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Golden age GA-251 MKII
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Description
The GA-251 MKII is a large-diaphragm microphone from Golden Age Audio.
Golden Age Audio's GA-251 MKII is a large-diaphragm tube microphone inspired by the legendary ELA M 250/251. It offers exceptional sound performance, designed to pay tribute to its predecessor while remaining affordable. Assembled in small batches by a skilled team, it retains its sought-after sonority and durability thanks to circuit adaptation and the use of equivalent components.
GA-251 MKII highlights
- High-end microphone, uncompromising components and construction
- Hand-built in small series
- NOS Phillip 5840W capsules selected for very low tolerance
- Point-to-point routing
- Rogers PCB, Msolder Supreme Silver Gold Mundorf soldering
Key features of the GA-251 MKII
Inside the microphone
The electronic circuit is built using point-to-point wiring. All soldering points are made with Mundorf Msolder Supreme Silver Gold solder. All internal wires use pure silver wire to reduce losses, which also guarantees sound transparency. All components connected to electrical ground are connected to the ground plane of the printed circuit board. All other component connections use point-to-point wiring, resulting in virtually zero loss and crosstalk. Power transformer and electrolytic capacitors The vintage-style power supply uses a high-power R-style transformer with low noise and minimal stray field. A simple but effective circuit uses two-stage filtering for the filament voltage. The high voltage is also filtered and precisely stabilized using a Zener diode from ON Semiconductor. The directionality switch is located on the power supply so that the sound engineer can change it remotely. A 'ground lift' switch will help resolve mains noise problems that may arise in some cases.
Capsule
The GA-251 MKII uses a 34 mm K251-style capsule. Being double-sided, it provides both cardioid and omnidirectional polarities. For each 50-piece series, we select 50 capsules from a panel of around 200 to ensure the lowest tolerance between each microphone in the same series. Features : Backplate material: brass Capsule diameter: 34 mm Diaphragm diameter: 34 mm Diaphragm material: 6-micron gold-coated mylar The sensitivity of the front and rear of the capsule does not differ by more than 0.3 dB. Sensitivity between individual capsules does not differ by more than 0.5 dB. The capsule is specially designed to complement the GA-251 MKII's circuitry and achieve a well-balanced frequency response curve between bass, midrange and treble. The result is a very smooth sound with warm bass and airy treble, just like the original ELA M 251.
Lamp
The GA-251 MKII uses a NOS Phillip 5840W ultra-low-noise pentode tube connected in triode mode to reduce noise. The tube boasts a balanced sound response, smooth, warm rendering, low noise and long life. The GA-251 MKII amplifier features a new proprietary circuit designed around the NOS 5840W tube. Output transformer The GA-251 MKII transformer is specially designed with an AMI 10:1 style dual-coil transformer. It is made from permalloy sheet steel from the USA and enamelled wire from Germany. It offers magnificent sound reproduction with high resolution and excellent balance across the entire sound spectrum.
Capacitors and resistors
The coupling capacitor is manufactured by Solen in France. It is a highly balanced film capacitor made from MKP material with oxygen-free pure copper connections. It has a very delicate, balanced sound. The capsule capacitor uses a Siemens NOS-grade polystyrene capacitor to reduce losses. The tube's cathode bypass capacitor uses a top-of-the-range ELNA OFC Cerafine hifi capacitor from Japan with oxygen-free copper connections presenting a very soft, delicate character, especially for vocals. The other capacitors are of the low-loss polystyrene type. The resistor used to regulate the capsule voltage is a high-quality DALE 1% metal film resistor. The result is a very stable and balanced operating level, leading to greater consistency between different GA-251 MKII models. The plate resistor uses an IRC (USA) non-inductive resistor with pure copper connections. The sound is rich and full.
Body and grille
The pickup body is brass, the grille is iron. The grille is an important part of the 251's sound, and we've strictly adhered to its specifications.
Microphone cable
The cable is specially manufactured from 99.99% pure oxygen-free copper, Teflon insulation, tin foil and 98% kitmesh, i.e. with a very high braiding density of the cable shielding. It has a very open, smooth sound. The microphone connector is an aviation-style plug offering solid connections and long life.
Expert opinions
- The Golden Age GA-251 MKII is a replica of the legendary Telefunken ELA M 251 tube condenser microphone, famous for its outstanding sound quality. This microphone captures warm, detailed sound thanks to its ECC83 tube, offering faithful, rich reproduction of vocals and acoustic instruments.
- Built with high-quality components, the GA-251 MKII features a robust, elegant finish. Its 34 mm double-diaphragm capsule and wire mesh grille ensure precise, coherent sound capture. The solid brass body and build quality bear witness to careful attention to detail, guaranteeing long-term durability.
- For recording engineers looking for a versatile microphone capable of capturing a wide range of timbres with superior quality, the Golden Age GA-251 MKII is an excellent investment. Its ability to render vocal and instrumental performances with remarkable authenticity makes it a valuable addition to any studio.
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Technical sheet
- Capsule
- Handmade based on the M250/M251 microphone models
- Tub
- Philips 5480W "New Old Stock"
- Printed Circuit Board
- Rogers with point-to-point wiring
- Output Transformer
- Specially made
- Directivity
- Switchable cardioid/omnidirectional
- Frequency Response
- 20 Hz - 20 kHz
- Max Sound Pressure Level
- 136 dB
- Sensitivity
- 16 mV/Pa
- Signal-to-Noise Ratio
- 85 dBA
- Impedance
- Less than 200 Ohms
- Capsule Diameter
- 34 mm
- Microphone Dimensions
- 250 x 50 mm (L x W)
- Microphone Weight
- 600 g
- Power Supply Dimensions
- 200 x 100 x 100 mm (L x H x W)
- Power Supply Weight
- 1.5 kg
- Delivery Contents
- Carrying case, microphone case, power supply unit, elastic suspension, XLR connection cable
More specifications
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