Recording - June 2019 - 32

Stedman PureConnect

uses a low-noise/low-distortion electronically isolated Class
A circuit design with four pairs of low-noise bipolar transistors for the gain, each followed by an op amp. Royer
explains, "The op amps isolate the transistors and give a
low impedance output that can drive low impedance loads
easily when needed."
It has a high input impedance of 3.6kΩ, a low output
impedance (at 20dB setting) of 300Ω, and offers minimal
mic loading. Note that impedance loading on microphone
preamps typically changes a passive microphone's sound,
so your mic's tone will be more constant from preamp to
preamp when used with the dBooster.
dBooster is ultra clean and will kick up the level of your
low-output dynamic and ribbon microphones with ease.
This means you don't need to push your preamp as hard,
so you don't unnecessarily raise the noise floor of the preamp or the mic. dBooster will let you use said mics for quiet
sources like delicate acoustic guitar work, whispery vocals,
and spoken-word dialog; I can tell you firsthand that the
dBooster excels in all of these situations.
This is not the first active mic booster to hit the market,
and Royer let us know that the dBooster is not designed
to be a me-too box; it's a new design, and it does have a
sound of its own.
I compared the dBooster to a Cloud Microphones
Cloudlifter CL-Z (on its default 300Ω setting) and to my
ultra-clean Millennia Media HV-3D preamp, using a Royer
R-121 and a Shure SM7B as test mics. Each device was
quite capable of offering clean usable levels on both mics.
Noise floor differences were minimal, with the edge going
to the active boxes simply because the HV-3D, quiet as it is,
did not need to work as hard.
Sonically the Cloudlifter exhibited the clear, full, dimensional clarity it is known for. The dBooster offered similar
clean, clear gain characteristics, but it also had an added
harmonically excited character, almost like that of a preamp, and hard to describe until you hear it for yourself.
Although it's a transformerless device, it reminds me, in a
very subtle way, of what classic transformer gear does to a
microphone.
I am glad Royer chose to impart a touch of minimal character to the dBooster and use a new circuit design. This
gives engineers an added choice of sonic flavoring to add
to their studio recipes. It's a great addition to the world
of active inline boosters, and one I will be using often-
especially with my R-121 on acoustic guitars.-PV
Price: $179
More from: royerlabs.com

32 RECORDING June 2019

Our precious electric equipment is like a magnet for grime
and buildup. We may dust the tops and front panels of our
equipment, but how often do we clean our jacks and cables?
Beyond the violent cable twisting and mashing that we do to
clear up crackle and static, that is.
To address this problem, the folks at Stedman, best known for
their industry-standard pop screens, have created the PureConnect cleaning system. PureConnect starts with a small-handled
cleaning tool into which you insert a custom microfiber cleaning tip. This dense, rigid, non-dissolving material is a much
better solution than using a cotton swab-it won't snag, fray,
or leave threads inside your gear.
Currently there are two shaft sizes available: 1 1/2" long
1
x /4" diameter tip for guitar pedals, headphone jacks, keyboards, computer interfaces, and more, and 1" long x 1/10"
diameter made to fit female XLR holes. To clean male XLR pins,
the 1/4" tips can be reversed, and feature a
drilled out hole on the
backside to fit perfectly
onto a male XLR pin. For
cleaning cable plugs,
there is a 1 3/4" cotton
cleaning pad, and for
cleaning fluid Stedman
has chosen Caig Laboratories' DeoxIT (another
industry standard!).
The GP-1 Gig Pack,
made for guitarists, is a
compact metal tin holding a plastic-handled
cleaning tool, five 1/4"
tips, three cotton pads,
and a tube of DeoxIT.

http://www.royerlabs.com

Recording - June 2019

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