To record sound, all condenser microphones depend on phantom power: a direct current that can be supplied by a mixer with a built-in phantom power supply or by a standalone external phantom power supply. This department is home to external phantom power supplies as well as a number of related accessories.
What's Phantom Power?
Phantom power refers to the electric power that's needed to run a condenser microphone, making it an essential part of the recording gear used by musicians, podcasters, vloggers and other content creators that make high-quality audio recordings. In practice, the output signal of a condenser microphone is basically too weak to be directly recorded and therefore requires boosting through phantom power. For more information, check out our article: Phantom Power: This is What You Need to Know.
Built-In Phantom Power Supply or External Phantom Power Supply
Most mixers and audio interfaces feature a built-in phantom power supply, which usually has to be turned on via a dedicated switch or button as soon as you've plugged in your condenser microphone. If your mixer or audio interface doesn't offer (sufficient) phantom power or doesn't have it on the microphone channel you want use, you'll need to pick up a separate phantom power supply. To set it up, all you have to do is plug your microphone directly into the phantom power supply before connecting the power supply to the microphone input of your mixer or audio interface.
What Gear Requires Phantom Power?
Microphones
Both condenser microphones and active ribbon microphones depend on phantom power, but please note that passive ribbon microphones do not and could even get damaged beyond repair when fed phantom power.
Antennas
Some antennas also require phantom power. However, this is a different type of phantom power than what you'd get from your mixer, audio interface or the external phantom power supplies in this range.
Other Gear
Certain devices use phantom power to run properly, like DI boxes and the indicator lights built into mixers.
Frequently Asked Questions About Phantom Power
What is +48V phantom power?
48V phantom power is a common phantom power voltage that's used to power condenser microphones that require +48V phantom power. For more information, check out our article: Phantom Power: This is What You Need to Know.
What's phantom power?
The output signal of a condenser microphone is basically too weak to be directly recorded and therefore requires boosting by phantom power. Most mixers and audio interfaces come with a built-in phantom power supply as standard, but you can also get external phantom power supplies.
Do mixers have built-in phantom power?
Practically all modern mixers feature one or more microphone channels that offer built-in phantom power.
Can an active phantom power supply harm a dynamic microphone?
No, phantom power does not damage dynamic microphones. Passive ribbon microphones, on the other hand, can be damaged by phantom power.
Do all mixers supply 48V phantom power?
Most mixers offer 48V phantom power on most if not all channels. Other mixers may offer a lower voltage or no phantom power at all. Since some condenser microphones run on +48V phantom power only, an external phantom power supply is required in certain cases.
What's the right way to activate a 48V phantom power supply?
To avoid loud popping sounds, make sure to plug in your microphone before you switch your phantom power supply on. When unplugging the microphone again, make sure to switch the phantom power off first and wait thirty seconds before disconnecting the microphone.
