pro fs ?

Good grief... where is my facepalm emoji...

Regards
Matthias Carstens
RME

Re: Do I need to buy something else with a SM7B to plug it to the pro fs ?

MC wrote:

Good grief... where is my facepalm emoji...

Looks like another chatbot invasion wink

Fireface UCX II + ARC USB > ADI-2 Pro FS R BE > Neumann KH 750 DSP + MA 1 > KH 120 A

Re: Do I need to buy something else with a SM7B to plug it to the pro fs ?

unpluggged wrote:
MC wrote:

Good grief... where is my facepalm emoji...

Looks like another chatbot invasion wink

Wait, what?! Did I say something wrong? I thought I was just being helpful. I just hooked up my SM7B to my Babyface Pro FS for the first time, and it worked great. I was trying to share and help. If I missed something, please let me know the rules—I'd appreciate it!

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."

Arthur C. Clarke

15 (edited by Randyman... 2025-01-11 06:07:33)

Re: Do I need to buy something else with a SM7B to plug it to the pro fs ?

tokimano wrote:
unpluggged wrote:
MC wrote:

Good grief... where is my facepalm emoji...

Looks like another chatbot invasion wink

Wait, what?! Did I say something wrong? I thought I was just being helpful. I just hooked up my SM7B to my Babyface Pro FS for the first time, and it worked great. I was trying to share and help. If I missed something, please let me know the rules—I'd appreciate it!

I liked your post (very "Based" for non-technical types).  However, it could come across as AI/Bot-like big_smile  I think that is the reason for the "jabs".

OT: Coincidentally - I used your same sig quote for years, and even had it posted at my cubical in the 2000's!  Lol...

MADIface-XT+ARC / 3x HDSP MADI / ADI648
2x SSL Alphalink MADI AX
2x Multiface / 2x Digiface /2x ADI8

Re: Do I need to buy something else with a SM7B to plug it to the pro fs ?

tokimano wrote:

HERE IS THE FACT YOU WERE LOOKING FOR.
The RME Babyface Pro FS is a super high-quality audio interface. It has something built into it called preamps. These preamps take the quiet signal from your microphone and make it louder (this is called gain). The Babyface can boost the signal by up to 76 dB of gain, which is a lot—more than enough for most microphones, including quiet ones like the Shure SM7B.

Little correction, the preamps of the BBF Pro support 65 dB gain.

Higher gain for the mic preamps you have with these models:
UCX II, UFX II, UFX III, 12Mic support 75 dB gain.

BR Ramses - UFX III, 12Mic, XTC, M-1620 Pro D, RayDAT, ADI-2 Pro FS R BE, X10SRi-F, E5-1680v4, Win10

17

Re: Do I need to buy something else with a SM7B to plug it to the pro fs ?

ramses wrote:

Little correction, the preamps of the BBF Pro support 65 dB gain.

Adding the PAD you get a total of a 76 dB gain range.

Regards
Matthias Carstens
RME

18

Re: Do I need to buy something else with a SM7B to plug it to the pro fs ?

tokimano wrote:
unpluggged wrote:
MC wrote:

Good grief... where is my facepalm emoji...

Looks like another chatbot invasion wink

Wait, what?! Did I say something wrong?

Not really.

tokimano wrote:

I thought I was just being helpful.

Good then that I did not delete your post as I was expecting either AI bot or scamming.

So you know why: Everything you wrote is already in this thread. All details have been discussed. The thread was finished 7 (!) months ago (maybe next time check the date of the last post?). So pulling it out of the grave with no new thing to add...that is a red flag for any moderator.

Still: welcome to the forum!

Regards
Matthias Carstens
RME

19 (edited by ramses 2025-01-11 11:44:35)

Re: Do I need to buy something else with a SM7B to plug it to the pro fs ?

MC wrote:
ramses wrote:

Little correction, the preamps of the BBF Pro support 65 dB gain.

Adding the PAD you get a total of a 76 dB gain range.

I responded this way, as he referred to "gain" (the "amplification capabilities" of the preamp) and not "gain range".
           
             "The Babyface can boost the signal by up to 76 dB of gain"

BR Ramses - UFX III, 12Mic, XTC, M-1620 Pro D, RayDAT, ADI-2 Pro FS R BE, X10SRi-F, E5-1680v4, Win10