[quote author="mattmoogus"]The Beyer ribbon mics actually have two elements, which is how they get the pickup pattern hypercardioid instead of fig 8. This might have some effect on the noise floor, perhaps the two mean they need less step up? My new M130 is very quiet but my old M200 seems to be noisier (hiss), though Im not sure why this would be.
[/quote]
Only the M160 and M130 are dual-ribbons. The others are single.
I haven't checked the sensitivity specs, but I'd suggest the noise associated with the M260 is more due to the requirement of more gain at the preamp.... By the way, I assume you mean M260 and not M200? The M200 was a re-branded version of the M160 by Straesser.
Ribbons are known for having a "black" noise floor, so it's nice when you get to use them with very quiet preamps.
[quote author="Rossi"]So I suppose the Beyer trannies used in ribbon mics must be really cool. I wish I had some of those trannies as upgrades for chinese ribbon mics...[/quote]
I actually have a spare M260 trafo which I have not used yet. Again, I have heard some people comnplain that other transformers are better, but I love the Beyer ribbons, so I can't complain. Also, I can't see the ribbon motors distorting those small transformers since the signal is so small.