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Warm Audio WA251 Tube Condenser Microphone

WAR-WA251 - RRP $1,460.00
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$1,399.00
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Orders under $50 incur a minimum order fee to cover shipping.

Standard vs Express Shipping

Our shipping platform will automatically determine and display the Express or Standard shipping options that are available to you. If Express is not displaying, you're either located too far away from our store in Canberra, or the Standard shipping option will get it to you just as fast for the same price. Express shipping is 1-5 days, Standard 2-10 days depending on how far you are away from our store in Canberra.

What payment methods do you offer?

We offer secure checkout options like Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, Zip Pay and Bank Deposit.
American Express payments are also accepted, although most AmEx transactions will require manual authorization after payment (Someone from the team will contact you to confirm the transaction after checkout)

What payment methods do you offer?

We offer secure checkout options like Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, Zip Pay and Bank Deposit.
American Express payments are also accepted, although most AmEx transactions will require manual authorization after payment (Someone from the team will contact you to confirm the transaction after checkout)

Can I cancel my order?

If you need to cancel your order it is best to give our online team a call on (02) 6282 3199
On weekends our online team may not be operating. Either give us a call monday morning or reply to your order email and we will endeavour to stop goods leaving the store.

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  • 18 Salamander Court, Phillip 2606, ACT
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Sound Like A Legend
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.

A Look Inside

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 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.

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.

The Capacitors
The WA-251 proudly uses polystyrene coupling capacitors, wima film capacitors throughout, and an imported Solen French capacitor on its output.

The Cable
One component of a tube microphone that is often overlooked is the 7 pin cable that connects the microphone to its power supply. When auditioning the WA-251 and other tube microphones we learned quite a bit about 7 pin cables and how the shielding and wire gauge size can drastically change the sonics of a tube microphone. We have partnered with Gotham Audio in Switzerland to use their very carefully built high-end 7 pin “GAC-7 cable”. Using this cable increases top end presence and the overall size of the recorded image in the stereo field by reducing phase shift and the parasitic effect often experienced in poorly built cables. Gotham Cabling is very expensive and boutique in nature and shouldn’t be considered a small addition to the WA-251 package.

  • 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.
More Information
Brand Warm Audio
Got bluetooth? No
Power source Mains
Microphone Type Condenser
Pickup pattern Switchable
Frequency Response 20Hz - 20kHz
Application Voice
What's in the box? Cable, Case, Clip, Power supply
Built in effects? No
Paco

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