I've been looking at the Auris Mono Microphone by Reactive Sounds, and it is listed as having a dynamic range of 90dB and a maximum Input Sound Level of 105 dBs. How loud is that? Could a microphone like this, it's a lavalier, handle a good yell?

105 db is just shy of what you would hear at a rock concert in a club...

120db is, I believe the human threshold of pain...

90 db is the equivelant of a lawnmower or loud home stereo...

so...

yes, it could handle a good yell without cutting out.

I'm pretty sure continued exposure to about 80 - 85 db, is generally considered dangerous too.

Anyhow, that's the short answer :)

Hope this helps.

Just what I was looking for. Thanks.

"I'm pretty sure continued exposure to about 80 - 85 db, is generally considered dangerous too"

...and driving at relatively high speeds with your car window down can easily be around 100 or more.... something lots of us do all the time. yikes!

and i think that 120db is not necessarlily where people start to experience pain, but rather that's where hearing damage begins to occur. but i could be wrong.

Hearing damage occurs not only with how loud the sound is, but how long one's exposure to that sound level is.

Details at 800NoNoise.com (http://www.800nonoise.com/tutorial_noiselist.htm)

Oh, and to answer the original question, a yell in the ear is 110 db.

Chart here (http://www.lhh.org/noise/decibel.htm)

Hey Ryan,

you could be right, I was just thinking back to my college acoustics class, and taking a best guess...

but ultimately, I think his mic will handle a "good yell" ;)

peace.

yo rich -

yeah, i was taking my best guess too.

and Marco, i didn't mean to go off topic...!

rock on -

martino

One thing to keep in mind is that you'll probably never have anyone
you interview screaming at you. The opposite is more often true . . .
a condition I refer to as "a whisper voice."

I've found it much more important for a microphone to be quiet
and have high sensativity.

As far as loud goes . . . hoo boy, I've too many horror stories.
One of the worst was setting up giant sound systems for Rave parites
in Detroit's old Packard plant. Another sound company
had hired me to bring my system and power distro.
The place had a couple of 80 AMP legs, which is usually more
than enough power for audio (even at a White Snake concert).

Anyway, after I got stuff going, my client tried to measure
the SPL but found he could not as the meter was pegged (different
weightings made no difference). That's like 140dB or more.

Having done a couple of smaller parties before, I had both plugs in and
shooter's muffs on. I started to argue with this guy that we were
hurting people and to turn it down. He refused stating that his client
and the kids loved it. I got so mad that I went out to my bus and
tried to sleep, except that through a brick wall the sound was
probably close to 110dB inside the bus! I couldn't believe it until
the lights in the bus suddenly went out and the music died.
I went running with a flash light, but before I could get outside the
lights fluttered and stayed on. Hmmm. I ran inside where it literally
felt like I was being hit a blow with each pulse of the 4X4 (only)
beats.

The other idiot soundman had somehow managed to clamp back
into the mains live, which bypassed the fuses.
In the process, he turned a 10/3 power cable to ash (never saw that before).
This old factory was dry as tinder and I could only imagine those main wires growing red hot.

I vowed that if nothing happened that night I'd never do another rave party.

Jacques, that sounds pretty dangerous. You could have had a real tragedy there.

Thanks everyone. I'm still on a quest to find a decent lavalier that runs on plug-in power for hiding minidisc recorders on the talent. Sort of a poor man's wireless system. This mic sounds promising.