AR-51 Microphone Review - Reviews

The AR-51 is a nine-pattern valve mic that Telefunken has added to its more affordable R-F-T series. Huw Price tests its metal.

Price: £1,662.00
Manufacturer: Telefunken
Website: http://www.telefunken-elektroakustik. com

AR-51
Manufacturer Telefunken
Price £1,662
Contact Unity Audio 01440 785843
Web www.telefunken-elektroakustik.com

To make this an affordable microphone, Telefunken has used the metalwork from an Alctron HST-11A and fitted significantly superior components. The preamp circuitry of the company’s C12 and ELA M 251 has been re-created on a printed circuit board (PCB) rather than wiring the components point-to-point in true vintage style. But what a PCB it is!
Rather than the usual thin strips of copper, the traces are ultra-thick and silvery, so it’s obvious from the start that this is a quality item. We know from our own modding experiences that the HST-11A’s stock 12AX7 valve is best substituted for a lower-gain one (this provides more clean headroom; the usual choice is a C12/M 251-spec 6072A), but Telefunken has opted for an ECC81. This is a new old-stock valve, apparently of Mullard manufacture.

Off-and-on shore
‘Off-shore’ is the phrase that many US companies use rather than ‘Chinese’. In this case it applies to some of the AR-51’s body components. No one should have any concerns about the metalwork and we think the charcoal powder coating, the engraving and the black chrome look fantastic. The outer tube is steel rather than brass and it’s machined in the US.
The Chinese capsule might raise some eyebrows, particularly when competitors such as Peluso assemble their own in the US. However, Telefunken assures us that all of its capsules pass rigorous quality-control testing. Unlike the edge-terminated capsule you might have expected to find in a mic so closely modelled on the ELA M 251, the AR-51 has a centre-terminated capsule that looks more like a Neumann derivative.
The other ‘off-shore’ part is the German-made Haufe output transformer; it’s identical to the one used in Telefunken’s top-of-the-range C-12 and ELA M 251 E replicas. Inside the AR-51’s metal flightcase you’ll find a wood box, a PSU and a generic suspension mount. A generous 7.6 metres of Gotham Audio cable is also supplied. It’s well-regarded sonically, but displays an annoying tendency to twist unless handled carefully.

On the floor
It’s immediately noticeable that the AR-51’s noise floor is very low by valve-mic standards. This suggests that Telefunken’s quality-control department is certainly diligent about valve selection. The AR-51 has an enjoyably smooth sound through the midrange and plenty of detail in the top end. It falls somewhat short of the glistening, almost magical treble of the Telefunken ELA M2 50F we reviewed in Issue 57, but so does every other microphone we’ve tested thus far.
Making A/B comparisons with other similarly priced and spec’ed valve mics suggests that the AR-51 has a preset bass roll-off. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing – especially if you need to close-mic vocals, guitars or any other instrument – because you can do so without the sound becoming boomy. However, this should be a consideration if you’re looking for a large-capsule valve condenser to record instruments with lots of low-frequency content.

Pick it up
Output levels and tone quality are remarkably consistent across all nine pattern settings. Off-axis, cardioid displays only slight bass roll-off, while omni mode remains consistent all around. This is quite impressive for a large-capsule condenser, with which you might expect a bit more high-frequency attenuation at the sides.
Our tests showed the AR-51 to be a genuine all-rounder with plenty of detail, no obvious frequency colourations and an extremely likeable character. As such it should please recordists who appreciate the sonic characteristics of both vintage and modern valve microphones.

WHY BUY
Bright, detailed sound
Low noise
Manageable proximity effect

WALK ON BY
Cable tends to twist up
Preset bass roll-off

Verdict
Another very high-quality microphone that combines Chinese metalwork with US electronics and engineering expertise.
★★★★★★★★

Score: 8

This review first appeared in Music Tech Magazine issue 96
Filed under Home, Microphones, Reviews, Telefunken Microphone Reviews

/mtm/reviews/ar-51

New users, please register here

Please enter your details below to set up your new account. Fields marked with a red asterisk * are required.

Your name
*First name:
*Last name:
Job title:
Company:

Account settings
*Email address:
	Please make sure your email address is correct, as we will send you an email with a link to activate your account.
*Username:
	Choose a username between 7 and 100 characters in length, without spaces or unusual characters. You may use your email address as your username, but note that it may appear in community areas of the site where others can see it.
*Password:
*Confirm password:
	Choose a password between 7 and 100 characters in length, without spaces.
	Remember me on this computer

Your address and contact info
Address 1:

Town or city:
County or state:
Postcode or ZIP:
Country:
Telephone:
Fax:
Website:

	By registering to use the Music Tech website you agree to allow us to contact you with our Music Tech email newsletters featuring news, competitions, exclusive content and special offers, as well as with communications from our carefully selected music technology retail and manufacturer partners. If you provide phone and post details we may contact you by those means as well with special offers relating specifically to Music Tech Magazine and our other publications. WE WILL NOT PASS YOUR DETAILS TO ANY THIRD PARTY. If at any time you wish to stop receiving our email newsletter, simply follow the Unsubscribe instruction on our newsletter. Contact us by email of post if you wish your post or phone details to be removed from our database.

MTM 111	FXpansion BFD Eco Review For those who don’t want to go the whole hog and dish out for the full version of BFD 2, BFD Eco brings you many similar features...	MTM 108	Brainworx Vertigo VSC-2 Review Brainworx’s latest plug-in is modelled on a £3,600 German-built VCA compressor. Mark Cousins finds a head for heights.
MTM 108	Yamaha 01V96i Review The latest incarnation of Yamaha’s new digital console continues the evolution of the 01V. Mike Hillier takes to the stage.	MTM 107	25 Tips for Mix Processing There is a multitude of mixing tools and features to be found in every DAW, but how and when should you use them? Liam O’Mullane takes you through the options.
MTM 107	Control for Live Performance Marrying technologies old and new with the traditional aspects of live performance, controllerism is one of the fastest-growing arenas, both in terms of music itself and the kit we use to make it. Hollin Jones reveals how you can get a slice of the		Music Tech Focus - Ableton Live 2012 MTF Ableton Live 8, 2012 edition is on sale now featuring 132 all-new pages of Live 8 Workshops, tips, features and interviews - buy online now
	Music Tech Focus - Synthesis 2012 MTF Synthesis 2012 is on sale now featuring tutorials for Arturia, Cubase 5, Logic Pro 9, Massive, Reason 5, Razor, FM8 and more	MTM 106	25 Pro Tips for Kick-starting Composition Initial ideas that spark the songwriting process must inspire you enough to see it through to completion. Liam O’Mullane explains how he gets the fire going...

Telefunken AR-51 Microphone Review

Sign in to download this article

New users, please register here

See also...

Menu