Electronic Components

An electret microphone is a type of electrostatic capacitor-based microphone, which eliminates the need for a polarizing power supply by using a permanently charged material. Unlike other condenser microphones, electret types require no polarizing voltage, but they normally contain an integrated preamplifier, which does require a small amount of power (often incorrectly called polarizing power or bias). This preamp is frequently phantom powered in sound reinforcement and studio applications. Other types include a 1.5 V battery in the microphone housing, which is often left permanently connected as the current drain is usually very small.