recordinghacks

Nady RSM-5

Bidirectional Ribbon Microphone

Nady’s RSM-5 is a Chinese-made passive ribbon mic sharing a ribbon motor design with the RSM-3 and numerous other models.

This mic is plagued by documentation errors and production changes; for example, the Nady website and the user’s guide claim the ribbon uses 2-micron aluminum, but the RSM-5s modded by Michael Joly have all utilized heavier ribbon material (probably 6-micron).

Further, the mic initially shipped with a padded wood box with a shockmount, but since late 2007 appears to have been stripped to its essentials, most likely reflecting the drop in MSRP from $379.95 in 2005 to $129.95 today. Current stock has no shockmount or wooden box, but a simple mic clip in a cardboard carton.

Michael Joly has documented another suspected production change, in that initial RSM-5s (and RSM-3s) employed the offset-ribbon design patented by Royer for the R-121. (Read more on the RSM-3 page.) The “cardboard box” edition of the RSM-5 has reverted to a symmetrical ribbon design.

The Nady RSM-5 is also known as: RSM5.

The mic was released in 2005.

Specifications

Pickup Patterns	Pads & Filters
Bidirectional (1 mV/Pa; 30 - 18,000 Hz)

Ribbon Construction	Impedance	SPL/Noise
45mm, 2-micron aluminum ribbon	200 Ohms (Low)	Max SPL: 165 dB

Weight	Length	Max Diameter	Interface(s)
312g (11.01oz)	165mm (6.50'')	54mm (2.13'')	3-pin XLR male (1)

Power Specifications

Did we get anything wrong on this page? Please let us know!