Legendary '251 Sound for Under $2k!
For the GA-251, Golden Age Project set their sights on what's arguably the most beautiful-sounding microphone ever built. The original ELA M 251 was renowned for its smooth, present, open sound, and the GA-251 approximates it beautifully. The Golden Age GA-251 is handcrafted to the tightest tolerances using top-drawer materials. Its sound has been honed through meticulous real-world testing. The result is a mic with a smooth, warm sonic character and, just like an original ELA M 251, the ability to inject any source with a warm bottom and airy top end. If you're a project studio owner searching for a centerpiece for your mic collection, then the GA-251 is a fine choice.
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K251-style capsule
The build quality of the GA-251 is impressive. Its body is made of brass, and its iron grille (a critical component that affects a mic's sonic character) is similar to the original. Its 34mm K251-style capsule is dual-sided to provide the GA-251 with both cardioid and omnidirectional polar patterns, supplying you with tremendous latitude in your recording techniques. In order to ensure consistency between units, approximately 200 capsules are evaluated for each production run in order to select 50 capsules with specifications that lie within the GA-251's tight tolerance specifications.
Vintage-spec tube and transformer
The GA-251 employs a NOS Phillip 5480W super-low-noise pentode tube connected in triode mode in order to decrease noise and distortion. The GA-251's amplifier boasts a new proprietary circuit designed around the NOS 5840W tube. The GA-251's custom-designed 10:1 AMI-style dual-bobbin transformer is made from permalloy steel sheet from the USA and enameled wire from Germany. You'll appreciate the superior quality of this transformer — it delivers a high-resolution sound with excellent sonic balance.
Capacitors and resistors
The French-made Solen coupling capacitor in the Golden Age GA-251 was selected for its delicate and balanced sound and boasts MKP material with pure oxygen-free copper connections. Its NOS Siemens antique-grade polystyrene capsule capacitor was selected for its very low loss. The GA-251's tube cathode bypass capacitor uses an ELNA OFC Cerafine high-end hi-fi capacitor from Japan, along with oxygen-free copper connections that produce a sweet and delicate character that's especially flattering on vocals. The other capacitors specified are low-loss polystyrene types. The GA-251 employs a high-quality DALE 1% metal film resistor for capsule voltage and a United States IRC plate resistor with pure copper connections. The result is a rich, full-bodied sound.
The best of vintage and modern
We all agree that vintage gear sounds awesome, but the reality is that manufacturing materials and precision back then were not up to today's standards. With the design of the GA-251, Golden Age takes a "best of vintage and modern" approach. The electronic circuit is mostly assembled using point-to-point wiring (as opposed to printed circuit boards); its soldering points are made with Mundorf Msolder Supreme SilverGold solder. Pure silver wire is used for the internal connections to ensure minimal loss and transparent sound quality.
This mic's vintage-style, low-noise power supply unit employs a high-power R-style transformer with a minimal stray field. The electrolytic capacitors are designed for high-quality audio applications. A simple, effective circuit applies dual-stage filtering to the filament voltage. The high voltage is precisely filtered and stabilized using an ON semiconductor zener diode. The PSU connecting cable is custom-manufactured using 99.99% pure oxygen-free copper, Teflon insulation, and tin foil and high-braid-density mesh cable shielding.
Vintage sound, without the headaches
Sweetwater's advice: locating, purchasing, restoring, and maintaining a vintage '251 would be both costly and time consuming. Golden Age GA-251 delivers the sonic essence of this classic mic, along with reliable, high-quality components, state-of-the-art performance, and a warranty — all at a price that won't decimate your studio equipment budget.
The Golden Age Project
The Golden Age Project was founded in 2005 on the belief that vintage gear sounds best and the desire to pass on this sonic legacy to a new generation of musicians, engineers, and producers. All discrete, Class A signal paths with no integrated circuits and the use of transformers, stepped controls, and military-grade build quality are the cornerstones of the legendary British equipment deployed in world-class recording and broadcast studios in the 1970s — the Golden Age of analog. Fat, warm, punchy, and authoritative — this is the sound heard on countless hits for nigh unto half a century. Locating, purchasing, restoring, and maintaining vintage gear is time consuming and costly. Fortunately, this small, family-owned Swedish company makes gear the same way it was made back in the day — at an amazingly gentle price.
A distributor of high-end studio equipment for many years, Golden Age Project founder Bo Medin wanted to be able to offer products with much of the same exclusive sound in a price range that made them available to a larger audience. Inspired by original designs, Golden Age uses modern technology to re-create that lush, opulent sound, making it surprisingly affordable. They use some modern ingenuity to add new functionality to superb classic designs and produce them in a cost-effective way, which allows them to be both optimized and affordable. From outboard equipment to condenser, dynamic, and ribbon mics, you can outfit your entire studio with vintage-inspired Golden Age gear without exceeding your budget.
Golden Age Project GA-251 Features:
- No-compromise, high-end components and build quality
- Handcrafted in small production runs of 50 units
- Point-to-point wiring, no printed circuit boards used
- Capsule specially designed to complement the electronic circuit of the GA-251, selected within very tight tolerances
- Membrane material: 6-micron gold-coated Mylar
- The sensitivity of the front and back side of the capsule do not differ more than 0.3dB
- Tight manufacturing tolerances for excellent unit-to-unit consistency
- All soldering points made with Mundorf Msolder Supreme SilverGold solder
- Cardioid and omnidirectional polar patterns supply you with tremendous latitude in your recording techniques
- Includes an external PSU and connecting cable, spider-type shockmount, solid wood microphone box, and tweed flight case
