Products of Interest

Audio Engineering Associates R92 Studio Ribbon Microphone

Audio Engineering Associates (AEA) has released a ribbon microphone designed for close microphone setups. The microphone features a large ribbon transducer and protection from windblast, making it a useful microphone for recording vocals, percussion, and signal from guitar amplifiers (see Figure 1).

The pure aluminum transducer is 1.8 microns thick with a width of 4.7 mm and a length of 59.7 mm. The frequency response is 20 Hz to 18 kHz (± 3 dB) with an output sensitivity of –55 dBv and an SPL response greater than 115 dB SPL. The anodized aluminum finish of the exterior and the integrated elastic shock mount combine to form a stylish design. The mounting system is also designed for flexibility of positioning. The front and rear lobes of the microphone provide two different distinct audio timbres. The front side provides a crisp, clean sound that picks up high frequencies well and the rear lobe features a classic ribbon microphone roll-off in the high frequency range, giving a smoother timbral response. The dimensions of the microphone are 7.5 × 2.5 × 2.9 in. (including the stand adapter) and it weighs 2 lbs with the included 2-meter cable. A foam-lined plastic carrying case is included.

Figure 1.

Audio Engineering Associates R92 studio ribbon microphone.

The R92 is listed for US$ 900. Contact: Audio Engineering Associates, 1029 North Allen Avenue, Pasedena, California 91104, USA; telephone (+1) 626-798-9128; fax (+1) 626-798 2378; Web www.ribbonmics.com/.

BLUE Snowball USB Microphone

The BLUE Snowball is a USB microphone designed for use with Windows-or Macintosh-based computers (see Figure 2). The powerful but small microphone contains two capsules that enable the user to alter the pattern for different sound sources. A three-position switch allows the user to change from cardioid, to cardioid with a –10 dB attenuation pad for dealing with loud sound sources, to an omni-directional pattern. The frequency response is 40 Hz to18 kHz and sampling is supported at 44.1-kHz/ 16-bit rate only.

Figure 2.

BLUE Snowball USB microphone.

The Snowball is powered from the USB bus and a small LED power indicator is located on the front. The body of the microphone features a swivel mount designed for use with an optional desktop tripod or a standard counter-weighted tripod microphone stand. BLUE also offers an optional vintage design suspension mount called The Ringer. The microphone is compatible with Mac OS X and Windows XP using USB 1.0 or 2.0.

The Snowball is listed for US$ 139 and The Ringer mount for US$ 69. Contact: BLUE Microphones, 5706 Corsa Avenue, Suite 102, Westlake Village, California 91362, USA; telephone (+1) 818-879-5200; fax (+1) 818 879-7259; electronic mail support@bluemic.com; Web www.bluemic.com/.

HHB DRM85 FlashMic Digital Recording Microphone

The DRM85 FlashMic from HHB is a microphone and digital recorder in one, making it especially suited to recording in the field. The recorder uses Flash memory and has a USB port for transferring the audio to computer (see Figure 3).

The microphone contains a high-quality Sennheiser omni-directional condenser capsule with a preamplifier that can be used in manual or automatic gain control (AGC) modes. The entire unit is 9.6 in. long and 2 in. wide at the microphone capsule, and weighs 13 oz without batteries. Audio can be recorded as 16-bit WAV files at 32 or 48 kHz, or can be encoded as mp2 (MPEG 1 Layer 2) files with bit-rates of 128–384 kbps. The 1-GB Flash memory is fixed internal memory, allowing for a maximum record time of about 18 hours. Audio can be transferred to computer using the USB port built into the base of the unit. Both USB 1.0 and USB 2.0 are supported and file transfer can be up to 90 times playback.

Figure 3.

HHB DRM85 FlashMic digital recording microphone.

The FlashMic is powered by two AA-sized...