Phantom Power - Technical Information

Technical Information

Phantom powering consists of direct current applied equally through the two signal lines of a balanced audio connector (in modern equipment, usually an XLR connector). The supply voltage is referenced to the ground pin of the connector (pin 1 of an XLR), which normally is connected to the cable shield or a ground wire in the cable or both. When phantom powering was introduced, one of its advantages was that the same type of balanced, shielded microphone cable that studios were already using for dynamic microphones could be used for condenser microphones. This is in contrast to microphones with vacuum-tube circuitry, most of which require special, multi-conductor cables.

With phantom power, the supply voltage is effectively invisible to balanced microphones that do not use it, which includes most dynamic microphones. A balanced signal consists only of the differences in voltage between two signal lines; phantom powering places the same DC voltage on both signal lines of a balanced connection. This is in marked contrast to another, slightly earlier method of powering known as "parallel powering" or "T-powering" (from the German term Tonaderspeisung), in which DC was overlaid directly onto the signal in differential mode. Connecting a conventional microphone to an input that had parallel powering enabled could very well damage the microphone.

Many mixer boards have a switch for turning phantom power on or off; in most high-end equipment this can be done individually by channel, or on smaller mixers all mic channels can be either on or off, also this can be done in groups in most mid-range boards and some smaller ones. If it is desired to disconnect phantom power from one channel only, this can be done by using a 1:1 isolation transformer or blocking capacitors. Phantom powering can cause equipment malfunction or even damage if used with cables or adapters that connect one side of the input to ground, or if certain equipment other than microphones is connected to it.

Instrument amplifiers rarely provide phantom power. To use equipment requiring it with these amplifiers, a separate power supply must be inserted into the line. These are readily available commercially, or alternatively are one of the easier projects for the amateur electronics constructor.