How the problem appeared
The presenter is loud and clear, but audience questions barely register. When you boost the audience mic, you get hiss.
Problem
The Q&A mic is low output (or farther away), and the system has to run too much gain.
Fix
Add a Cloudlifter to the audience mic line so you can bring questions up without adding a layer of noise. Rebalance your mix.
Mic → Cloudlifter → Mixer/Interface (phantom power +48V ON) → PA/Stream
Note: Cloudlifters work with passive dynamic and passive ribbon microphones. They are not compatible with condenser microphones that require phantom power through their XLR connection.
Choose your Cloudlifter
If you want the simplest setup: use the CL-25 Mini. It's the quickest "one connection" way to add clean gain. With the CL-25 Mini, it plugs directly onto the mic's XLR output, and your single XLR cable connects from the CL-25 Mini to the mixer or interface.
If you already own a Cloudlifter: the CL-1, CL-2, and CL-4 do the same job (clean mic activation). They use the standard inline connection in your mic chain. If you're running a presenter mic and a Q&A mic on separate channels, the CL-2 handles both in a single unit.
Anecdote
"The Q&A finally sounded like a real conversation instead of 'one-sided radio.'"
FAQs
Does my mixer or interface need to supply phantom power? Yes. The Cloudlifter requires +48V phantom power from your mixer or interface to operate. Enable phantom power on the channel the Cloudlifter is plugged into. The Cloudlifter uses that phantom power to provide up to +25dB of clean gain — without it, no signal passes.
