Nick,

I was under the impression that ribbons were very sensitive to loading...especially older ribbons. That's why many preamp manufacturers have selectable loading on their pres. And I believe that is the reason why Royer has decided to make the active ribbon mics--to eliminate mic/pre load mismatch:

Impedance Matching
The electronics in the Active Series ribbons impose a perfect load on the ribbon element at all times, meaning that R-121A’s are able to deliver 100% of their full sonic potential regardless of the input characteristics of the following mic-pre. Due to the low-impedance output, Active Series mics can also be used on extremely long cable runs with minimal signal loss.

A good impedance match is critical with ribbon microphones because impedance mis-matching “loads” a ribbon improperly, resulting in loss of low end, diminished body, lowered sensitivity and overall compromised performance. With the Active Series ribbons, the ribbon element lives in a perfect world; it sees an optimum impedance match at all times regardless of the following equipment, so its performance will never be compromised by the effects of improper loading. In addition, the ribbon element can’t be damaged by phantom power, electrical glitches or miswired cables.


Brad