Review: sE Electronics RNR1
An active ribbon microphone is unusual at the best of times. When it involves collaboration with Rupert Neve, tongues start wagging.
22 June 2009
Review: Michael Carpenter
Ribbon microphones. Rupert Neve. These words have an air of undeniable mystery in the world of recording studio equipment. In both cases, many novices assume a really good ribbon microphone or anything with the Neve moniker attached is unattainable. So when Rupert Neve joined forces with Siwei Zou of sE Electronics, the result became the sE RNR1 Active Ribbon Microphone, a product and concept that seems to be making the heads of engineers explode on a variety of web-based audio forums! But is it any good?
As the sE website describes, for generations engineers have sought out ribbon microphones for their “extremely natural sounding reproduction of source material,” but have been equally frustrated at the general lack of performance above 10kHz. As traditional condenser mics extend loosely from 20Hz-20kHz, engineers have favoured them for their perceived ‘detail’ and more upfront presentation. But this extended frequency response comes at a cost, with the internal circuitry of condenser microphones colouring the tone of each mic.
So, the idea behind this intriguing collaboration was to make a ribbon microphone with a highly desirable circuit design, allowing the ribbon to maintain its tone, and to out perform any other traditional ribbon microphone, in both gain and frequency response. sE claims this microphone has an “unprecedented 20Hz to 25kHz response – three times the frequency range of even the best available competitor ribbon mics on the market today!” Now, this sort of quality naturally comes at a price. Even so, I was a little surprised at the $4999 recommended retail, but more on that in a moment.
OUT OF THE BOX
As I opened the RNR1’s impressive metal case and revealed the microphone, I was struck by several things. This is an absolutely stunning looking microphone: unique, sleek and immediately appealing. The mic holder is equally impressive, immediately instilling great confidence that the mic was never in any danger of falling out of its cradle. I was also struck by the absolute lack of information provided. I actually had to go to the sE website to work out what I was reviewing! The only information inside was a frequency response report. For the sort of money this item is going for, a little pamphlet would have been handy.
Once I worked out that this active microphone required phantom power, (something I’ve learned to be doubly sure to avoid when working with ribbon mics), I started placing it around a variety of sources. Working backwards though, I’ll save you the suspense – this is an amazing sounding ribbon microphone. I carefully started it off by placing it in front of a Vox AC30 guitar amp playing at a moderate level. In combination with an Audio-Technica AT4050, the sE provided an amazingly smooth, detailed representation of this amazing amp. As good as the 4050 sounded in its high-midrange, the RNR1 both matched and complemented the 4050 and amp, providing a lovely fullness to the guitar tone. Together, the mics gave an extremely complete sound, and while the 4050 did sound great by itself, the RNR1 gave a more complete single mic tone.
I then placed it in front of an acoustic guitar. As expected the mic gave an extremely natural representation of the tone. And I should add, there was plenty of gain, something that can’t be said for all ribbon mics. The low-end roll off proudly displayed on the front of the mic (underneath the Neve signature no less) was effective in removing just enough excessive boom. I loved this tone – it again excelled in representing the midrange in a substantial and detailed way. However, I guess I’m used to the sound of condensers on acoustics, as I did miss the more pronounced top end, and found myself reaching for a little top-end EQ to make the sound more palatable. In the microphone’s defence, its self-noise was quite low, and it took EQ extremely well.
NEED TO KNOW
I was really keen to hear this mic on drums, so I started off placing it around waist height, back around 2-3 metres from the kit. Quite simply, this was an amazing room sound. The bottom end was extremely deep, accurately picking up the depth of the big open kick drum. And as I’d hoped, the cymbals translated in a beautifully natural fashion, without the harsh build up usually associated with condensers as room mics. It all came across as a lovely, realistic representation of the drum kit, and ended up being extremely useable in the track’s final mix. For the next track I used it as a mono overhead, about a metre over the snare, and the results were equally stunning. The ribbon’s ability to give the cymbals just the right tonal balance in the way the kit was presented made this an incredibly appealing sound. And the depth of coverage means that for certain things you could use this mic as a mono kit mic. In other words, even the kick drum seemed to have a decent presence! I would love to hear a pair of these for stereo overheads, or as stereo room mics.
The results were consistent with most things I put in front of this mic. As my engineer friend, Chris Vallejo, noted when using the mic on a session in his studio (which is equipped with a great collection of ribbon mics), it sounded like a ribbon mic that has already been EQ’d. That is, it has all the desirable qualities of a natural, dark traditional ribbon tone, but with the murkiness tempered and the clarity enhanced. I keep trying to find words to describe it, and keep coming back to things like: ‘deep’, ‘substantial’ ‘detailed’ and ‘appealing’. Trying it on vocals further confirmed all of these things. However, as I started listening to it on vocals, I did start to approach the mic from another point of view. As great as it sounded, it clearly didn’t work on all voices and contexts – as with the acoustic guitars described above. On some voices it was too ‘warm and fuzzy’, and lacked the bite the track needed. Of course, that’s okay – I wouldn’t expect a mic to be amazing on everything. But it did get me thinking that for the sort of money you’d be spending on this mic, you’d expect it to be pretty good on most things.
THE REAL WORLD?
This microphone presented a real quandary for me. I have some experience with a variety of ribbon microphones, from cheap and nasty jobs to some of the more world famous, industry standards. And I do believe this is arguably the best ribbon microphone I’ve heard. It is a significant sonic departure from the large-diaphragm condenser that has become the standard of contemporary studios of all shapes and sizes. But it is an expensive microphone, and many may have reservations about this level of commitment to a ‘new-ish’ name in the microphone world, even with the Neve name attached. Certainly, at this price point, I’d expect this mic would be out of reach of most project and small studio owners – regardless of how good this mic is, it was certainly out of my price range. And even for those established larger studios that do have Royers or Coles ribbon mics in their cabinet, I wonder whether this price tag is a big ask. But for those who have money to spare who are looking for a classy new colour for their studio arsenal, you would be hard pressed to find a more impressive microphone.
It’s also interesting to note that this is just the beginning of the sE/Neve collaboration, with a large-diaphragm tube mic, and a solid-state condenser to be released in the not-too-distant future.
RESPONSES