R-122 MKII
microphone
$1,895
Used market: $1,480*
Specifications
4 of 9 values have a recorded sourceExpert Audio Engineering Commentary
Tonal Profile
The same ribbon element as the R-121 with a toroidal transformer and a discrete FET head amplifier behind it. The point is not tone but level: -36 dBV/Pa is 11 dB above an R-121 and about 20 above an SM57, which puts a ribbon within reach of an ordinary console preamp.
Gain Staging Advice
The active electronics do impedance conversion only, so self-noise stays at the ribbon's own level - Royer publishes '< 18 dB'. With a -15 dB pad and a 100 Hz bass cut on the body, and 160 dB of maximum SPL, the working range is wide enough that the preamp stops being the limiting element.
Production Warning
This is the opposite case to a passive ribbon: the R-122 MKII requires 48 V phantom power and draws 4 mA, and without it there is no output at all. Royer's phantom-power note ends with the line 'Our phantom powered models are not included in this discussion' - the advice to keep 48 V off applies to their passive ribbons, not to this one. Two microphones with the same ribbon element and opposite requirements is exactly where the confusion starts.
What the datasheet actually says
Quoted verbatim from the manufacturer’s own page, with the date we checked it. We state what is printed, not what anyone intended by it.
«This system is extremely quiet and brings the R-122 MKll's sensitivity to 37 dB»
The body copy on the product page states the sensitivity as '37 dB' - no sign and no reference - while the Technical Specifications block lower down the same page says 'Sensitivity: -36 dB (re. 1v/pa +/-1 dB)'. Sensitivity in this quantity is always negative, and the two figures also differ by a decibel. The specification block is the one with a named reference; the sentence in the body copy is not a usable number.
checked 8/6/2026* Estimated with the depreciation fallback (~78% retained value). · checked on 8/6/2026