Crystal Mic - can I substitute condenser mic

Hi guys,

Just looking at a circuit that shows a crystal microphone and as I have no experience of them I wondered if anyone new if a condenser mic would suffice?

I have no idea of the pros and cons of either and compatibility, does anyone have any specs or knowledge of crystal mics vs condensers ?

Thanks for looking.............Al

everything is here...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microphone

A crystal microphone is 100 years old and was used with a vaccum tube preamp.
Welcome to 2008 where electret microphones and dynamic microphones are used. Their preamp is simple.

bigal_scorpio said:

Hi guys,

Just looking at a circuit that shows a crystal microphone and as I have no experience of them I wondered if anyone new if a condenser mic would suffice?

I have no idea of the pros and cons of either and compatibility, does anyone have any specs or knowledge of crystal mics vs condensers ?

Click to expand...

You don't really give enough information?, but a 'condensor mike' requires a 48V phantom power supply, and is usually 600 ohms impedance, completely different to a crystal mike. An antique crystal mike is a very high impedance, 1Mohm upwards.