What is the Sphere microphone?
The Sphere microphone is a high precision, dual capsule, two channel mic. Sphere has two balanced output signals and requires two mic preamps, both with 48V phantom power, to operate properly.
Is the Sphere microphone digital or analog?
The Sphere microphone hardware is entirely analog. The Sphere modeling technology occurs in the digital domain using the Sphere software plug-ins, which supports VST2, VST3, Audio Units, AAX DSP, AAX Native, and UAD.
What are the differences between the Sphere LX and DLX microphones?
DLX
- 38 microphone models
- Shockmount
- Mic stand mount
- 25’ cable
- Carrying case
- Sphere Mic Collection (UAD, AAX DSP, AAX Native, VST, AU)
- Sphere Mic Collection 180 (UAD, AAX DSP, AAX Native, VST, AU)
LX
- 20 microphone models
- Mic stand mount
- 10’ cable
- Carrying case
- Sphere Mic Collection (UAD, AAX DSP, AAX Native, VST, AU)
What are the differences between L22 and DLX?
The Sphere DLX has a fixed -20 dB pad in place of the selectable -10 and -20 dB pads on the Sphere L22. Additionally, the Sphere DLX includes a 25' cable in place of the 10' cable included with the Sphere L22. Otherwise, the microphones are essentially the same.
Does the Sphere mic require phantom power?
Yes, Sphere requires 48 VDC on both channels.
Why does the Sphere microphone have two output channels even though I just want to model a mono microphone?
Having a two-channel microphone makes it possible to capture directional and distance information from the soundfield, which allows the modeling algorithms to reconstruct the three-dimensional response of a wide range of microphones. The Sphere plug-in takes these two channels as input and outputs mono audio corresponding to the sound of the original (mono) microphone being modeled. It is not possible to use the Sphere plug-in with one audio channel.
What do the engravings on the microphone headbasket mean?
The single circle on the front of the mic corresponds to the 0º on-axis position. The two overlapping circles become on-axis when recording in stereo.
Why does the Sphere microphone glow when you plug it in?
The microphone headbasket glows to indicate that 48V phantom power is correctly applied to both channels. When calibration mode is enabled, the light will slowly flash.
What kind of cable does the mic use and is it included?
The included breakout cable has a female 5-pin XLR connector for the microphone, and dual male 3-pin XLR connectors for the preamps.
I want to buy an extender cable or a replacement cable. What should I get?
You can extend the included cable using two standard XLR mic cables. And while we recommend using the included cable, any standard 5-pin XLR to dual 3-pin XLR stereo microphone cable should be compatible. Before using a different cable, confirm the wiring matches the diagram below.