AEA R88 mk2 ribbon microphone

General

The AEA R88mk2 is a dual ribbon microphone featuring two Big Ribbons in a fixed Blumlein configuration, which can also be used as a mid-side microphone. Two figure-8 elements, perfectly in phase at 90 degrees to one another and mounted close together on the vertical axis – a direct continuation of Alan Blumlein’s XY technique from 1931. The result is a faithful, open reproduction of a space as it actually sounds, without artificial colouration. This is an ideal microphone for engineers with a preamp that provides sufficient gain and impedance, and who are seeking the purest, most unfiltered route to an authentic stereo image, without active electronics between the source and the recording.

Features of the AEA R88 mk2

As a far-field ribbon microphone, the R88 mk2 is designed to preserve both low and high frequencies at a distance; from 7 cm to 6 metres, the full spectrum remains intact. Closer up, the proximity effect kicks in, something you can deliberately utilise to add body to thin sources. The microphone effortlessly handles complex transients, sharp highs and rumbling lows from drums, strings and piano – precisely the kind of material that many microphones struggle with. With an SPL handling capacity of 165+ dB at 1 kHz, you can also position it right up against loud sources such as guitar amplifiers without any loss of quality.

Important: this is the passive version

The R88mk2 is a dual passive ribbon microphone; it requires no phantom power and has no active electronics in the signal path. This calls for a high-quality preamp: a minimum of +60 dB gain and high input impedance are essential for the full, flat frequency response. AEA’s own RPQ3, RPQ500, TRP500 and TRP3 have been specifically developed for this purpose. For louder sources such as guitar amplifiers, preamps with an input impedance above 5kΩ – as are often found on live mixing desks – are sufficient. However, for quiet sources or remote recordings, a dedicated ribbon preamp is no luxury.