“Little Stumpy” grows up and gets active
Review by Paul Vnuk Jr.
Released in 2017, the R-10 is the most affordable option in the Royer Labs R-Series of ribbon microphones. Now, just as the R-122 MKII is the active counterpart to the venerable, classic passive Royer R-121, Royer complements the passive R-10 with the just-released active Royer R-12.
A Quick Bit of History
A Quick Bit of HistoryI never tire of telling the tale of how 27 years ago, Royer Labs re-ignited the ribbon mic resurgence with the now ubiquitous R-121. I purchased one in 1999, and it is still going strong on my sessions 26 years later.
Today, the Royer R-121 will set you back about $1,500. Despite being worth every penny, over the years Royer has worked to bring us more affordable R-Series offerings. The first was the now-discontinued R-101, released and reviewed in 2010 with a price tag of about $800 (roughly $1,200 adjusted for inflation). The second was the R-10, released eight years ago (reviewed October 2017), and still available today for an impressive $600. Nicknamed “Little Stumpy” by the Royer design team, the R-10 (and now the R-12) was made possible through the increasingly common marriage of globally sourced parts (namely the body) and modern design techniques.
The Newest Active Royer
Whereas the R-10 gained its in-house nickname of “Little Stumpy” due to its petite 5.87″ x 1.38″ size, the R-12 now takes the mantle of being the largest R-Series offering as it＊s even bigger than the tube-equipped R-122V.
The R-12 measures 8.25″ x 1.38″ and weighs 1.01 lbs. It features the same cylindrical body and 2.25” triple-metal mesh windscreen as the R-10. Beyond its added length, a black versus green logo badge and slots for a pair of recessed switches, it’s identical in overall style and appearance to the R-10.
On the rear of the mic, similar to the active Royer R-122 MKII, are a pair of recessed switches for a -15dB pre-attenuation pad and a 100 Hz (6dB/octave) high-pass filter.
The R-12 comes in a miniature aluminum briefcase with a mic mount and a Royer mic sock.
On the Inside
The R-12 ribbon motor features a classic 2.5-micron aluminum ribbon transducer element suspended between a pair of rare-earth neodymium magnets, similar to all R-Series mics. Plus, the R-12 motor assembly is an internally shock-mounted design.
Also, similar to other R-Series mics, the R-12 employs an offset ribbon design where the ribbon is closer to the front lobe of the mic, part of how all Royer R-series mics achieve their high sound pressure level handling. In theory, this design also allows users to explore different tonalities, with the front side offering the standard R-12 tone and feel, and the rear element being gently brighter. However this largely is only the case with sources 2″ away or closer. When used at a distance, the R-12 is perfectly capable of traditional Blumlein and mid/side setups.
It features a similar IE core output transformer design as the R-10 and the R-121, but all three employ slightly different transformers with different windings, which is a factor in each mic’s gentle tonal variations.
The R-12 is an active design, and it’s worth noting that Royer Labs released the first active ribbon microphone (the original R-122) back in 2002, long before competing designs as well as the inline signal booster trend. Royer does offer the latter by way of its dBooster series, which is a completely different technology from its active mic circuit.
The use of an active circuit in the R-12 offers greater clean gain and better sensitivity than a passive ribbon design, and also makes it less prone to impedance loading from your microphone preamp.
Frequencies
Interestingly, the frequency plot of the R-12 matches the R-10, featuring a smooth ribbon neutrality with a slightly recessed low/low-mid range, a -4dB dip at about 2.75 kHz bolstered on each side by a light 0.5 to 1dB bump, a smooth upper-mid section followed by a significant 12 kHz roll off—not too dissimilar from the R-121.
Sensitivity-wise, where the R-10 was about 5dB less sensitive than the R-121, the R-12 is similar to the -36dBV/Pa of the R-122MKII, which means with the -15dB pad engaged, it is within a dB or two of the sensitivity of the R-121.
The R-12 has a bold, rich proximity effect and a very tight off-axis rejection.
Sound
The R-12 is every inch a Royer R-Series microphone, and very much in the sonic ballpark of its siblings. On acoustic sources, such as guitar, violin (fiddle in this case), and hand percussion, the R-10 and R-12, despite the differences in transformer winding and active/passive status, seemed almost indistinguishable at times, especially at distances of 4″ or greater.
I was only sent one of each, and had no issues using them as a stereo pair on drum overheads and a “Glynn Johns” overhead/floor tom position.
Up close and personal, I did find the R-12 to be just a hair more controlled and rounded in the high-end than the R-10. This was most noticeable in the speaker cone of a guitar amp, 3″ from an acoustic guitar in the 12th fret position, and vocals.
The R-12 is also quite close in its midrange capture to the R-121. Although the R-121 has a more open top-end signature, and its low-end is a tad more extended while simultaneously a touch less forceful than the R-10 or R-12.
To summarize, the R-121 is the most open and extended in the highs and lows of the three; the R-10 and R-12 are very similar, yet the R-12 presents as a bit more rounded and even on some sources at closer distances.
Roll-Off
I really found the high-pass filter of the R-12 very handy, especially on close-up sources where it pulls back the otherwise exaggerated boom and woof of the proximity effect. As such, the R-12 with the high-pass engaged is my favorite Royer microphone on vocals to date.
Wrap Up
The new active Royer R-12 is a wonderful addition to the R-Series family. The active circuitry and expanded feature set make it a great complement to the passive Royer R-10, and at $899 it offers an affordable, high-quality entry into the world of Royer active ribbon mics.
Polar Pattern: Figure-8
Frequency Response: 30 Hz–15 kHz +/- 3dB
Sensitivity: -36dBv (re. 1V/pa) / -54dBv (re. 1v/pa)
Output Impedance: 200 Ohms / 100 Ohms
Maximum SPL: 160dB @ 1 kHz, 135dB @ 30 Hz / 160dB @ 1 kHz, 135dB @ 50 Hz
Self Noise: < 16dBa
*For comparison, figures in bold are the passive R-10 model.
Price: $899
More From: royerlabs.com