Superlux R102 Ribbon mic

Reviews | Superlux R-102 Ribbon mic
102
R
ecently there has been an
influx of foreign-made cheap
ribbon mics hitting the
market. Those made by
Octava are particularly popular and
there are also several third parties
modifying them to give improved
frequency response and noise floor.
Ribbon mics are often chosen for their
smooth and rounded sound and fast
transient response and many love the
ribbon sound on acoustic guitar and
horns in particular.
I was eager to try out the R-102 and
put it up against my trusty Neumann
TLM103 to see if it could get close to
the sound/sensitivity of a condenser
mic, as claimed in the R-102’s
literature. Build quality seems very good
for such a cheap microphone and it not
only looks the part, it feels it as well.
The R-102 comes in a sturdy moulded
plastic suitcase, with a fully adjustable
cradle mount and a black L-shaped
XLR. A full shock mount is optional at
extra cost.
Ribbon control
The R-102 utilises a modular (and so,
user-replaceable) aluminium ribbon
which is supposed to reproduce
instrumental and vocal transients very
faithfully – according to the literature –
‘a precise reproduction of the original
sound’. It’s worth noting this mic
operates in a figure-of-eight pattern
only, picking up equally from either side
of the mic.
Setting up the mic was a breeze and
I immediately set about trying it on
several familiar sources in my studio,
while checking it against my Neumann
TLM103, which I regard to be a very
high quality, and versatile microphone
for many different sources (particularly
those with snappy transients such as
toms, percussion and drums). While the
TLM is a much more expensive
condenser mic, many claim that cheap
ribbon mics can sound very close to
more expensive mics such as this, so I
felt this to be a worthwhile comparison.
First, I tested the mic on congas.
Contrary to the accompanying manual,
the sound of the congas was not a
precise reproduction of the original
sound! While ribbons often present a
slight high-end roll-off, the R-102
seemed to zap far too much high end
and attack from the congas, especially
when compared to the TLM103. The
sound also seemed to suffer from a
narrow soundstage and also sounded
boxy and a little lifeless.
Budget brightness
Next up, I tested the mic on female
vocals and again the results while
acceptable, proved to be disappointing.
The sound was far too lo-fi for my tastes
and again sounded small, dull and
lifeless when compared to my TLM103.
EQing the high end for brightness just
made the mic sound harsher. However,
the mic did sound great on super-loud,
amped-up electric guitar, trumpet and
acoustic piano so these seem like the
best applications.
While I commend Superlux for
making a well-built ribbon at a very
cheap price, a ribbon is by no means a
golden ticket and while the R-102 is a
decent, cheap mic it can’t compare
with pricey alternatives. However, it
does have its applications, and sounded
great on acoustic piano, trumpet and
guitar amps, so it’s definitely worth a
punt at this price.
Superlux R-102
Ribbon mic | £99
Another budget ribbon mic hits the market. Does it
cut the mustard? Dan ‘JD73’ Goldman finds out...
VERDICT
BUILD
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VALUE
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EASE OF USE
❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚❚
VERSATILITY
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RESULTS
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This is a decent mic for the money
but doesn’t work on everything, so
get one and experiment with it.
spECs
Type: Aluminium ribbon
Power Supply: 48v
phantom power only
Element: Active pressure
gradient electro-magnetic
transducer
Diaphragm: Aluminium
ribbon of 2.5 microns
Max. SPL: >140dB
Magnet: Strong ND
Polar pattern: Fig-8
Frequency response:
20~15,000Hz
Sensitivity: -40dBV/Pa
(10 mV/Pa) at 1,000Hz
Output impedance: 250
20% at 1,000Hz
Rated load impedance:
>1,000 Ohms
Equivalent noise level:
<20dB
Dimension:
57 x 37 x 195mm
Weight:
500g
WHAT Is IT?
A phantom-powered,
Taiwanese-made Ribbon
mic, utilising a modular
aluminium ribbon.
ConTACT
Who: SCV London
Tel: [phone]
Web: scvlondon.co.uk
HIGHLIGHTs
1 Very cheap for a ribbon
2 Well built
3 Sounds great on piano,
brass and guitar amps
FMU206.rev_superlux 102 12/9/08 2:36:8 pm