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WARRANTY

Audio Engineering Associates warrants the AEA R44C, R44CX, and A440 against defects in materials 
or workmanship for three (3) years from the date of purchase. Ribbons damaged by phantom power or 
excessive air turbulence are not covered by the warranty. For repairs to units exhibiting ribbon damage, 
abnormal physical abuse, or that are out-of-warranty, AEA will provide a repair estimate and will not 
proceed with service without the customer’s authorization. Shipping and insurance costs both ways are 
the responsibility of the customer. Please contact AEA prior to sending the unit in for repair. A form for 
requesting service may be found at www.ribbonmics.com.

No user serviceable or adjustable parts inside. Do not open the case.

Audio Engineering Associates

1029 North Allen Avenue, Pasadena, CA 91104

Phone: +1(626) 798-9128 Fax: +1(626) 798-2378

URL: www.ribbonmics.com e-mail: [email protected]

References and Recommended Reading:

BASIC STEREO MICROPHONE PERSPECTIVES - A REVIEW, first published in the AES 

Journal, vol. 33, no. 7/8, pp. 548-586, 1985 July/August; republished in the STEREOPHONIC 
TECHNIQUES ANTHOLOGY, pp. 297-305

THE BIDIRECTIONAL MICROPHONE: A FORGOTTEN PATRIARCH, was first presented at 

the 113th AES Convention in Los Angeles, 2002 October, Preprint no. 5646; it is scheduled for 
publication in the AES Journal in the 2003 April issue (vol. 51, no. 4)

THE NEW STEREO SOUNDBOOK, third edition, by Ron Streicher and F. Alton Everest, published 

by Audio Engineering Associates, 1998; www.stereosoundbook.com.

RIBBON MICROPHONE ESSAYS by Wes Dooley, Ron Streicher and Philip Merrill published by 

Audio Engineering Associates, June 2003; www.wesdooley.com.

Summary of Contents for AEA A440

Page 1: ...e Atlas SB36 studio boom stand While there are many suitable stands from other manufacturers conventional musicians series folding tripod based microphone stands are not recommended because they are n...

Page 2: ...the ribbon however is a strong gust of air such as from a nearby open door window or air conditioning vent the close pulse from a bass drum the turn on thump from a guitar or bass amplifier moving or...

Page 3: ...null of all polar patterns nearly 90dB in the plane of the diaphragm with a well designed model It is important to realize that this null plane extends both laterally and vertically with respect to t...

Page 4: ...phone is only 6dB down at 90 the potential for feedback can be high By using a bidirectional microphone however with the deep null plane aimed directly at the cluster the potential for feedback can be...

Page 5: ...noise will self cancel and sound sources that are closer and more directly on axis will prevail Jim Tannenbaum a very active film dialog mixer in Hollywood explained at an AES Workshop how he uses thi...

Page 6: ...his can elim inate the need to rely on a mixing engineer to make them sound right the musicians do it themselves For Announcers Dialog and Radio Plays Ever since the golden days of radio in the 1930s...

Page 7: ...nd depth Like most things in audio however the potential tradeoff is reduced articulation or clarity that can result from excessive bass response or boominess Proximity effect should be treated like a...

Page 8: ...sonant frequency it exhibits none of the upper midrange high Q resonance peaks common to large diaphragm condensers This ribbon design delivers extremely fast and accurate transients Such a lightly te...

Page 9: ...Level changes with angle frequency response is consistent 90 dB null at 90 270 Vertical Level changes with angle reduced HF response above and below 0 180 axis null at 90 270 Transducer element Ribbon...

Page 10: ...t 7 mA current draw it has a 9 dBA noise floor and handles 136 db SPL A custom 9 mA version has a 6 dbA noise floor and handles 132 5 db SPL Such wide dynamic range is equal to the best studio condens...

Page 11: ...Displayed range from 100 Hz up due to measurement room size limitations...

Page 12: ...open the case Audio Engineering Associates 1029 North Allen Avenue Pasadena CA 91104 Phone 1 626 798 9128 Fax 1 626 798 2378 URL www ribbonmics com e mail stereoms aol com References and Recommended...

Page 13: ...pickups and have an omnidirectional polar pattern because absolute pressure is not dependent on the direction of approach ref Figure 5 The first microphones were developed by the infant telephone indu...

Page 14: ...of the ribbon This ribbon was suspended in a magnetic field and thus generated a small electric current in direct response to its movement ref Figures 6A and 6B The term velocity microphone also is c...

Page 15: ...properly designed single diaphragm bidirectional microphone a response null of almost 90dB will oc cur at precisely 90 from the principal pickup axis Figure 8 shows that this null exists both vertica...

Page 16: ...oday Since the early 1980s Audio Engineering Associates has been proud to spearhead the reintroduction of these venerable classics to the industry and to continue their tradition with new and improved...

Page 17: ...o Engineering Society June 1970 The rapid advancement of permanent magnet technology in the 1930s had freed Olson s ribbon micro phones from the constraints of using an electromagnet The 44 had an acc...

Page 18: ...en the AEA R 44C and the RCA 44B BX is in the magnets The RCA 44B BX used high output Alnico magnets the best available at the time By the 1990s neodymium had replaced Alnico as the best material for...

Page 19: ...making it among the quietest microphones made Although the acoustic fre quency response of an A440 is the same as an R44CX the sonic character is different This character is often described as warmer...

Page 20: ...um All the closer microphones were AEA ribbons with the electric cello on an AEA R44CNE http www wesdooley com pdf PR_Turtle_Island_String_Quartet2 doc Is the A440 the best 44 incarnation ever Time wi...

Page 21: ...se and accurate localiza tion within the stereo stage As with a single bidirectional microphone a Blumlein pair can be worked from opposite sides with equal effect This allows multiple actors or music...

Page 22: ...orward facing mid microphone and a laterally oriented bidirectional side microphone By combining these component signals via a sum and difference matrix the left channel traditionally is the mid side...

Page 23: ...by employing bidirectional patterns oriented along the three car dinal axes lateral fore aft and vertical and then matrixing these with an omnidirectional pickup the complete spherical sound field ca...

Page 24: ...ichannel Modular Studio Microphone Stands and Booms Flightweight Stands Medium Duty Vertical Stands and Booms Heavy Duty Stands and Booms Crank up Stands Since 1983 we ve been the US agent for Coles E...

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