Activators are essentially small inline preamps which takes the 48v phantom power from an audio interface (as dynamic mics don’t need phantom power) and uses it to produce a gain boost for those dynamic mics which need it. Your Fethead Germanium will latch straight onto any XLR equipped microphone, or anywhere else in the signal path between microphone and preamp/mixer.The electronics are housed in a robust metal chassis with a balanced female XLR input and a balanced male XLR output, rugged enough for use at home, in the studio or on tour. But how do these two mic activators hold up in practical application? Well, we have run some tests to determine the noise floor and frequency response of each device. The Triton Audio FetHead is an economical, portable, and easy to use alternative to a Cloudlifter. It does exactly as advertised, and it does that as well, if not better, than the competition at a significantly lower price point. I highly recommend it to anyone who doesn’t want to pay extra for bells and whistles and just needs to cleanly boost their mic signal. Connecting FetHead to the microphone will help improve the sound quality, so it can be utilized for opening up the sound, leading to an airy vocal experience.

One thing to remember is that these gain boosters need phantom power, just like condenser microphones. Even though your SM7B doesn’t need extra power, you need your phantom power when you connect it to FetHead. Constructed mainly of surface-mount components, the DM1 is designed to add a fixed 28dB of gain, using a very low-noise Class‑A design, and on paper the specifications look very impressive (more on that below), but no distortion figure is quoted. In subjective tests, the DM1 seemed quiet and clean, delivering plenty of gain for low-output passive ribbon mics, but after a few practical tests such as this, we decided that Hugh should introduce the DM1 to his Audio Precision test set, to see just how good it is on a technical level.

Additional resources:

Mic activators have become really popular in recent years because of their convenience and relatively low cost (in comparison to outboard mic preamps which we’ll cover next).

Germanium transistors were widely used in earliest transistor designs by Neve, EMI, Telefunken,and Fairchild,and have developed a reputation for a decidedly vintage mojo that remains sought after today. The CL-1 (used in our comparison tests) has a footprint of 4.9 x 4.9 x 12 cm, making it ultra-portable for mobile podcasts. The all-metal casing is sturdy, and no buttons or dials means that the CL-1 is more than equipped for a life on the road. It has been integrated with the FET technology that is responsible for amplifying analog and digital signals. Having said that, it will be able to yield clean signals with improved sensitivity, low noise, and better transient response.Yes you could pay double for a cloudlifter, but for me the none intrusive style of the Fethead did it for me. It works really well, no more noise on my recordings and I have more headroom to work with. I'm really more than happy with this product. These mic activators can add a much-needed boost to your noise floor without marring the quality of your output. It’s as simple as plugging in your XLR cable, adjusting the gain, and making sounds! Additional resources: Instead, we are left with a glut of entry-level to mid-market audio interfaces, mixers, and mic preamps that offer 50 to 60 dB of gain at best. People who use high-output condenser mics will neither notice nor squirm at this development as these microphones have sufficient gain to produce clean recordings, assuming phantom power is available.