Geoff Foster, chief engineer at AIR Studios, has recently purchased three Telefunken Electroakustik Ela M 251E valve microphones. This legendary microphone, arguably the most beautiful sounding ever has been faithfully reproduced by American based Telefunken Electroakustik. 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 microphones, and while more expensive than most modern microphones, they are true to the heritage of their 40+ year old brethren.

While TELEFUNKEN Elektroakustik was widely regarded as Europe's finest tube and audio equipment manufacturer, their foray into microphones began in earnest in 1947, with the distribution of the world renown "U-47", and the release of arguably the world's most sought after microphone, the ELA M 251 in 1960. Production of the original ELA M 251 ceased in 1963, but was reborn in 2000 when owner Toni Fishman needed to recreate the switch assembly for the 251s in his extensive vintage microphone collection. Having made the molds for the revival or these historic microphones, the next logical step was to faithfully recreate the entire microphone in their original, historically accurate glory.

As the years passed, historic blueprints for capsules, circuits, and systems were obtained. Transformers were recreated; often by their original manufacturer from 50 years ago. This meticulous historic research has led to the creation of TELEFUNKEN Elektroakustik's "Diamond Series," which includes historically accurate reproductions of the U-47, U-48, C-12, and 4 different versions of the ELA M 25x which all embody precise historic detail.