SE Electronics X1R Review
Sharing the same body as the X1 condenser, the X1R is SE’s latest passive ribbon mic. Huw Price tests.
Price: £299.00
Manufacturer: SE Electronics
Website: http://www.seelectronics.com
SE is justifiably proud to emphasise that the X1R is “the lowest-cost non-OEM ‘big-brand’ ribbon mic on the market by a country mile”. So what does this mean, exactly? Most of the cheap – and sometimes not so cheap – ribbon microphones of Chinese origin come from just one or two factories and are simply re-branded by famous-name companies. Since SE owns its own manufacturing facility, the X1R is an exclusive product that’s designed and built in-house.
Consequently, SE can oversee every aspect of the production process and quality control. It’s also confident enough to offer a three-year, zero-downtime warranty and 20-year guarantee. The result is a fine-looking, well-made microphone. Given its model designation, the rubbery black exterior is entirely appropriate and the overall feel puts many contenders to shame. Of course, things always comes down to sound quality, so we put the X1R head-to-head against some other well-known ribbon mics. There really is no substitute for A/B testing and the X1R acquitted itself very well.
Sensitive side
First off, the X1R is more sensitive than most ribbons, so output levels were very healthy. It’s not quite up there with the industry-standard (and much more expensive) Coles 4038, but the SE outgunned an Oktava ML52 and a Beyerdynamic M160 – both of which are dual-ribbon designs.
Sonically, the X1R is different too, with a warmth and sense of scale that is also reminiscent of the 4038, albeit with a thicker midrange that reduces overall clarity and slightly less focus in the lows. However, the fact that we’re making this comparison at all is a credit to the X1R.
Another impressive feature is the SE’s upper-frequency detail. Of course, when we say ‘upper frequency’ these things are relative because, like all ribbons, the X1R displays some treble roll-off. It’s not as bright as the M160, but the X1R takes equalization very well. With a slight treble lift and a couple of notch filters around 260Hz and 1,200Hz, the SE captured a sense of realism on acoustic guitar that would shame many similarly priced condensers.
Ribbons are rarely go-to mics for getting vocals to cut through a dense mix, and the X1R is no exception. What it does deliver is smooth, fat, larger-than-life vocal tones that can make anyone sound like a pro voice-over artist or late-night jazz DJ. There’s plenty of proximity effect to play with, too.
Power trip
Ribbon mics are notoriously delicate items and we’d be remiss if we didn’t make at least some effort to break them during the review process. After all, if we can break them there’s a good chance you will, too. With that in mind we jammed the X1R against the speaker of a cranked-up guitar amp…
Thanks to the high SPL handling provided by an internal metal diffuser, the X1R was totally unruffled. In fact, it produced an uncommonly detailed, smooth and natural tone. As a final act of abuse we zapped the X1R with phantom power and once again it came through unscathed thanks to SE’s protection circuitry.
The SE X1R looks cool, the build quality is impressive and it does everything you could expect from a microphone of this type. It also comes closer to the traditional fat-and-treble-attenuated tone of old-skool ribbon mics than some of SE’s more cutting-edge ribbon designs. Although there are cheaper alternatives, SE points out that quality varies dramatically, so getting a good one involves a degree of chance. We concede that they have a point. As always, we’d advise trying before buying, but we can’t imagine that the X1R will disappoint. MTM
Verdict
WHY BUY
Smooth sonic quality
Larger-than-life sound
3-year free replacement warranty
20-year parts/labour warranty
7-day tryout service
WALK ON BY
No shockmount
Slight low-end wooliness
A very nice-sounding and well-made passive ribbon microphone
Score: 8
This review first appeared in Music Tech Magazine issue 105
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