Recording - January 2015 - 24

B Y PA U L V N U K J R .

AEA N8 Ribbon Microphone
Back in our April 2014 issue, I took a
look at the N22, a new ribbon microphone from Wes Dooley and the gang
at AEA (Audio Engineering Associates).
The N stands for Nuvo, a play on nouveau, the French word for new. The designation was fitting, as the N22 represented both a new look and a new
design direction for the company.
AEA are the torchbearers of the old
classic RCA Big Ribbon designs; the word
"big" could refer to the size of the ribbon,
the mic body, or its magnificent sound.
The N22 was a complete departure from
previous designs in almost every way,
aside from the large ribbon. It came
housed in a compact body with multiple
layers of blast protection surrounding the
ribbon element. AEA purposely designed
this microphone for the singer/songwriter;
it is one of the few ribbon mic designs
where a vocalist can get right up close to
this microphone with little fear of damaging the otherwise fragile ribbon element.
The N22 model was also internally tailored to cut down on the low-end proximity effect that ribbon mics are famous
for. In addition to vocal duties, this
makes it a perfect choice for sources like
acoustic guitar, stringed instruments, and
even piano. Its lack of spatial awareness
also makes it perfect for use in untreated
(and often less than ideal) spaces such as
bedrooms, basements, and garages. My
statement was that "if most ribbons make
you think in terms of feet, the N22 is best
thought of in terms of inches."
This month we are looking at the second model to grace the Nuvo series, the
N8. AEA was kind enough to loan me
a pair of early production units for an
exclusive first look.
The nouveau Nuvo
The N8 looks exactly like the N22-
in fact, my first client to see the N8
asked me how I got my hands on a pair
of black N22 mics! The N8 makes use
of the same classy art deco inspired
8.83" (length) by 1.62" (diameter)
body, dressed in black with white lettering. It sports a black and silver end cap
vs. the red and silver one found atop
the N22.
24

RECORDING January 2015

The newest Nuvo offers unprecedented transparency
Like the the N22, the N8 is a phantom-powered ribbon mic
that uses a compact Lehle step-up transformer for stable impedance and makeup gain rather than an amplifier circuit.
Internally it uses a large ribbon pressure gradient transducer
with a pure aluminum ribbon element that measures 1.8
microns thick, 0.185" wide and 2.35" long. This is the same
Big Ribbon (a trademarked term) found in all of AEA's figure-8
models; here, its implementation resembles that of previous AEA
models like the R84 and stereo R88 mk2 more than the N22.
I reviewed the R88 mk2 in October 2013. While it's often
thought of as a stereo R84 (reviewed in November 2003 and
revisited in August 2012), the R88 mk2 is a touch more open
sounding than the R84 and has a bit more proximity effect. This
is largely due to its lack of pop filtering and protection, which
on the R88 mk2 is little more than a cloth covering to keep foreign objects and particles out of the ribbon motor.
Like the R88 mk2, the N8 offers very little covering or protection between the real world and the ribbon motor. If you
shine a flashlight into the mic you can see the exposed ribbon
element in all of its delicate corrugated glory. This is in contrast
to the N22, which is so swaddled that all you can see under a
bright light is a faint silhouette of the ribbon assembly.
The big raw ribbon sound
This raw, unfiltered ribbon sound was the starting point for
the N8. According to AEA, they wanted a sound that was
"More natural and open than any ribbon you've ever heard."
The N8 has a 20 Hz to 20 kHz frequency response, a maximum SPL of 141 dB, an output impedance of 92 ohms broadband and a recommended load impedance of 1.0 kilohm or
greater. Frequencywise it is similar to the N22 across the middle
and even shares a similar initial high end rolloff. However, where
the N22 starts rolling gently way down from 900 Hz, the N8
dips a little quicker, but levels off to about 6 dB down at 12 kHz
and maintains that level out to 20 kHz. On the low side, while the
N22 falls away at 500 Hz, on the N8 it starts to build up a few
dB instead, making it more like the R88 mk2 and R84.
Note that you can check out how all of AEA's microphone frequency graphs relate to each other on the excellent recording
hacks.com website, where there is an interactive graph that lets
you overlay different microphone plots on top of one another for
comparison purposes.
The N8 in use: live
Of course graphs and plots only hint at a microphone's true
personality and sound. I was sent a pair of N8 mics to try out
before they shipped-these mics were so fresh off the line that
they still had N22 branding on their undersides!
My first use of the pair was as spaced drum overheads for a
live concert with the Contemporary Christian Music band
Citizen Way, who have had three Top Ten singles in the past
year on Billboard and iTunes. Normally I don't reach for ribbon

http://www.hacks.com

Recording - January 2015

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