Radial’s McBoost is now shipping

Radial Engineering Ltd recently announced that the McBoost is now shipping.

The McBoost is a 100% discrete, class-A dual FET signal booster for low output dynamic and ribbon microphones. According to Radial’s Jay Porter:  “At Radial, we are constantly being tasked to come up with solutions to problems that audio engineers face as part of their daily routine.  One such problem is elevating the signal level of a low output microphone so it can perform better with a typical mixing console.  The problem is that most mic preamps and mixing desks are only designed to boost the signal by about 50 to 60 dB. Although this is perfectly suitable when working with most dynamic and condenser mics, there are several instances where more gain is necessary. A good example is the Shure SM7. This great sounding mic was designed for broadcast voice so when it is used to pick up lower level signals, the detail is often lost. The McBoost provides the perfect solution. The same applies for older ribbon mics. These tend to have lower sensitivity as a means to protect the ribbon from bottoming out. So they need an extra boost when used with regular preamps. You just connect the McBoost in between the mic and preamp, turn on the phantom power and you get tons of super clean boost as you breathe new life into your old favorites!”

The McBoost features Radial’s trade-mark all-steel construction with book ends that create protective zones around the switches and controls. Inside, the McBoost features hand matched transistors to ensure absolute performance is achieved with the dual FET class-A circuit. This delivers up to 25 dB of boost via a fully variable front-panel level control.  This is supplemented with a 3-position high-pass filter to eliminate excessive rumble and proximity build-up.  For the purist, a 3-position impedance selector allows the engineer to optimize the load on the mic for greater accuracy or fun effect.  Powering is provided by standard 48V phantom, eliminating the need for batteries or external power supply and connections are done via standard XLRs.

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Porter continues: “The McBoost is more than just a studio tool. It can be used to drive long cables for broadcast by improving signal to noise and it can bring a condenser-like character to dynamics for both live and studio. Once you plug it in, you will be surprised at all of the great stuff you can do.”

Made in Canada, the McBoost carries a MAP price of $199.99 USD.