Made in Canada, the McBoost is constructed with a 14-gauge steel I-beam inner frame and uses high quality, batch-sorted components so from a robustness point of view, there’s little to worry about. The gain boost is provides is typical of the mic activators we’re looking at coming in at +25db. As mentioned above though, there are different level options to choose from via the switch which adds a little more flexibility.

FetHead Phantom is an ultra-low noise, high quality, in-line microphone preamplifier. It provides improved sound for condenser microphones. Small, compact, but powerful, Fethead Phantom utilizes tried and true FET technology to deliver up to 18dB of clean boost. No more cranking your mic preamp and adding unwanted noise to get your microphone to an acceptable volume.Boost your microphone! Your Fethead 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. Whether you’re making music, podcasts, or video recordings, having reliable gear you can trust is key. Both FetHead and Cloudlifter make viable alternatives to more expensive in-line preamps.McBoost provides 26 dB of ‘variable clean gain’, which means it has a rotary knob on the front panel to set the level of gain between 100%, 50%, or variable. The circuit and electrical isolation ensure that it does not add any noise or tone color i.e. transparent operation.

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. The musicians need to be extremely particular about the audio experience because the audience won’t bear the distortion and extra-loud music. For this reason, choosing the right mic is essential as it helps ensure better audio quality. You could use an outboard preamp instead of a mic activator but unless you can find a used bargain, it’s likely that a mic activator will be more cost effective (and are more portable). You could be forgiven for thinking that a preamp is a preamp and as long as it gives you the required gain boost, any will do the job. However, different types of preamps exist so there’s more to consider. If you want to get the best sound from your SM57, it’s worth learning about each one and choosing the right type for what you’ll use it for. What is a mic activator?

There is some argument about what these devices actually are. They serve some of the same functions as a preamp, but many refer to them as mic activators. Either way, they add much-needed gain for artists with low output mics searching for slightly higher loudness.