Description

Sound Like A Legend

Name: Warm Audio WA-251 Large-diaphragm Tube Condenser Microphone
SKU: 53513
Price: 849.00 USD
Availability: InStock

The WA-251 was created to offer a classic microphone design to a new generation of recording artists at an affordable price. We spent a great deal of time listening to different ‘251 microphones to determine what people liked about them and why, how various styles of components impact the tone, and how to give the WA-251 microphone a signature that pays homage to the vintage classic, but also stands out on its own.

The WA-251 is an all vacuum tube, large diaphragm, transformer balanced, multi-pattern, large condenser microphone, based on the classic ‘251 that has been used on countless hit records for the last 50+ years. The WA-251 is designed for pro studio, home studio, live, and broadcast applications and sounds great on vocals, acoustic/electric guitars, acoustic/electric bass, drums, piano, strings, brass/woodwind instruments, and an array of other sources.

Design

The classic ‘251 became extremely popular as a vocal microphone in the 1960’s and is now considered to be one of the greatest condenser microphones ever created. The classic ‘251 is still widely used today in professional recording studios but has become extremely rare and cost prohibitive to acquire.

Designing our WA-251 to sound like the classic ‘251 was no easy task, especially since some of the vintage components are no longer manufactured or available. We are pleased to release such a gorgeous sounding classic to the market at a price that’s reachable to more people than ever before.

The Tube

A Slovak Republic JJ 12AY7 vacuum tube is used in the WA-251. We auditioned 3 tube brands and fell in love with the JJ 12AY7. The frequency response of the JJ tube, and the way it contributes to the circuit is tonally smooth and vintage in nature.

All Brass Capsule

The WA-12-B-60V is an all-brass, edge-terminated capsule that captures all the smoothness, rich top end, and warm vintage sonics of the original CK12 capsule. The WA-12-B-60V uses a variant CEK-12 back plate as a basis, which overcomes manufacturing limitations of the original CK12 capsule. The o-ring and housing of the WA-12-B-60V are all made from brass (no teflon parts), and the diaphragm is 24k gold sputtered 6 micron, NOS PET film (mylar). The end result is a very consistent, reliable capsule which matches the frequency response and tonality of the classic 1970’s classic capsule.

The Transformer

The WA-251 utilizes an American made CineMag USA transformer. This transformer helps provide the present top end and the LARGE bottom end one would hope to get from a 251-style condenser microphone.

Technical Specifications

Download Product Manual

CUSTOM WA-12-B-60V EDGE TERMINATED, DUAL-BACKPLATE,
ALL-BRASS VINTAGE CK12-STYLE CAPSULE

CINEMAG USA OUTPUT TRANSFORMER

JJ SLOVAK 12AY7 VACUUM TUBE

GOTHAM 5 METER GAC-7, 7-PIN TUBE MICROPHONE CABLE

WIMA, SOLEN FRENCH, AND POLYSTYRENE CAPACITORS

POLAR PATTERNS: 3 PATTERNS – CARDIOID, OMNI, FIGURE-OF-EIGHT

FREQUENCY RANGE: 20 HZ~20 KHZ

OUTPUT IMPEDANCE: 200 OHMS

MAXIMUM SPL: 132DB (<0.5% THD)

RATED LOAD IMPEDANCE: ≥2KOHMS

S/N RATIO: 80DBA

EQUIVALENT NOISE: 12DBA (IEC651)

EXTERNAL IEC GROUNDED PSU

TOTAL WEIGHT (MIC, PSU, SHOCKMOUNT, CABLES) – 12 LBS

MIC DIMENSIONS: 247MM X 46MM

DYNAMIC RANGE: 125DBA

INCLUDES: MICROPHONE, WOOD BOX, PSU, SHOCK-MOUNT AND GOTHAM CABLE.

Warm Audio WA-251 Large-diaphragm Tube Condenser Microphone