It’s hard not to like Telefunken Elektroakustik. The U.S.-based company began years ago out of founder Toni Fishman’s love of wonderfully crafted European microphones. He was frustrated by a lack of replacement parts for classic mics, stemming from a vintage Telefunken ELA M 251 he owned, where the plastic ring for the polar pattern switch broke after decades of service, leaving the mic useless for want of a molded plastic part.
After Fishman made one for himself (probably easier these days with 3-D printing), others heard about it, and soon the phone was ringing with requests for it and other parts.
Fishman went on to manufacture a full inventory of ELA M 251 parts, which led to assembling these into complete microphones. After the success of his reissue ELA M 251, Telefunken Elektroakustik expanded into other models, including the ELA M 260, U47, C12 — all venerable tube studio mics that embodied the original Telefunken sound.
Eventually, Telefunken Elektroakustik expanded into more tube mics as well as new designs for dynamic models, particularly for live performance, such as the handheld M80 and M81 vocal mics, replacement vocal heads for popular wireless transmitters, the Shure SM56-inspired short body swiveling M80-SH/M81-SH instrument mics and the M82 kick mic with switchable onboard filters.
Intended for studio or sound reinforcement applications, the company’s latest offering is the M60 FET — a small-diaphragm condenser that’s Telefunken Elektroakustik’s first non-tube condenser mic. The mics began shipping earlier this year and, having shown up on a number of top tours, we wanted a closer look — and listen.
As its name implies, the M60 FET is based on discrete Field Effect Transistor-based electronics housed within the compact five-inch mic body (5.5-inches with capsule attached). One thing that sets the M60 FET apart from most other small diaphragm mics is that it features interchangeable capsules.
Have It Your Way
Any other mic company might simply come out with a new cardioid small-diameter condenser model, but Telefunken Elektroakustik took this a few steps further, by issuing the mic as the M60 FET cardioid ($595/street); the M61 FET omnidirectional ($605); and the $615 M62 FET hypercardoid models. Beyond this, each model is also available in matched stereo pairs.
And for those who require a lot of versatility (or simply can’t decide which flavor they prefer) a M60 FET Master Set is offered, with one amplifier body and three capsules — one from each. The ultimate, of course is the $1,695 M60 FET Stereo Master Set, with two mic bodies and six capsules — in matched cardioid, hypercardioid and omni pairs.
All mic packages include carry cases, foam windscreens, shock mounts and 5-meter right-angle XLR cables. The latter (also offered in 10-meter lengths) are also sold separately, and are a true godsend solution when miking in any tight spaces, such as drums percussion setups and inside pianos, and offer clean connections with podium and other vocal mics.
In keeping with the versatility theme, capsules are also offered individually, utilizing the same interchangeable TK6X capsule systems as the flagship, award-winning ELA M 260 small diaphragm tube microphone.
Under the Hood
The mics are built in South Windsor, CT, USA. Utilizing a proprietary circuit topology, the mic is a re-interpretation of the classic FET mic amplifier. The individually serial-numbered capsules are nickel-plated, with a fine, gold-mesh windscreen and a 15mm (slightly over 0.6-inch) diameter, 6-micron gold-sputtered diaphragm.
The mic body electronics use carefully selected components that are hand-inserted into gold-plated circuit board traces to provide a low-noise (less than 5 dBA amplifier self-noise) true Class-A discrete amplifier with a frequency response that’s 20 Hz to 50 kHz (±2dB). Sensitivity is given as 8.6 mV/Pa. The output is matched to a custom American-made transformer with a typical THD+N that’s better than 0.015 percent.
On the Road
For this test, Telefunken Elektroakustik provided the two-body/six-capsule M60 FET Stereo Master Set. This and all the mic packages are housed in a foam-fitted, velvet-lined case. The 0.75-inch diameter mic bodies have a rugged, non-reflective matte black finish and the feel and construction of all the components is top-notch throughout. Each capsule is clearly marked with its model number and an icon of its polar pattern and screws onto the body via fine threads, so some care is needed during this to avoid cross-threading. Interestingly, the capsules are hot-pluggable and can be changed even while phantom power is applied, although I would strongly suggest muting the channel input before attempting this maneuver.
