who do they think they're kidding?

  • Thread starter Thread starter NoFO
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NoFO

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i got excited. then let down. big time. mainly because i'm an optimist and a bit of a fool. :D i saw the ad for the Royer R-122 phantom powered ribbon mic (for a long time an oxymoron) that they tout as "a Ribbon microphone for everyone". On their website they tout how you can "use practically any mic preamplifier or board pre (even those of nominal characteristics). " so to me i think that this means that it's going to be affordable, ya know..... "for everybody" but it's $1500.00. if you can drop $1500 on a mic, you had better damn well have a good mic pre.

just my silly take on it.... :D
 
NoFo, to be more accurate, they should have said:

"a Ribbon Mic for every PREAMP".

Before these new mics, the Royer ribbons (like all ribbon mics until now) did not require phantom power. But as a trade off, the signal from the mic was very low compared to most phantom powered condensers. On many preamps, to get a strong level going to tape/disk, you had to crank the preamp so loud that you could hear the hiss and grunge from the preamp's circuitry. One way of dealing with this lately is using one of the many preamps that have variable resistance settings at the input stage. The VIPRE and Avalon 2022 are good examples of preamps with this feature. (One of the Meeks has it too, I believe, and the new Universal Audio pre as well).

The new phantom powered Royer outputs a far more robust signal, making this problem moot. (At a somewhat higher price, though, than the original).

So, yeah... it's not necessarily the mic I can buy with change from my food stamps, but at least i wouldn't need to go out and get a special preamp as well! :cool:

Oh, yeah... one more thing. If you really are considering a ribbon mic, remember they are in general the most fragile of the various types. You don't want anyone blowing into them or smacking them around. Although i do believe Royer has a very generous lifetime ribbon replacement warranty.
 
Bdgr said:
Maybe the chinese will come out with one soon
Click to expand...

Perhaps, but the Russians have beaten them to it. I've heard of an Octava ribbon mic, but i have no idea what it sounds like! And I'm pretty sure it's not phantom powered, so I would guess all the above preamp issues still apply - but I bet it's cheap! :p
 
without a doubt its a signifigant breakthrough with real benefits. it's just their marketing techniques that made it seem different (to me) than it really was.... i do, however want to get one or 2 ribbons and have them modded, I'm just wondering if my DMP2 or DMP3 will be able to effectively drive them..... :rolleyes:
 
littledog's comments are spot on. Ribbon mics require a hell of a lot from a preamp, in terms of gain, AND in terms of loading. They have always required exceptional preamps to get the full benefits of a ribbon, and by putting a gain stage inside the mic itself, have made ribbon mics that can work well on pretty much any preamp.

In short, Mackie and other lowcost preamps have not been able to deliver all that a ribbon is capable of producing - Royer has leveled the playing field, but of course, it ain't cheap.

Most dynamic mics put a big load on the preamp. You haven't lived till you hear the difference in sound from a Shure SM-57 plugged into a great preamp. It's like night and day.
 
There is a large difference in the Octava Ribbon and the Royer R121. Not in the same league. The Royer is outstanding.

Harvey, what preamp would you suggest for ribbon mics?

Thanks,

Pete
 
Dan Kennedy's Great River preamps are some of the very best for ribbons. The Milinia Media preamps are also excellent. A few of the high dollar preamps have an optional ribbon modification they can add.
 
BTW - The R-121 and R-122 have field-replaceable ribbons. IIRC the first ribbon is on the house if you kill it. Ribbons are indeed fragile beasts, but the R-121/122 are a bit more rugged than the average ribbon. Guitar cabs and kick drum (!) are among the suggested applications. There's a small screen at the rear of the ribbon that prevents frontal air blasts from displacing the ribbon. A blast of air to the rear of the mike, however, can dislodge it.

It sounds a bit brighter from the back, too, which is unusual for a figure-8 ribbon.

TP
 
I use my R-122 with the M-Audio Omni I/O box with excellent sounding results.

-Dave S.
 
I've heard the same thing from others that the m-audio pres are supposed to be particularly well-suited for Ribbons. I don't know about the load characteristics, but they apparently are able to deliver enough clean gain to get the job done, which doesn't surprize me. I have one, and have noticed they are very quiet and have a ton of gain.

This guy seems to think they can compete with the big boys in that regard:

http://www.m-audio.com/company/media/reviews/DMP2PAR2.pdf
 
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