Mic Pre

A popular abbreviation for “microphone preamp,” this is a specific circuit, device, or section of a device (such as a mixer or an audio interface) designed to amplify the signal from a microphone to levels suitable for use in other electronic circuits. A microphone preamp must handle the relatively small and fragile output signals from all types of microphones, increasing the signal strength while maintaining the integrity of the signal. Microphone preamp features may include pads, polarity invert/phase invert, input impedance selection, mute, phantom power, and more.