Schoeps MDZ20U - 20dB In-line Attenuator

• for phantom- or parallel-powered microphones
• ca. 10 dB / 20 dB constant attenuation
• avoids overloading sensitive inputs
• does not reduce the microphone's signal-to-noise ratio

In situations where microphone inputs are overloaded, we recommend inserting the MDZ 10 or MDZ 20 into the signal path between the microphone cable and the microphone input. The advantage of this setup over attenuators direcly attached to the microphone is that parasitic interference signals induced into the microphone cable are also attenuated along with the microphone signal.
(Never place an in-line attenuator at the microphone end of a cable. Doing so would increase the relative strength of any induced interference, and increase the rate of signal loss in longer cables due to the higher source impedance.)

The MDZ can also prevent the input impedance of a preamp from loading down a microphone; with it in place, the minimum load impedance for a CMC-series amplifier is reduced from 600 to 200 Ohms. It can also be useful when driving transformer-equipped inputs designed for 200 Ohm sources, which may develop high frequency response errors when driven by much lower impedances, particularly if the input transformer has a high turns ratio.