The shock mount included with each mic is a simple, compact design. The mic slides in easily, yet stays in place securely and it does an effective job of isolating the mic from bumps, stand kicks and stage jolts. The compactness of the mount is a real plus in cramped quarters. Starting off, the resiliency of the elastic bands was fairly tight, but these loosened up slightly after a few uses, actually increasing the isolation. Speaking of the elastics, it would be nice if Telefunken included a few spares with the kit. “Stuff” does happen on the road, although with the design of the mount, a few common rubber bands could substitute for the elastics in a pinch.
First up for listening was spaced drum overheads on a rock kit. A cardioid pair seemed just the thing. Once locked into the sweet spot in terms of height — about 2.5 feet above the cymbals — the capsules’ medium-wide cardioid pattern offered a balanced, focused stereo image that was spot-on in terms of capturing the transients and attack of the two rides, splash and two crashes, without any edginess. Moving nearer in with a close-miked hypercardioid on hi-hat proved surprising. Hi-hat can sometimes be problematic, with its wide dynamics (from beats on a closed hat to accents on a full or ¾-open hat — and occasional tendency to produce an unwanted, washy midrange sound. Yet I had no issues here with the hypercardioid capsule and the net result was natural, airy and robust. It also offered great rejection of off-axis sounds.
Consistent Character
Both the cardioid and hypercardioid capsules have a fairly consistent character overall — there aren’t huge difference in their response, so deciding between the two capsules comes down more to the directional pattern itself and what your needs are. On acoustic guitar (six and 12-string), the net effect was again natural, with both capsules exhibiting a very smooth, gentle LF rolloff that begins around 150 Hz and is about 4 dB to 5 dB down at 50 Hz. This was just right on most acoustic instruments (probably not a first choice on standup bass), and the need to EQ was minimal, if any at all, especially with the capsule’s subtle presence boost.
In a close-in stereo pair on piano, both mics were close — and very nice, but I would give the edge to the cardioid here with less acoustical interaction from any reflections returning from a half- or quarter-stick lid. Yet both capsules offered an extremely balanced rendition of the instrument, and here again, the choice comes down more to your preference — or need — in polar pickup.
I liked the sound of the omnidirectional capsules — which seemed extremely flat from 20 Hz to 6 kHz, where a more pronounced presence boost kicks in, peaking around 3 dB centered around 8 kHz. Obviously, omni capsules aren’t the first choice in most sound reinforcement applications, but with that added HF air, these are just right employed as room mics when live tracking gigs — or in stage miking applications in more open or high ceiling venues.
Summing Up
Overall, I really like what Telefunken Elektroakustik has accomplished with its first entry into a non-tube condenser design. The company has created an entire series of versatile mics that deliver exactly what they promise, sound great and have a lot to offer the live sound professional.
Thumbs up on these!
At a Glance
Clean, Wide Response, Fast Transients
Telefunken debuts its first non-tube condenser mic with flexible packages combining low-noise discrete FET electronics, interchangeable capsules and nice touches — such as included 90-degree XLR cabling.
Telefunken Elektroakustik M-60 FET
PROS: Versatile system; high SPL handling; low self-noise, fast transient response; smooth HF presence boost with natural top-end.
CONS: Fine threads on capsule require care to avoid cross-threading; package could include spare elastics for shock mount.
STATS
Single Mics (MSRP/Street Pricing)
M60 FET (cardioid, $695/$595); M61 FET (omni, $715/$605); Telefunken M62 FET (hypercardioid, $725/$615); M60 FET Master Set (M60 body with three capsules $1,095/$895).
Stereo Sets (MSRP/Street Pricing)
M60 FET Stereo Set ($1,375/$1,150); M61 FET Stereo Set ($1,395/$1,175) M62 FET Stereo Set ($1,405; $1,195); M60 Stereo Master Set, with two M60 amplifier bodies and six capsules ($1,945/$1,695).
Manufacturer: Telefunken Elektroakustik
More Info: www.telefunken-elektroakustik.com
