Is it possible to make a top sound quality song with just an iPhone?

Your own risk.


Without even Gargeband.


What is needed:


Just a great, not necessarily very expensive, mic. For an obvious example, moving coil microphones including of course vintage ones are great.


Then an input signal transformer as is done on great studio preamps. A great input transformer can be made by winding a primary and a secondary winding on a Nanoperm Nanocrystalinne Magnetec core. For example a Pleiades transformer. The microphone is connecte to the the few turns primary winding and the stepped up signal from the more turns secondary is the output.


Then a K117 JFET with just a 200 ohms resistor from its source and ground. For example the Pleiades K117 one transistor (JFET) preamp. The secondary of the input trasformer is connected to the gate of the JFET and ground.


Then the iPhone, connection to the headphones mic socket, which supplies power for the JFET too. The mic pin is connected directly to the drain pin of the JFET.


All the above can be made modular using Neutrik modules for example the Pleiades microphone modules. One module is the Pleiades stepup or proximity compensating input transformer, another module is the Pleiades K117. All these are plugin types with XLR female and male Neutrik module adaptors.


Signal Path:


Microphone - Pleiades input step up transformer - Pleiades K117 - iPhone, iPad etc


Pleiades schematics and concepts are open source.


References:


Other posts on euroelectron with schematics etc.