Telefunken ELA M 251 E

Possibly the most beautiful sounding microphones ever manufactured, today vintage ELA M 250 / 251 [both 'E' and 'non E'] microphones have become rare and highly sought after jewels, commanding tens of thousands of dollars on the vintage market. You will find that the TELEFUNKEN Elektroakustik recreations exemplify the best qualities of the best examples of these legendary beasts, and while more expensive than most modern microphones, they are true to the heritage of their 40+ year old brethren.

Arguably the most beautiful sounding microphone ever produced, the TELEFUNKEN ELA M 250 / 251 was originally sold in two variations: the "ELA M 250E / 251E" version utilized a 6072a tube, while the "ELA M 250 / 251" version contained a TELEFUNKEN AC-701 tube. The "no-suffix" microphones were built to satisfy the standardized requirements of the German and Austrian national broadcast systems. While both versions of these microphones have achieved legendary stature in the modern recording industry, the road to achieving this legendary status was far from instantaneous.

This U-47-esque microphone was to be known as the ELA M 250. Like the U-47 this new microphone featured the pattern selection (cardioid and omni-directional) switch on the head of the microphone. Around 1958 Neumann GmbH also released their U-48 microphone which featured cardioid and "figure 8" pattern selection. The TELEFUNKEN ELA M 251 was an amalgam of the two as it featured 3 pattern (cardioid, figure 8 and omni-directional) selection capability.

The switch housing at the base of the capsule assembly is where the similarity between the Neumann GmbH U-47 / U-48 and the ELA M 250 /251 microphone series ends.

While the C-12 accomplished pattern selection with an outboard switching device that was connected to the power supply, the ELA M 250 / 251 eliminated that addition to the system and minimized both the quantity of wires that had to run to the microphone as well as the expense of the external pattern selection box.

The amplifier in the ELA M 250 / 251 series is housed in a molded plastic enclosure. The capsule is held in place by two metal struts that run up the exterior of the amplifier housing. By implementing this system, either of these critical components could be replaced in seconds and the session could continue while either system element could be sent to the technical shop for "component level repair". This convenience was something the broadcasters of the time found to be a major plus as they had thousands of dollars of musicians sitting around for the live music broadcasts of the day. Any time saved cut down on the expense of the session, and added to the quality of the broadcast.

Today, prime examples of vintage ELA M 250 / 251 [both "E" and "non E"] microphones have become rare and highly sought after jewels, commanding tens of thousands of dollars on the vintage market. You will find that the TELEFUNKEN Elektroakustik recreations exemplify the best qualities of the best examples of these legendary beasts, and while more expensive than most modern microphones, they are true to the heritage of their 40+ year old brethren.