Nady Ribbon / ADM780 setup : Hissy

I'm using ADM780 pres with Nady Ribbon mics modded with Cinemag iron - I'm getting a fair bit of hiss whether going out direct (AC coupled of course) from the ADM780's discrete op-amp or through the output tranny - going to a 10k Zin DAW with a 1k load attached to the secondary ... same noise profile as I was getting before modding the mic ... pretty sure I'm not operating the module outside it's limits ...

the person I got my pre's from insists Ribbon mics in general are bad for hiss but I question the generality of that statement ... the ADM780 discrete op-amp has bipolar devices at the input - I'm thinking likely that's where most of that noise I'm hearing is coming from ... anybody else experience higher noise levels with these pre's ?? now that I think about it I wonder if simply replacing the discrete job by a jFET input op-amp and class-AB buffer combo wouldn't help all that ... hmmm ...

I'm also giving thought to hot rodding my Northern Electric pre's per PRR's recommendations ... anyway, just shooting the breeze to see if anybody can confirm what I'm thinking and maybe offer any advice ...

thx

For ribbons you need a pre with a really excellent input noise figure. A preamp that performs virtually noise-free in combination with condenser mics may still be hissy when you use low output ribbons and a lot of gain.