Royer Labs R-122 Single (Used)

The New Active Series – Phantom Powered Ribbon Microphones!

Royer Labs introduces the world’s first phantom powered, active ribbon microphones - the R-122, SF-12A and SF-1A. Utilizing the same successful ribbon transducers as found on our Standard R-121 and SF series microphones, the new Active Series microphones deliver all of the deliciously warm, natural tonality that engineers worldwide have come to expect from Royer ribbons, but with 15 dB more gain and electronics that load the ribbon element perfectly.

While the idea of a phantom powered ribbon microphone was enticing, we didn’t design this new series for the sake of doing something different. These new microphones address two major issues common to conventional ribbon microphones, gain and impedance matching.

Gain
Our Active Series ribbon microphones are as sensitive as condenser microphones, allowing you to use practically any mic preamplifier or board pre (even those of nominal characteristics). Conventional ribbon microphones are, on average, 15 to 20 dB less sensitive than condenser mics, necessitating the use of high-quality, high-gain microphone preamplifiers for recording softer sound sources like acoustic instruments, vocals and room ambience. Our Active Series ribbon mics contain a fully balanced, discrete head amplifier system utilizing ultra-low noise FET’s. This system is extremely quiet, can handle SPL’s approaching 150 dB, and allows our Active ribbons to deliver a sensitivity of –38 dB! You can plug an Active Series microphone into preamplifiers with average gain characteristics and receive full Royer performance regardless of how quiet the sound source being recorded, and with enough gain to drive any recording medium.

Impedance Matching
The electronics in our Active Series ribbons impose the optimal load on the ribbon element at all times, meaning the microphones are able to deliver 100% of their full sonic potential regardless of the input characteristics of the following mic-pre. Due to the low-impedance output, the microphones can also be used on extremely long cable runs with minimal signal loss.

A proper impedance match is critical with ribbon microphones because an impedance mis-match “loads” a ribbon improperly, resulting in loss of low end, diminished body, lowered sensitivity and overall compromised performance. With the new Active Series microphones, the ribbon element lives in a perfect world; it sees an optimum impedance match at all times regardless of what equipment follows, so its performance cannot be compromised by the effects of improper loading. In addition, the ribbon element cannot be damaged by phantom power, electrical glitches or miswired cables.

Royer 122 Ribbon Microphone Features:

• Active electronics provide high output capability, optimal impedance to the
• Ribbon element, extremely low self noise and low output impedance
• Operates on standard 48-volt phantom power
• High SPL capabilities for electric guitar and percussion instruments
• Absence of high frequency peaks, "ringing" and phase shifts
• Ribbon element unaffected by impedance/load, heat or humidity
• Equal sensitivity from front and back of element
• Very low magnetic leakage