Topic: New Telefunken SDCs

[jnorman34]

for those of you who remember the incredible vintage telefunken ela-m 250 and 251 LDCs (which now command some where around $10,000-15,000 each in the pro market), you may also remember that there was a SDC model also offered by telefunken at the time, which was also made by AKG for telefunken to go with the 250 and 251 - it was the ela-m 260.

telefunken is now offering an exact reproduction of the 260, all hand made in the USA.  it is a tube SDC that comes with 3 capsules, shockmount, cable, and akg ck adapter.  price somewhere around $1500 each, i think.  these should be stellar mics, comparable to the best on the market today.  check em out:

http://www.telefunkenusa.com/product...tem=2&cat=mics

[china_rider]

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[Colin Liston]

http://www.telefunkenusa.com/products/show_product.php?item=2&cat=mics

[twatts (pants are so over-rated...)]

"...comes complete with a set of three interchangeable capsules (cardioid, hyper-cardioid and omni), as well as an adaptor to allow the use of any AKG CK series capsules, and other capsules made by JZ / Violet and B.L.U.E. Systems..."

WOW!!!  Talk about versatility!

Terry

[TNJazz]

It should also probably be noted that Toni Fishman's company has absolutely no relation to the old Telefunken company.

Not knocking these mics as I haven't heard them.  Just wanted to point that out to anyone who was interested simply because of the brand name.

[rokpunk]

It should also probably be noted that Toni Fishman's company has absolutely no relation to the old Telefunken company.

Not knocking these mics as I haven't heard them.  Just wanted to point that out to anyone who was interested simply because of the brand name.

I was just gonna point out the same thing. I'd imagine these are nice sounding mics, but if you are considering these simply because they are Telefunken's, you might want to rethink that.

[sdelsolray]

Apparently, the capsules and the tube used in the reissue model are different than those used in the vintage Teles.  How does that make the new model an exact replica?

[Roger Gustavsson]

They will probably need some agreement with Telefunken? http://www.telefunken.de/en/licenses.html

[DSatz]

> They will probably need some agreement with Telefunken?

No, as I understand it "Telefunken USA" operates without any connection to the European owners of the Telefunken name (or other trademarks, such as the well-known Telefunken "diamond logo"), and the company has to be very careful not to get caught selling their products in Europe. Their Web site carries these lines at the bottom: "Telefunken | USA™, located in the state of Connecticut, USA, is in no way related or affiliated with the original Telefunken Company of Germany. / All products manufactured by Telefunken | USA™ are intended for sale in North America."

Daimler Chrysler's lawyers apparently allowed the registration of these trademarks in the U.S. to lapse, whereupon they were re-registered by a private individual over here (Oliver Archut), who then licensed their use to the Connecticut clone people.

Similarly, Klaus Heyne registered the term "ELA M" as a trademark in the U.S. so that he can license it. That was never even a trademark before, and I'm rather surprised that it can be considered one now. It was simply Telefunken's acronym "M" for microphones, or other microphone-related products such as stands or power supplies, in their listings of electroacoustical (= "Fachgebiet ELA") products. See the attached example from 1956; "V" indicates an amplifier ("Verstärker"), but I don't think anyone has trademarked "ELA V" just yet, even though there are many recreations of the V 72, for example.

The irony, of course, is that none of the "Telefunken ELA M" studio microphones were made by Telefunken--they were made by Neumann, Schoeps, AKG, Sennheiser and Beyer. Siemens and Philips among others also represented companies that were just starting up or rebuilding after the war--but no one pays sky-high prices for "vintage Siemens microphones" or "vintage Philips microphones" even when they are exactly the same as the ones Telefunken was selling.

I think this all goes to show how irrational this business is, and how easily people can be taken in, particularly in the realm of high-ticket items. It's sad, unless you're one of the people laughing all the way to the bank.

--best regards

[RebelRebel]

these should be stellar mics, comparable to the best on the market today.

 
based on what, exactly? a name alone does not a good microphone make. Look at Neumann, the newer Neve gear, and the new AKG products.  I have seen more threads in which people are bitching about some facet of Telefunken microphones(the new ones) than threads lauding them.  Clever marketing, but I wonder if the people who owned the original microphones will compare these favorably.

Folks crack on the audiophile community because of the amount of BS that floats around, but Pro Audio has its fair share.

[Brent Casey]

I can certainly vouch for those capsules. As for the shockmount, I discontinued that and went to a standard mic clip for the C4's. Apparently Telefunken is using my castoffs now for their Vintage "reproduction" Ela M.


Brent Casey
Design, Engineering
Studio Projects Microphones
877-563-6335

[RebelRebel]

vouch for what capsules, Brent?

I can certainly vouch for those capsules. As for the shockmount, I discontinued that and went to a standard mic clip for the C4's. Apparently Telefunken is using my castoffs now for their Vintage "reproduction" Ela M.


Brent Casey
Design, Engineering
Studio Projects Microphones
877-563-6335

[ingsy]

these should be stellar mics, comparable to the best on the market today.

 
based on what, exactly? a name alone does not a good microphone make. Look at Neumann, the newer Neve gear, and the new AKG products. 

What don't you like about the Neve gear?  Just curious, I only ran the 5012 a few times, and cant' compare to any of the older Neve gear, but thought it was a good pre.  Thanks!

[F.O.Bean]

well, no matter who makes them, they look sexy and can be used with the AKG ckxx caps. SO im sure we'll hear some samples of these regardless, and once we ACTUALLY hear them, we can start to discuss how bad or great they are!

[JasonSobel]

well, no matter who makes them, they look sexy and can be used with the AKG ckxx caps. SO im sure we'll hear some samples of these regardless, and once we ACTUALLY hear them, we can start to discuss how bad or great they are!

actually, I'd be surprised if tapers start using these mics.  I bet the dedicated power supply is AC only and a hassle to power in the field...