AEA RPQ2 Mic Pre with Curve Shaping and 48v
The AEA RPQ with Curve Shaping and P48 power puts all the controls for ribbon mics at your fingertips: 80 dB of clean quiet JFET gain, P48 phantom power for active studio ribbons such as AEA’s A440, and LF trim and HF boost contols that are tuneable and defeatable so that you can tame proximity problems and/or add a little more to the top.
The RPQ is has the speed, quietness, and headroom needed for high resolution recording, and is designed for ribbons, condensers, and moving coil microphones. AEA’s DC-coupled JFET topology delivers all the dynamics, subwoofer bass and fast transients that your ribbons or other mics can capture. The discrete front end and integrated circuit architecture meld the quietness of solid state with an openness reminiscent of tubes.
Live and location recording is another area where the AEA RPQ shines. Its Low-Energy-Storage (LES™) circuitry recovers instantly from overloads, a big advantage with unpredicatable dynamics. In addition, its exceptional No Load™ input impedance of over 10,000 Ω makes it an ideal active mic splitter. Mic splits can load down changing a mic’s sound, but the RPQ is robust enough to handle
the most demanding sonic challenges.
AEA RPQ Mic Pre Features
- Two channels with 80 dB of sweet and quiet JFET gain for all mics
- AC (phantom power) and DC coupled (no phantom) inputs
- High frequency CurveShaper™ EQ and low frequency proximity control
- Switchable phantom power, polarity and EQ
The Versatile Mic Pre
The AEA RPQ Ribbon Preamp with Curve-Shaping provides two channels of high-quality, high-gain, low-noise microphone preamplification, and unlike the TRP, provides phantom power for active electronics. Building on the success of AEA’s TRP (“The Ribbon Pre”), we engineered a recording toolkit packed full of professional solutions for your recording needs. Particularly well-suited for use with ribbon microphones, it delivers the speed, precision, quietness, and headroom needed for today’s high-resolution recordings. The NoLoad™ input impedance above 10 kΩ means the RPQ won’t load down a mic and change its sound. The JFET circuit design generates up to 80 dB of clean and quiet gain, with extended bandwidth from below 1 Hz to beyond 200 kHz, for dynamic range and transient response that complements all microphones. Engineers have discovered that the RPQ also complements their moving coil, tube and solid-state mics. By virtue of its sonic qualities and versatility, the AEA RPQ is the tool of choice for all microphones whenever a true and pristine signal path is desired.
Your Sound At Your Fingertips
With mixing consoles disappearing from control rooms, dedicated preamps can take on the role of providing a high-quality front end, giving you intuitive control to make critical decisions during tracking rather than “fixing it in the mix”.
The RPQ’s CurveShaperTM EQ gives you the tools to control your ribbons right at the start of the signal path. Switchable and tunable low frequency (LF) and high frequency (HF) controls allow you to tame proximity problems and provide HF extension and slope control. The high-frequency CurveShaper™ excels at adding a touch of air or presence, and the low-frequency control easily removes boxiness and boominess in a fast and unobtrusive way. Ribbon mics are capable of delivering strong subwoofer lows, and can have a significant bass proximity effect. Such strong low-frequency content can mask high-frequency intelligibility, so the tunable LF filter was engineered to tame low-frequency energy to appropriate levels. Its -20 dB shelving curve is ideally suited to reduce excessive proximity effect, opening up new possibilities to use ribbon mics in close-up applications.
The HF filter enables you to extend the high end by adding a little extra presence or “air” to a recording. Its unique bell curve compensates for the high-frequency roll-off that is inherent to most ribbon microphones. But beyond ribbon mics, the smooth HF filter is remarkably well suited for brightening up condenser mics used at a distance or even as a clean and transparent high-frequency boost on the 2-bus to freshen up a mix.
The Impedance Matching Myth
Passive microphones like ribbons and moving-coil transducers interact with the input impedance of the preamp. If the impedance of the preamp is too low, the microphone will have to work harder to send a signal down the line. Additionally, the bandwidth (particularly in the low end) will be limited.
For best voltage transfer, the impedance of the preamp should be at least five times the microphone’s output impedance. Many microphones have a nominal impedance of about 200 Ω, leading to the assumption that a preamp impedance of 1.0 to 1.5 kΩ should be fine. However, passive microphones, and ribbons in particular, have an output impedance that rises towards low frequencies and can easily get as high as 1000 Ω at resonance, resulting in a 6 dB loss at this frequency with a low impedance preamp. A preamp impedance of significantly more than the commonly seen 1.0 to 1.5 kΩ is beneficial for all passive ribbons and moving-coil microphones.
All AEA preamps have input impedances of at least 10 kΩ for these reasons. Microphone loading because of low impedance preamps can lead to interesting creative results, but AEA’s NoLoadTM inputs will guarantee highest sensitivity and bandwidth in all situations.
Specifications
AEA RPQ Electronics Specifications
- 80 dB of gain at 1 kHz, balanced-in to balanced-out
- Noise figure A-weighted < 2 dB, EIN < 129 dBu Aweighted
- Frequency response -3 dB200 kHz
- Balanced mic input impedance >10 kΩ
- DC-coupled inputs protected from external P48 DC
- AC-coupled inputs with switchable P48 phantom power
- Twelve position stepped gain control from 7 to 55 dB
- Trim gain continuously adjustable from 0 to +19 dB
- Switched LF trim: -3dB points tuneable from 18 to 350 Hz
- Switched HF boost peak +6 dB at 12 noon, +16 dB max
- HF max boost +3dB points tuneable from 2 to 18 kHz
- XLR out has 6 dB gain, balanced or unbalanced load
- XLR max output+28 balanced, +22 unbalanced, 600 Ω
- ¼” TRS max output unbalanced +22 dBu, 100 kΩ load
- Pin 2 high on XLRs, tip high on ¼” TRS jacks
- Green LED snaps on at ~ -5 dBu, Red at ~ +20 dBu
- Yellow LED brightens from ~ 0 to +20 dBu
AEA RPQ Physical Details
- P48 Phantom & Polarity-Reverse pushbutton switches
- Rotary potentionmeters (pots) detented at 12 o’clock
- Grayhill series 71 stepped gain switch and trim pot
- LF Cut pushbutton switch and one pot
- HF Boost pushbutton switch and two pots
- Pushbutton power switch, LED power indicator
- Internal torroidal transformer with linear regulators
- Male recessed IEC power plug
- Laser engraved front panel markings
- Metalic blue and steel gray powder coat finish
- Aluminum and steel chassis
- Clear coated polished aluminum end caps
- Detachable polished aluminum rack ears
- Chassis: 17.25″ wide, 11″ deep, by 1.7″ high
- Metric: 44 cm wide, 28 cm deep, by 4.3 high
- Weight: 6.75 pounds, Metric: 3.1 Kg
- Specifications as of Oct. 1, 2008, subject to change