BeesNeez BN251 ELA M251

The BN251, BeesNeez’s part-for-part mechanical twin of the “original” Telefunken (AKG manufactured) ELA M251 microphone.

The “original” Telefunken ELA M251 was a microphone first designed in the 1950’s by the Austrian microphone manufacturer AKG and it came to prominence in the 1960’s. It was a joint effort between AKG manufacturing and Telefunken branding as well as marketing for this microphone. This “original” ELA M251 microphone shares no direct lineage with the currently produced version sharing the same name which is currently being made in the USA. This American-made ELA M251 microphone is itself a namesake clone of the original.

Over the last 20 years, the ELA M251 has made a huge comeback amongst recording professionals. It is renowned for its smooth and rounded yet airy tone. Countless hits over the decades have been made using this amazing microphone.

The History

The ELA M251, or “ELAM” as so many affectionately call it, came to fruition because Neumann was struggling to find quiet VF14 tubes for the U47. Telefunken Germany (the original Telefunken), who at that time was a huge customer for the Telefunken branded “Neumann U47”, needed a solution to the dwindling availability of microphones. This started communications with AKG, and the ELA M251 was the eventual result.

The Design

The E or export version of the ELA M251 used a 6072 (12ay7) tube and was designed to have 3 polar patterns. The pattern switching was contained within the microphone. One unique element to the ELA M251 design was that the internals were contained in two cartridges (the head unit containing the capsule and the Impedance converter which is more commonly known as the amplifier cartridge) that were field-swappable, giving Telefunken a very useful and very practical product that was easily serviceable with low downtimes.

In a market flooded with 251 microphone clones, why has BeesNeez decided to make one?

There are literally a dozen clones of this microphone out there to be had. At first, we resisted the urge to join the club, but over time, we really felt that we could contribute to our customers’ desire to own a truly magnificent clone of the “original” Telefunken ELA M251 without the price tag demanded by so many. The prices of the clones can be daunting as they range from $4500 to $14,000 USD, and the price of an original can set you back up to $40,000 USD.

What makes ours the same?

In our recreation of the ELA M251, our BN251 leaves nothing to be desired. We have made a true 1:1 clone of all external and internal Mechanical parts right down to the connector. We have even made our power supply to match the look and function of the original. This means that visually and sonically, this microphone is the perfect addition to any studio or artist wanting a 251 microphone.

What makes ours different?

It is well known that BeesNeez is the world’s largest manufacturer of CK12 microphone capsules. The BeesNeez CK12 is held in the highest regard as perhaps one of the best ever made. Many other microphone manufacturers purchase the BeesNeez CK12 capsule to use in their own products. The CK12 is the very heart of 251 sound. The 251 fully utilizes the split backplate multichambered design of the CK12 which is largely responsible for the incredible sonic qualities of the ELA M251 microphone.

Some of the available clones in the market use different versions and brands of the multichambered CK12 capsule; some even use our BeesNeez CK12 for their 251 clones. However, others have opted to use a similar-looking but vastly different non-multichambered edge terminated K67 style capsule and give it a “CK12 style” name. A true 251 microphone clone absolutely needs a true-to-form CK12 capsule; otherwise, it simply will not sound as it should. We at BeesNeez can accurately put forward that we have now made more CK12 capsules than the original manufacturer AKG ever did, giving us a distinct advantage in this regard.

Another area where BeesNeez excels is in the microphone output transformer design and manufacture. We have spent tens of thousands of hours researching and developing our skills and knowledge to fully understand what makes a great transformer. The original 1960s Telefunken ELA M251 had a Haufe T14/1 transformer. This was an L lamination dual bobbin humbucking transformer that had an unusually high core stack with non-linear shaped bobbins. This shape, we can assume, was more due to the necessary use of available parts rather than form and function. The small size of this transformer would have made it very complicated for the engineers at the time to create the necessary characteristics that were required for this component. Many of the other clone manufacturers have decided to try and recreate this transformer; however, it is widely known that the modern versions do not sound the same as the originals due to no winding documentation existing.

These days, with the invention of glass amorphous toroidal core technology, transformers that were once a weak point of any design can be made in such a way that they aid and assist the design rather than bottleneck it. A great transformer needs to accomplish only a few things: accurate impedance conversion and musical but linear frequency output. The challenge with early designs was as such: inductance requires a higher laminations count and higher turns count to achieve sufficient inductance for linear low-frequency output. A higher turn count requires a thinner wire size so that the wire can fit on the bobbins. Higher turn count, in turn, creates higher capacitance, which restricts high-frequency linearity. In addition to this, overall DCR (direct current resistance) needed to match the circuit so as to not overload the preamplifier. These problems, however, are a thing of the past when winding properly designed glass amorphous toroidal transformers. In our transformer, we have increased the inductance by a factor of six! We have also reduced the turns count by a factor of three and more than halved the winding capacitance as well as using wire sizes more than twice the original size. This equates to a transformer that is perfect for the task and sonically amazing.

Another thing that makes our BN251 different from other clones is that we search the world for NOS vintage vacuum tubes as we feel that no currently made tube can offer the sonics of its NOS vintage counterpart. These tubes, along with the Capsule, Transformer, and NOS components, make the BN251 a truly amazing microphone – a piece of history that can still be purchased new more than 65 years after its original design.