Hi Marco,
It's not a question of quality, they are two separate things. There are different types of microphones that have very different technologies from each other; they are mainly divided into 4 categories: dynamic, condenser, piezoelectric, and ribbon. I want to explain how each of these works because activating Phantom on some of them can irreparably damage the microphones.
Dynamic microphones
They are the most used microphones in live settings (for example, concerts). The capsule (the part responsible for the physical transduction of a pressure wave into an electrical signal) of dynamics works in reverse compared to loudspeakers. In loudspeakers, we have an external magnetic core and a winding at the base of the speaker cone. When an electrical signal passes through, the coil moves within the magnetic field exerted by the core and the electrical signal is converted into a pressure wave. In dynamics, the opposite happens: the movement of a magnetic core inside a winding determines the generation of an electrical signal. Dynamics are the most used in live settings because they are very resistant. If a dynamic microphone falls, in most cases (unless it falls from 3 meters), you can pick it up and continue singing; if a condenser microphone falls, it will become unusable. The magnetic core of the capsule has a certain weight and therefore will have a non-negligible moment of inertia when a sound wave passes through. This proves to be very limiting for high frequencies; in fact, the frequency range of dynamic microphones is not very large. They fall short significantly, especially at high frequencies.
Condenser microphones
They are the most used in recording studio settings because they are very sensitive. In live settings, they can be used with proper precautions (often used as cardioid overheads for drums, or sometimes at the output of a cone in a guitar amp).
Their operation is represented by a capsule that acts as a capacitor. The capsule is normally made of a diaphragm coated with gold dust. This represents one plate of the capacitor. The other plate is typically fixed. As a pressure wave passes, the diaphragm moves away from and toward the fixed plate of the capacitor. In this way, by changing the distance between the plates, the capacitance of the capacitor changes according to the following law: C = e*(A/d), which reads "capacitance is directly proportional to the area of the plates and inversely proportional to their distance for a dielectric constant". This constant is obtained through the product of the dielectric constant in a vacuum multiplied by the dielectric constant of the dielectric material separating the two plates; if it were air, the dielectric constant of air. A change in the capacitance of the capacitor corresponds to a change in voltage. Since a condenser microphone needs to be powered to allow the internal capacitor to charge, it receives a 48v supply called Phantom Power. The capsule is infinitely thin, which means that the transducible frequency range of a condenser microphone is very high. Acoustically, this means we will have more detail in capturing the voice because we will be able to capture upper harmonics that we wouldn't be able to capture with a dynamic microphone, which has a poorer frequency range. Furthermore, it is not used live, not only because of sensitivity (it suffers greatly from vibrations, hits, and humidity) but also due to excessive detail. For this reason, if we were to use a condenser microphone to sing at a concert, it would be a feast of feedback (Larsen effect) with resulting squeals.
Piezoelectric microphones
They are often used in contact microphones for functional reasons, meaning they only work well if they are in contact with the vibrating surface. The piezoelectric crystal is a material that, if deformed (we are talking about nanometers), produces a potential difference and thus an amplifiable audio signal. It is often used in bowed instruments and guitars; it produces a very sharp sound, so much so that it is often used in guitar recording as a second accent microphone.
Ribbon microphones
They are based on the same concept as dynamic microphones but, unlike them, they are very delicate. A very thin strip of gold or aluminum is immersed in a magnetic field; when the wave passes, the movement of the membrane produces a potential difference and thus an amplifiable signal. It is categorically forbidden to use them for capturing instruments with large dynamic range. Positioning it, for example, in front of a drum kick, the pressure wave from the hit could break the strip inside.
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I understand that Phantom power is only used with condenser microphones, but what happens if we supply Phantom power to other types of microphones? In the case of dynamic microphones, the windings are designed to withstand Phantom power, also because sometimes, especially in live settings, it might not be possible to disable Phantom for just a single channel; therefore, for dynamics, no problem. There are no problems even for piezo microphones. If we supply Phantom power to a ribbon microphone, we should take it and throw it away immediately. The ribbon actually represents a short circuit. In the case of a short circuit, there is maximum current demand, so the ribbon heats up and breaks (all in a tenth of a second given its tiny thickness). So WATCH OUT NOT TO USE PHANTOM WITH RIBBON MICROPHONES, also because a ribbon microphone that doesn't cost much is around 750 euros.
Coming to your sound card, it has Phantom power, although there are also separate phantom power supplies for those who do not have a mixer / sound card or whatever, without Phantom power.
If you have questions, I am here...
