LOW IMPEDANCE MICS AND THEIR CONNECTORS

OK, we know that a Mic's output impedance is determined by its ELEMENT/TRANSFORMER, NOT by its output connector. Knowing this opens-up all sorts of possibilities for microphone hook-ups.

Example: I recently rebuilt a client's Altec-Lansing 632C low impedance dynamic microphone. Not familiar? Looks to be a cylinder about the size of a jar or can of beef bullion cubes and has fins at its grill end resembling a three-pointed Mercedes-Benz star. They also come with a clunky hard-wired output cable running through a coupling designed to thread onto a mic stand. The desire was to make the mic modular by installing a modified 5/8" thread-on output connector (Switchcraft 2501F&M) while having it remain LOW-Z to match current stage gear. HUH? LOW-Z without an XLR connector? Yep...
BALANCED LOW IMPEDANCE signals are famous for their ability to endure extremely long cable runs without line loss or noise. BUT: When you're 20~30 feet from the on-stage D.I. (direct box) or mixing console, an UNBALANCED LOW IMPEDANCE wiring scheme can be used without significant degradation of the signal. This is done by taking the wire carrying the 'negative' signal (typically connected to pin #3 in the XLR connector) and soldering it to the "shield" or "ground" of the cable. Thus, a two-conductor connector or wire consisting of a single "positive" lead and a shield or "ground" carrying the "negative" voltage (thread-on to phoneplug, for instance) is all that's required -and the signal remains LOW IMPEDANCE. Objective achieved.