AEA N8 Ribbon Microphone

AEA

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Product Code: 9999-08087
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The AEA N8 Ribbon Microphone is a modern ribbon mic that records the live, natural sound of instruments within a space as it would sound in-person, with all subtlety and nuance present. It effortlessly captures complex sources like drums, strings, piano, and other instruments that can produce intricate transients, harsh highs, and bellowing lows.

The AEA N8 Ribbon Microphone captures a space as it sounds live and in person, with all the present subtlety and nuance. Its expansive frequency response and balanced low end make it superbly effective when capturing the full breadth of sound from the back of a room, above a drum set, or overhead a string section. It boasts the widest frequency range of any mic in the AEA lineup and effortlessly manages more complex source audio like drums, strings, piano, and other instruments that produce intricate transients, harsh highs, and bellowing lows. The full potential of the AEA N8 Ribbon Microphone is perhaps best realized when configured in a stereo array, as it draws on the same successful sonic concepts as the AEA R88.

The Far-field Ribbon
The AEA N8 is a far-field ribbon mic, meaning it is designed to be positioned at an ideal distance of 12 inches or farther from the source of sound. This far-field design allows for a wide range of options when positioning the AEA N8 Ribbon Microphone to best capture an instrument within the context of a room.From as far away as 20 feet away, the AEA N8 Ribbon Microphone retains the low end frequencies of the sources it captures, and its open, natural tonality makes it perfect to record an entire orchestras or the full low end of a drum kit from overhead. The proximity effect of the AEA N8 Ribbon Microphone is present when recording a source from closer than 12 inches, so this feature can be used to accentuate the low-end of a vocal or string instrument. Potential damage from loud sources is of no concern, even at such a short distance, as the AEA N8 Ribbon Microphone can handle 141+dB SPL at 1 kHz. If less proximity effect is desired when recording at close range, the near-field AEA N22 is an effective ribbon mic to complement the AEA N8’s far-field performance.

AEA N8 Ribbon Microphone Features

  • Open and natural sound
  • Far-field ribbon mic that retains low end and top end from a distance
  • Same design philosophy as the AEA R88 stereo ribbon mic
  • Compact, lightweight, and low-profile design
  • Features active electronics and custom transformer optimized for all preamps
  • Made in the U.S.A.

AEA N8 Ribbon Microphone Specifications

  • Operating Principle: Pressure gradient microphone
  • Directional Pattern: Bidirectional or Figure-of-8
  • Frequency Response: 20Hz-20kHz
  • Max SPL: 141 dB (1% third harmonic > 1 kHz)
  • Output Impedance: 92 Ohms, broadband
  • Sensitivity: -44.2 dBV/Pa (6.2 mV) into unloaded circuit
  • Connector: XLR
  • Height: 8.83" (32.4 cm)
  • Width: 1.62" (4.1 cm)
  • Depth: 1.62" (4.1 cm)

AEA N8 Ribbon Microphone Includes

  • AEA N8 Ribbon Microphone
  • Storage Case
  • Microphone Stand Clip
  • Custom Protective Mic Sleeve
  • User Manual
  • Manufacturer Warranty

1 Review Hide Reviews Show Reviews

  • 5
    good
    ashur

    excellent

What We Think

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The AEA N8 Ribbon Microphone is a surprise, but welcome addition (in hindsight) to the already vastly versatile AEA product lineup. It's sort of the microphone that you didn't know that you needed - but once you used it, you never knew how you got by without it. Those already familiar with the neo-classic AEA R88 mkII (and mkI) Stereo Ribbon Microphone appreciate it's smooth translation and definition complimentary to maintaining sharp intelligibility of instruments within it's stereo spread. This proclivity for making instruments sound their best made this voicing the natural choice for creating an 'instrument specific' NUVO series microphone. So, the best way to think of the N8 NUVO is as an active single channel R88 - which is also very affordable. But one particularly beneficial change to the voicing is a bit of taming in the lower registers. The idea that I've found to be consistent with the NUVO series (N22 and now the N8) is that there really isn't any broad strokes of EQ necessary. In fact - they're about as perfect sounding a microphone as you can imagine. The bottom isn't left to go on for days, and the top of the N22 sounds more like a phase-perfect-blended condenser + ribbon. And there's no onboard equalization trickery, sorcery, or other such tomfoolery to make it all happen. The active circuitry certainly plays it's part, but it's role is more to make these mics work with a broader range of mic-preamps - but they certainly will sound their best when paired up with the RPQ or RPQ500 ribbon preamps from AEA (which are really pretty great with any microphone). Singer-songwriters who play acoustic guitar really should sit up and take notice of these mics. An N22 together with an N8 and RPQ is an incredibly comprehensive and easy setup for getting very balanced and usable tracks.

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