Recording - January 2020 - 70

REVIEW

Extinct Audio

BM9 and Black Ops
ribbon microphones
A new line of ribbon microphones
made by hand in the UK
REVIEW BY PAUL VNUK JR.

From Xaudia to Extinct

L

ocated in Great Britain, Extinct Audio manufactures handmade ribbon
microphones. The Extinct story is a well-trodden tale of a recording
engineer/microphone enthusiast, who out of necessity turns repair
person, hangs out a shingle and starts a repair shop dubbed Xaudia.
Thirteen years and more than 4,500 repairs later, Stewart Tavener has
earned a reputation as the ribbon repair guy in the UK. In 2017 he
partnered with Adam Watson, and Extinct Audio was born.

The BM9 Trinity

The Extinct Audio locker contains
three models: Viking, Black Ops, and
Valkyr Stereo. All three are a variation
of the Viking or BM9. The BM9 is a
passive 6 1/4" x 1" bi-directional ribbon
microphone with a symmetrical figure-8
pickup pattern. The Black Ops is a BM9
on steroids, made for louder sources.
Valkyr is a stacked pair of BM9 units,
fixed at 90° for stereo applications.
All Extinct Audio products are handmade inside and out with chiefly British
parts, at the company's headquarters in
Yorkshire, including the gorgeous, dark
stained wooden box that accompanies
each microphone.
For review, I was sent one pair of BM9
mics, a single Black Ops, and a set of
Extinct Audio 'Fenrir' vibration mounts.

You look familiar...

At first glance, the BM9 might look
familiar. If you're thinking Royer R121,
you're at least partially right. The R121
and the BM9 both pay homage to the
1950s Danish-made Bang and Olufsen
BM3 ribbon mic. The BM9 even retains
the domed cap of the B&O. Unlike the
70 RECORDING January 2020

BM3 and R121 however, the grille slots
on the BM9 are vertical. Also, note that
the 'wings' on these microphones are
not just for looks-they're the magnets
of the motor assembly that protrude from
the body. The BM9 features an orange
badge and a silver mesh grill protecting
the ribbon. The Black Ops has a black
badge with an extra layer of thin black
fabric covering its metal mesh grille.

The element

Inside the BM9 is a 1.8-micrometer
aluminum ribbon transducer element and
a custom in-house wound permalloy core
transformer on the output. The ribbon element of the Black Ops is 2.5 micrometers
thick and is designed for louder sources
with a propensity for pushing a bit of air,
most notably a cranked speaker cone,
kick drum, or loud vocalist.

Specs

The specs of each mic are similar, with
a frequency range of <30 Hz - 15 kHz
@ ±3dB, a maximum SPL of 135dB @
20 Hz, a sensitivity of 3.5 mV/Pa, -49
dBv/Pa, self noise of -130 dBv at 20ºC
and a signal to noise ratio (1kHz at 1 Pa)

of 81dB. Like most passive ribbon mics,
the BM9 is relatively flat across the
board. There's a minimal low end bump
at around 115dB, a +1.7dB bump at
3.15 kHz and a -2.8dB dip at 10 kHz.

Sound and comparisons

Despite similar specs, the Black Ops
has a more controlled proximity effect,
resulting in less low-end extension and
improved clarity and focus on sources
where you want to tame low end buildup; guitar amps, acoustic guitar, and
vocals come to mind.
I made some comparisons between the
BM9 and Black Ops alongside a Royer
R121, AEA R44CE, and an sE Electronics
VR-1, all passive ribbon mics. The R44CE
was neutral and full with a beautiful silky
top end, the R121 showed off its wellknown midrange-forward presence and
constrained low end, and the VR-1, while
tonally even, had the most pronounced
low end push. The BM9 exhibits the characteristic midrange smoothness, with a
low end that's full but not overdone, a controlled top end, and a gentle upper-midrange thrust. As such, it's sonically a blend
of the low end of the AEA, and a hint of
the mid presence of the Royer, but with
just a touch more top end. The Black Ops
sounds like the BM9 with a highpass filter
added, moving it more into R121 territory,
but in no way a clone.
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