Recording - April 2013 - 28

Royer SF-2 Active Ribbon Microphone

The SF-2 does have a slight low-end rise
between 40 and 90 Hz, a mid rise from
1 to 6 kHz, and then a slight carving at
10 kHz that rises back up at 12 kHz
before tapering off; each of these is never
more than a dB or two at their most
extreme. Further specs include a –38 dBV
sensitivity, 200 Ohms @ 1 kHz output
impedance, and 130 dB max SPL level.
As briefly mentioned above, the SF-2’s
internal amp uses phantom power to
achieve a hotter signal level, 15 to 30 dB
over that of a typical ribbon mic. The active
circuit also distributes a reproducible load
to the ribbon element, making it immune to
the impedance variations between different
microphone preamps that can alter the
sonic consistency of passive designs. The
output of the SF-2 features a custom wound
toroidal transformer and an ultra-low-noise
FET circuit.

because we assume ‘bright and open’
means ‘clean and natural’, when in fact most
modern large-diaphragm condensers are
actually more forward and detailed than
they are neutral and natural. As a result, the
SF-2 turns out to sound most similar to a
good classic pencil condenser like an original Neumann KM 84, but smoother and
larger in its sound. An unexpected result!

The sound
Sonically the SF-2 has the telltale smoothness and gentle top end that ribbon mics
are known for, but it’s a very high-fidelity
sound; unlike many ribbon models there is

In use
Prior to getting my hands on the SF-2, I
had a few conversations about its design
and history with John Jennings of Royer
Labs, so I had an initial handle on this mic’s
expected likes and dislikes going in. This is
a mic that loves acoustic instruments, especially those of a classical nature.
Most importantly, the SF-2’s ribbon element wasn’t designed for the high SPL the
R-121 can handle, so for this review I
avoided sticking it in the grille of a
screaming guitar amp, placing it in the
sound hole of a kick drum, placing it in
front of a solo trumpet, or any other loud
source that would generate forceful movements of air.

nothing dark, pillowy, muffled, or cloudy
about it.
When it comes to low end, a lot of ribbon mics tend toward extremes—either
deep slopes from 80 Hz on down, or big
booming low-end boosts. By contrast the
SF-2 sits in the middle, with just enough
low end to give it an even weight, but not
enough to stand out.
Compared to some of the other wellknown high-end ribbon mics, it lacks the
low-mid bump of the AEA R84, with
which we reacquainted our readers in
our August 2012 issue. It is not as overtly ‘luscious’ or ‘vibey’ as an RCA 44-style
mic, and as mentioned earlier it isn’t modern and upper-mid-forward like Royer’s
own R-121. Interestingly, I hear its tonality as closest to a well-maintained Coles
4038, only slightly more even. Overall
this is a mic that is true to the source, honest and again gentle in the top end.
As such it may seem a tad dull when compared to high-end modern large-diaphragm
condensers by Brauner, Blue, Neumann,
and the like. But that is at least partly

I was even all set to avoid vocal work,
as vocals can be fraught with plosives,
spits and breath blasts, when John
informed me it was not that fragile (far
tougher than a Coles 4038 or any RCA);
it would be fine for vocal work as long as
a good pop filter was in place and a
touch of distance was part of its placement. All in all, that makes the SF-2 similar
to most classic and fragile ribbon designs
in placement, use and handling... and
points out that many engineers have now
been spoiled by the R-121’s ruggedness!
Strings: I received a pair of SF-2s at the start
of the holiday season; I tend to do a lot of
string recording at this time of year, and the
SF-2 excels at that. On cello the sound was full
and even and avoided the low nasal
“squonk” I often have to eq out. Violins sounded smooth and controlled without the screechy
string brightness that many modern condensers love to accentuate. Aside from closemiking solo instruments, a pair of SF-2s in a
Blumlein stereo configuration is a beautiful
thing when placed in the center of a string trio
or quartet. Think full, natural and un-hyped!

28

RECORDING April 2013

Piano: On a piano-and-cello duet (one SF2 on each) in a live setting in a large church
sanctuary, I appreciated that as I brought the
faders up and down, the perceived sound of
the instruments did not change so much as
simply get louder or softer; this highlighted
how true-to-life these mics are.
Later I placed both mics inside the piano
as a slightly spaced pair (for a balance of
low and high rather then left and right) and
was again pleased with the results—full
and smooth but never exaggerated,
boomy, or excessively metallic.
Banjo: On a bluegrass-tinged pop session, I put up one of the SF-2s on banjo in
place of the small-diaphragm condenser we
had been using; it did a great job of cutting
down on the bright, plastic twang that often
takes copious amounts of eq to lessen, and
placed the banjo comfortably in the mix.
Recording - April 2013

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