Royer Labs has announced the model R-DB20 dBooster In-Line Signal Booster for ribbon and dynamic mics.
‘Our R-10 ribbon microphone is what originally got us interested in providing an in-line signal booster,’ says Royer VP of Sales and Marketing, John Jennings. ‘The R-10 has slightly less output than an R-121 and we knew engineers might want some extra gain for vocals and acoustic instruments. The amount of distortion in the available in-line preamps wasn’t acceptable, so we designed our own and it does a great job of providing an extremely clean signal lift. It’s a great fit with Royer’s non-powered ribbons, and it kills with a number of dynamics too.’
As a phantom powered microphone signal booster and impedance buffer, the dBooster accurately increases the level of passive low-output ribbon and moving coil dynamic microphones without distortion or coloration. Designed for professional applications, the dBooster provides two levels of clean gain boost (12dB/20dB), selectable by a front panel switch.
The heart of the dBooster design is a sophisticated, uniquely configured input stage consisting of multiple paralleled PNP semiconductors to keep noise low. These devices run in pure class-A mode where the input circuitry presents a high source impedance to the microphone to minimise loading (damping), reducing coluoration and distortion while improving headroom. By using the unit’s 12/20dB gain switch, optimum balance between gain and headroom can be achieved for a variety of applications.
The low-impedance output of the dBooster is an increased microphone-level signal that can drive either a standard microphone preamplifier or a digital interface directly. The unit’s output section uses a pair of operational amplifiers that act as buffers and low impedance line-drivers. The output stage enables the dBooster to drive difficult loads and long cable lengths without sacrificing gain or performance while maintaining headroom. The dBooster’s circuit is phantom powered and is fully regulated and de-coupled, providing clean voltage and current.
dBooster is safe for use with all ribbon microphones and provides increased headroom at the preamp, true electrical isolation, and the protection of ribbon mics from phantom power hits, while minimising mic loading. Further, this rugged, compact device can drive difficult loads such as mic splitters and vintage-style preamps without loss of gain or increased distortion.
The Royer Labs R-DB20 In-Line Signal Booster is expected to carry a street price of US$179, and will ship mid-February 2019.
More: www.royerlabs.com
