Electret Microphones need phantom power?

Today I tested my circuit using an apogee duet as my interface and Pro Tools for audio output.  During my test, I connected the circuit using a male XLR into input 1 on my apogee and surprisingly received a signal (Previous attempts didn't even register noise).  I was getting somewhere.

I continued to test by tapping on the capsule end of the circuit to see if it would react accordingly and adjust DB levels in Pro Tools.  It did just that, however, the DBv level was extremely low.  Realizing this, I tested with Phantom Power and the result was a much higher DBv level.  Confusing?  Yea, a little bit.

Electret Condenser Microphones typically do not need phantom power being that they hold a small charge (capacitance) between the fixed and moving plates of the capsule.  However, the phantom power isn't used for the microphone diaphragm itself, but rather, it is used to power the JFET.  As stated in my post about JFETs, these transistors are used to buffer voltage and control the flow of voltage throughout the circuit.