To operate a conventional condenser mic, you need a microphone input with phantom power or an additional phantom power supply. If you are going to connect a separate phantom power supply with an XLR output to an unbalanced mic input, it is vital that you bridge pins 1 and 3 and connect them to the cable shield while pin 2 carries the audio signal. Reversing pins 2 and 3 mutes the output. So-called in-line powering as found on computer sound cards is not suitable for any professional condenser mic. The AKG catalog includes one condenser microphone with a difference: The C 1000 S can be used either with external phantom power or with a 9 V battery inside the microphone body.
