Re: Ribbon microphones

["Dan Dugan" dandugan_1999]

John Hartog, you wrote

>I didn't find much on this topic in the archives, but it seems folks
>generally avoid ribbon mics for nature recording: is this because
>their sensitivity is too low?

That and their fragility and sensitivity to wind.

>The reason I am wondering is I noticed an ad for a Beyerdynamic M160
>(hypercardiod) & M130 (figure 8) combo, but looking at the specs I
>can't understand how to compare them to specs of the condenser mics I
>am used to using.
>
>Beyerdynamic's M130 data sheet shows:
>Open circuit voltage at 1 kHz (0dB = 1V/Pa):  1.0 mV/Pa ≡ -60 dBV
>
>Can anyone put this in terms relevant to nature recording?

That output is 15 to 20 dB lower than the condensor mics we're 
familiar with. I would guess there'd be at least a 10 dB increase in 
noise from the preamp at the necessary gain.

-Dan Dugan