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Old 20th February 2010   #169
Michael_Joly
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It is really not a question of maximum SPL (as in "sound" that can be heard) - but rather strong, infrasonic air pressure from breath pops, kick drums or bass cab ports that can pulse, stretch and / or break the ribbon.

As a rough guide to what air pressure is safe for a ribbon, try this experiment. Place the palm of your hand 6" in front of your mouth. Puff up your cheeks and make some repeated "puhh, puhh, puhh" sounds toward your palm. That amount of sound pressure will flex, but not permanently deform or break a ribbon. Even my own modified ribbon mics like the Apex 205 which have no internal ribbon pop filtering (just the single layer grille headbasket) can withstand this test.

But to be safe, place your hand near any source you think might have strong infrasonic air pressure - if you can feel a similar amount of air pressure as the "puhh test" on your hand use a pop filter (or two with an air gap in between) to attenuate the strong infrasonic air puffs and chuffs.
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