AKG PAE M Phantom Power Module for DAM+ Goosenecks 3-Pin XLR 9 to 52V

AKG PAE M: The Output Stage a DAM+ Gooseneck Does Not Have

The AKG PAE M is a phantom power module for the DAM+ Series that accepts any supply from 9 to 52 V, draws 3.5 mA and presents a gold-plated balanced 3-pin male XLR output. It feeds all DAM+ Series capsules and fits every DAM+ gooseneck module as well as the HM1000 M hanging module, adding a switchable 150 Hz bass cut filter, an audio frequency bandwidth of 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz and RFi Shield protection against radio-frequency interference. Electrical impedance is below 600 ohms into a recommended load above 2,000 ohms, and the AKG item number is 3165H00150. This is the plain, unswitched member of the DAM+ powering family, and it is the right one whenever muting and indication are handled somewhere other than the microphone.

Why a DAM+ Gooseneck Cannot Work Without One

Every DAM+ gooseneck module ending in M terminates in the DAM+ system connector and has no audio output of its own, which makes a powering module mandatory rather than optional. AKG states the underlying reason plainly in its documentation for the range: all Discreet Acoustics Modular capsule modules are condenser microphones and therefore require a power supply, and in this system that supply and the output connector arrive together in one screw-on module. A CK41, CK43 or CK49 capsule on a GN15 M, GN30 M or GN50 M gooseneck is therefore an incomplete microphone until a PAE M, PAE5 M or PAESP M is fitted at the bottom of the arm. Integrators who have ordered capsules and goosenecks without modules discover this on site, which is exactly the mistake worth avoiding at quotation stage.

A 9 to 52 Volt Window and the Mixers It Covers

Phantom power acceptance from 9 to 52 V is far wider than the nominal 48 V figure most people quote, and that breadth is what makes one module work across an entire equipment estate. Phantom power is DC voltage sent up the same balanced pair that carries the audio, applied equally to both signal conductors so it powers the microphone without appearing in the audio itself, and real-world supplies vary enormously: installed consoles typically deliver 48 V, while compact mixers, portable recorders and some wall-plate inputs deliver 24 V, 15 V or less under load. A module that behaves identically across that whole range means a council chamber's installed system and a portable rig taken to an outdoor ceremony both work with the same part number. Current draw of 3.5 mA is modest enough that a mixer feeding dozens of these modules is not being asked for anything unusual.

The Switchable 150 Hz Bass Cut and Table Noise

Switchable bass roll-off at 150 Hz addresses the two low-frequency problems a conference microphone actually suffers from, and having it on the module means the correction happens before the signal travels anywhere. Structure-borne noise is vibration reaching the capsule through the table rather than through the air, so a knocked pen, a set-down laptop or a shifting elbow arrives as a thump that no amount of console equalisation removes cleanly; proximity buildup is a genuine rise in low frequencies caused purely by a talker sitting close to the capsule. Rolling off below 150 Hz at the source thins both without touching the speech range that carries intelligibility, which is why the switch exists rather than being left to the mixer. Council chamber and courtroom techs switch it in as a matter of course, and only leave it out where a microphone is hung well away from any surface.

Output Impedance, Load Impedance and Long Cable Runs

Two impedance figures describe how this module behaves in a system: an electrical impedance below 600 ohms and a recommended load impedance above 2,000 ohms. Source impedance below 600 ohms means the module drives the cable firmly, which matters because a low-impedance balanced source is far less susceptible to picking up hum and interference along a long run than a high-impedance one, and conference wiring routinely runs a hundred feet or more back to a rack. Presenting that source with a load above 2,000 ohms keeps the module operating in its designed conditions, and virtually every professional microphone preamplifier already meets that figure comfortably. Lecture-hall managers wiring dozens of seats to a single equipment room get the practical benefit: quiet, consistent channels with no level differences that trace back to cable length.

Where the PAE M Fits Among the Three Powering Modules

Three powering modules serve DAM+ goosenecks and the choice between them is a wiring decision, not a sound-quality one, since all three feed the same capsules through the same system connector. This one is the plain feed on a three-pin XLR with no local switch and no separate indicator control path, which is exactly right when muting happens at an automatic mixer or a control system and nobody at the seat needs a button. The five-pin variant exists for installs where an automixer must drive the gooseneck's LED ring from a logic output, and the programmable variant exists for seats that need their own talk or mute switch. Specifying the plain module where those extras are not needed keeps the panel wiring simple, the cabling standard and the commissioning short, which is why it remains the most-installed member of the family in boardrooms and worship spaces alike.