sens factor - preamp gain

[Yems]

Is there a rule for finding the ideal preamp gain setting for condenser mics?

I have different condenser mics with sensitivities between -29 dBV/Pa and -43 dBV/Pa. What gain should i use?
I want to measure Values between 20 and 90 dB SPL so is it better to choose high gain values to get a sens factor near 0 or do i get
better results with lower gain and resulting sens factors around -20 or less?

regards Yems

 

[dcibel]

Set gain appropriately in order to capture the intended signal while allowing some headroom to avoid clipping. Generally input level around -12 to -20dBFS for normal signal level is generally ok and will retain good enough SNR.

I have found an SPL calibrator to be quite useful, running SPL calibration not only ensures accurate SPL but also provides easy view of max SPL for a given input gain to know how much headroom is available.