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I'm recording breathing sounds (inside anechoic chamber) with a MEMS microphone in a custom housing. The sound level is low; and near the noise floor of the mic, so we have a lot of input gain and the result is quite noisy. How can the noise be reduced?

Here is what I'm working on:

  1. Removed all ground loops

  2. Reducing the microphone noise floor with electronics. (Battery power, bypass capacitors)

  3. Low pass filtering at the microphone's output.

  4. Using a quiet mic. preamp (RDL RU-MLA2)

  5. Impedance matching with series and shunt loads

Noise gating is a nice idea but I understand this gates the quiet bits, where there is no signal anyway. If you suggest this please explain in detail how you think it could reduce the SNR of my signal.

Adam.

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    Just a silly question. Since you have an access to an anechoic chamber, doesn’t the laboratory have any proper microphones with low noise?
    – jojek
    Feb 1, 2018 at 23:30
  • @jojek What "proper" microphones are you suggesting, and how low do you think is low enough?
    – Adam Ratcliff
    Feb 2, 2018 at 0:51
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    I’ve been using GRAS 40HF which goes as low as 0dBA. It was possible to record soap bubbles bursting in anechoic chamber. Again, I am simply asking if your lab has this sort of thing or it can get a grant for it.
    – jojek
    Feb 2, 2018 at 0:55
  • @jojek yes a lower noise microphone is a good suggestion. Before taking that option I want to show my peers that I've done all I can to lower the noise floor.
    – Adam Ratcliff
    Feb 2, 2018 at 1:06
  • What is the total SNR of your system, all items included? You need at least 32 bit (140dB) or 24 bit (120dB) worst case net dynamic range, so you can be sure the noise source is the microphone or a mic per-amp.
    – user18060
    Feb 7, 2018 at 2:38

2 Answers 2

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The point of an MEMS microphone is to deliver good directionality and SNR at minimal size and weight, like on a mobile phone. When recording in an anechoic chamber, that seems like a silly optimization target.

A good small membrane condenser microphone will likely already work better here, and even the inherent colorization of a large membrane condenser will likely not make much of a difference for breathing sounds.

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  • @user24052 the MEMS microphone is being used to pick up vibrations that come from a Gel-like substrate into the air via a custom interface medium. Directionality and SNR at minimal size is what we need, but that's all off topic.
    – Adam Ratcliff
    Feb 7, 2018 at 2:08
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Based on what I know about MEMS-microphones, I'd say your one option - not counting getting the best preamp you can get which is always a good idea - is to get a proper microphone for this. I record many far quieter stuff than that, and can always rely upon especially my Sennheiser MKH-mics for things like that.

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    Thanks, changing to a microphone with a lower noise floor is a good suggestion. Unfortunately specs for that sort of thing don't seem to be published. My noise floor is about -60dB below full scale. @Christian Can you measure the noise floor with yours? I would really like to do everything I can to lower the noise floor first before changing microphones so I'm open to other answers.
    – Adam Ratcliff
    Feb 2, 2018 at 0:52

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