Sennheiser E835 and 6500 - preamp?

K8AC

I've been using the electret microphone on my Yamaha C500 headset for my limited SSB activity with my 6500 and that's worked just fine.  I recently acquired a Sennheiser E835 dynamic mic and today connected that via XLR cable to the 6500.  It appears that the output of the E835 is just too low to drive the 6500 to full output.  With the mic gain all the way up and the TX equalizer turned up far as possible while still maintaining the desired response curve, and speaking very closely into the mic, the best I can achieve is -10 dB on the Level meter.  Processor turned off at this point.  So, it would seem that I'm in need of an external mic preamp to raise the level of the mic output.

Have other E835 users had this same problem?  If so, what mic preamp did you use?  Not interested in an elaborate mixer/equalizer/preamp, just need some more gain. 

73, K8AC

Hector W2NPR

K0FLY

Gene Duprey

K8AC

Hector W2NPR

Larry - WA7LZO

Lawrence Gray

I use a 781 directly into the balanced input on my 6500. I have no difficulty with mic gain and regularly receive unsolicited positive comments about audio quality, even from the AM purists.

K8AC

Cosmos (Alan KB5CUS)

Cosmos (Alan KB5CUS)

I just read this post...  lol...  after I posted below...  FYI..  have friend that ordered that Inrad & it Does Not sound very good....   Maybe his is defective... ?  I'd order an E835 for known dealer..  Also it has a 10 year warr....  Some mics can be damaged from the 5 volt bias.. can magnitize coil... over time..   Oh..  & also Sennheiser has been making mics for 70 years ... & are not from China , I don't think ..  lol   The 2.8 mv is pretty common for 150 - 600 ohm Dynamic mikes...

K8AC

The mic was purchased new from Amazon and the packaging appeared to be factory fresh.  Of course, that's no guarantee that it isn't a factory reject or a copy.  I generally buy from Amazon due to the ease of return if there's a problem and the free shipping.  I've bought from Sweetwater in the past with no problems, but the day of my trusting ANY U.S. retailer to do the right thing is in the past. 

K8AC

It would be nice if Sennheiser stated their sensitivity in the same terms that most other manufacturers use.  After converting their advertised 2.7 mv/Pa sensitivity to dB relative to 1 volt, The E835 comes in at -51.4 dBV, which is more sensitive than the Heil PR-781 (-55 dBV) or the Heil PR-40 (-53.9 dBV) and people here report using those with no preamp.  I trust that someone at Flex tested the Inrad mics with the 6000 series before deciding to sell them in the Flex store. 

KC2QMA_John

Larry - WA7LZO

In my experience, the Flex 6700 with an Electro Voice RE 27N/D will perform just fine, at least for purposes of plain ol' SSB QSO's. But, for truly great sounding audio for those late night/early morning AM mode, long winded rag chews, I use my Neumann U67 microphone, running it through a Symetrix Voice Processor 2x. Lots of other great options, of course!