Triton Audio FetHead in-Line Microphone Preamp

If you have a mic with a high noise floor (sounds like hiss when the gain is turned up), this is your solution. I've had a Rode NTG-2 which is a notoriously weak condenser mic that I've never been happy with. I bought a Tascam DR-60D MkII which still resulted in an unacceptably high noise floor. However, the FetHead completely solved this issue both with the Tascam and recording directly into a C100 Mk2. The NTG-2 now sounds GREAT and this purchase has breathed new life into it. This FetHead requires phantom power but does NOT forward the phantom power, so condenser mics either need to use the phantom version of the FetHead or a battery, if supported. Triton Audio recommends this version with a battery for the NTG-2.The FetHead itself is small and plugs inline with the XLR cable. I really like this form factor as it's very easy to use and doesn't require an additional XLR cable. The quality of the FetHead was bad enough I'm not sure mine is genuine - the logo is off center and the FetHead itself isn't completely straight. It seems to work just fine though. All in all, considering the price and form factor this is a must buy if you need some additional clean gain. If you have hiss, buy this before trying anything else and avoid my mistake of buying increasingly expensive interfaces!

As a professional voice over actor, the quality of my work depends heavily on the efficiency and sonic cleanliness of my studio equipment. My microphone of choice is the celebrated Shure SM7B. While it's a great sounding dynamic mic for vocal work, it has one big drawback. Its output is low when compared with condenser microphones, or even some other dynamics. Cranking up a standard preamp to the -60 dB of gain required by the SM7B can introduce unwanted noise -- especially noticeable on voice over tracks. The TRITON AUDIO FetHead in-Line Microphone Preamp resolves the problem. Installed in-line between mic and preamp, this nifty and very affordable device provides enough extra quiet gain to allow the preamp to silently "loaf" at a much reduced setting while cranking out a strong, clean signal. NOTE: the TRITON preamp does require 48 volts of phantom power, but isolates it from the mic, so no damage is done, even to fragile ribbon microphones. For a few dollars more TRITON even offers an identical looking in-line preamp model with a high pass filter that tames the sometimes bothersome proximity effect of some mics. As you might guess, I'm a big fan of TRITON AUDIO!

This past year, I've struggled with my microphone's gain since I'm practically yelling at the top of my lungs with my Shure SM57. I couldn't seem to get my voice loud enough, even with system wide post processing and my gain set to max on my audio interface. My hope was to use this mic for chat, some streaming, and music production. Thinking back now, I should've conducted more research with my gear and how low of a sensitivity the SM57 was. At the time, I was still a bit new to microphones, and what setup would pair well with each other.At the start of 2020, I had started off with a Shure SM57 & a Native Instruments Komplete Audio 1, and boy did I learn the hard way about how much power was needed to push that mic to the point where people can actually hear me without the mic sitting inside my mouth essentially. Over time I've learned to cope with this handicap. That is until recently, where I started to do more research into my predicament and what possible ways I can go about to remedy this situation.I stumbled upon two choices, the Cloudlifter, and Fethead. Since i'm in a spot where space is limited on my work area, I resorted to the Fethead (I also liked the look of it as well).And man, let me tell you the relief that I had when I first attached it onto my mic. My voice still sounded clear, with just a small amount of hiss, but that is almost inaudible. The Fethead seamlessly attaches to the mic via Female XLR on one side to Male XLR on the other, meaning I wouldn't have to deal with having to use another XLR cable if I had gone with the Cloudlifter. I can honestly say that this was such a massive improvement, without having to buy a whole new setup.I recently switched over to the Motu M2, so I only did some tests between the M2 and the Komplete Audio. I found the M2 to work very well paired with the Fethead, and does sound just as clear without the Fethead (Though you'll still get some humming at higher gains). The Komplete Audio also sounded great, but definitely needed more gain compared.Overall, the Fethead is an amazing purchase if you need the extra boost in gains without sacrificing too much in terms of audio quality.

I use an AKG p5i microphone with an M-Audio M-Track Solo. At first, people could barely hear me on Zoom—I had to talk with the microphone almost inside of my mouth, and people still could barely hear me. If I turned the audio interface gain all the way up, the noise level was doable, but the quality was awful.With these product, my gain is around halfway, and the sound level is plenty loud. Also, the quality is amazing—this thing has no noticeable impact on sound quality that I’ve noticed. I get plenty of compliments on Zoom with my audio quality (if you have a decent setup, make sure to turn the “original sound” option on in Zoom—it will allow the clearest sound to be transmitted.I was between this one and a dynamite-looking one, because that one looked cool with the red. However, this one is shorter, so I went with it, and I’m glad I did. Even with this being the shortest option on the market I could find, it still makes the microphone a few inches longer. It doesn’t affect my current setup (mic cord faces up the mic stand), but it could add difficulty on some setups.Overall, this product is great. The FetHead is recommended everywhere for a reason. I highly recommend it.