Warm Audio WA-251

A sound that has been heard on countless iconic recordings

Their acclaimed vintage-inspired compressors, preamps and microphones have rocked the price/performance ratio of pro audio, so when Warm Audio turned its attention to the godfather of large-diaphragm tube condenser microphones, you knew it had to be good. And it is! With its discrete, transformer-balanced vacuum tube circuit and custom capsule, the Warm Audio WA-251 has the huge, creamy sound of the beloved and revered '251. A sound heard on countless iconic recordings.

No sound source the WA-251 can't handle

Flash back to any top recording studio in the 1960s, and you'll see the well-known '251 everywhere. Now it ranks high in the pantheon of the best microphones ever made. It is this classic circuit design - which is more than half a century old - that Warm Audio has closely followed for the WA-251. This faithful replica uses a custom-made all-brass CK-12-style capsule. Three polar patterns and a robust 132dB SPL handling translate into incredible versatility; there is literally no source that the WA-251 cannot refine with its inimitable, seductive sound quality.

Explore the sonic possibilities

The WA-251's three polar patterns - cardioid, omnidirectional and figure-8 - give you tremendous flexibility in exploring the sonic possibilities of different recording techniques. With two of these excellent microphones, you can use stereo techniques such as spaced pair (A/B), XY (including Blumlein), ORTF array and mid-side (M-S). For a full orchestra, add a third WA-251 for the minimalist - and highly effective - Mercury Living Presence technique: three spaced omnis across the orchestra soundstage, centered above the conductor's podium. Set all three channels to unity gain, trim for the loudest musical peaks, and leave the faders alone. Let the conductor balance the orchestra (as nature intended).

A '251 for the rest of us

What can you achieve with the WA-251? Every studio needs at least one pair of high-quality large-diaphragm condenser microphones, and the Warm Audio WA-251 is designed after a legendary one. You can use the WA-251 on anything - with world-class results. It's simply stunning on vocals, acoustic guitars, double bass, electric guitar and bass cabs, piano, drums and percussion, strings, brass, woodwinds and any other source you care to use. In fact, you can measure an entire symphony orchestra with nothing but three well-placed WA-251s set to omni. Given its amazing value, it would be wise to purchase two for recording tracks in stereo. You haven't lived until you've heard a grand piano come to life with a pair of '251s. For drum room mics use two WA-251s and with one of Warm Audio's compressors you'll pop the roof off. Positively explosive!

WA-251 specifications

• Warm Audio WA-251
• large diaphragm tube condenser microphone
• directional characteristic:
  cardioid
  omnidirectional
  bidirectional / figure of eight
• frequency range: 20 Hz - 20 KHz
• impedance: 200 ohms
• connection (power supply output): 3p XLR
• included:
  shockmount
  power supply
  7-pin XLR - 3-pin XLR cable
  case
• dimensions: 46 mm x 247 mm
• weight (including power supply and accessories): 5.4 kg