Review
2006.01.06
SoundeluxELUX 251 Tube Condenser Microphone
by Ted Spencer
PRO AUDIO REVIEW
WWW.PROAUDIOREVIEW.COM
Product Points
Applications: Studio
Key Features:
Multipattern (cardioid, omni, figure eight)tube condenser microphone; 1-inch edge-connected diaphragm; 6072A vacuum tube.
In the few brief decades of sound recording history, there are perhaps
only two vintage pro audio products that have reached "holy grail"
status, at least if the sky-high prices presently being paid for them
are any indication. One is the Fairchild 670 limiter (currently $20,000
to $25,000; $1,500 new in 1961) and the other is the Telefunken ELAM
251 microphone (currently $13,000 to $18,000; $650 new in 1965).
The Fairchild compressor was "recreated" by Fairman a few years
back, and now Soundelux has taken a shot at recreating the ELAM 251
with its newly introduced ELUX 251 tube condenser microphone.
Features
The ELUX 251, like the vintage Telefunken 251, has a 1-inch
edge-connected diaphragm, a sliding pattern selector switch just below
the grille (cardioid, omni and figure eight), a 6072A tube, identical
head grille spacial volume (which has a significant effect on the
sound), a diamond-shaped name badge on the front, a light green painted
body and a chrome grille head, the back half of which is painted flat
black.
Unlike the vintage ELAM (see "So What's The Big Deal?" sidebar),
the new ELUX is built to very high standards of quality. Sliding off
the outer casing reveals high-end components and construction
techniques that befit a mic with a list price of $5,000.
Its power supply not only matches the mic type, but is actually
matched to the individual mic it ships with; the manual recommends
against using any other than the original supply - the first I have
seen of such a practice. A travel case is included, but it is not
exactly a "flight" case since it is made of fairly light unreinforced
aluminum. It has fitted spaces inside for the various pieces included,
which aside from the mic and power supply are the shockmount, the cable
that connects the mic to the supply and a standard AC cord.
In use
To my delight, the ELUX 251 arrived at my studio door about two
hours before a session involving acoustic piano and a male vocalist.
After a quick look at its documentation, I plugged it in to warm it up.
Using a Neve 1073 mic pre and a Universal Audio 1176 compressor, I
patched directly into a 16-bit ADAT, bypassing the console (note: all
other recordings mentioned here were done either 24-bit/48 kHz to Pro
Tools or 24-bit/96 kHz to an Apogee PSX-100 converter/TASCAM DA-88).
When the session began and I pushed up the vocalist's fader, I was
quite simply blown away by the amazing sound of this very special mic.
Its gorgeous, clean extended top end, powerful lows and smooth midrange
were nothing short of breathtaking. It continued to amaze me as the
session went on, and both the vocalist and pianist commented very
enthusiastically about its sound.
I then tried it with two different female vocalists. In both
cases however, the ELUX lost multi-mic "shootouts;" the first by the
narrowest of preferences to a Telefunken U47, and the second (with a
very bright, almost harsh sounding singer) to a Stephen Paul modified
Neumann U87 with SP's custom HF roll off engaged. In these situations
the ELUX sounded like a superb mic that happened not to be the absolute
best for these particular singers. I do not feel that it really did
"lose" in either case, it was just nudged aside by some other very
heavy hitters in the mic locker. I am confident that most female voices
(or at least ones that are not unusually bright sounding) will be great
on it.
I had the privilege only once before of using an original
Telefunken ELAM 251, but I never forgot its silky, airy top end and its
overall sense of "there-ness." The ELUX 251 immediately reminded me of
that experience, enough so that a direct comparison seemed to be an
irresistibly good idea.
Chris Dunn at Dreamhire rentals in New York City (Web Sitecom)
graciously agreed to loan me a vintage ELAM 251 to compare to the
Soundelux re-creation. Dreamhire owns several ELAMs, two of which were
available here in NYC, and after listening to both on headphones at
their office, I chose the one that had more top end, a characteristic
this mic is well known for. But the fact that the other one had
noticeably less is a telling fact on the consistency of vintage mics.
I used the Telefunken and Soundelux 251s during sessions
involving acoustic guitars, percussion and wood flutes. Later, I
recorded myself playing acoustic guitar and piano, and speaking into
the mics. In all cases the two 251s were set up as close to one another
as was physically possible. It became immediately apparent that there
was a significant difference between them -prompting the first of
several phone conversations with David Bock, designer of the ELUX 251
as well as the other mics in the Soundelux line.
I found that the ELUX was consistently more "scooped-out"
sounding (less midrange presence), had a more extended and less
distorted top end, and more proximity effect than the vintage ELAM.
With my speaking voice, I also compared the two different 251s to the
Stephen Paul U87, a stock U87 (1977) and the U47. The ELUX was the most
scooped out of the lot. It complemented my voice exceptionally well,
though, and was my favorite for this application. Moving back from 4
inches to 8 inches as I spoke reduced proximity effect as expected. The
smooth, soaring high end remained thoughout, and sounded amazing.
In the case of the acoustic guitar recordings (which involved
several different instruments and placements of the two 251s) I felt
the scooped-out midrange was not a good thing, making the guitars weak
in the kind of presence that they might need, particularly if they had
to cut through a dense track. The vintage ELAM, by contrast, had a nice
punchy middle that would likely hold up better under those
circumstances, and generally seemed like an excellent choice for
acoustic guitar.
With the wooden flutes, the ELUX's top-end shimmer and smooth
presence rise from mids to highs flattered the instruments
exceptionally well, and was the easy choice over the vintage ELAM.
Likewise with the percussion tracks: the crisp, ultra-low distortion in
the top end and wonderfully smooth transition from mids to highs gave
the tracks an effortless clarity that was very satisfying, and
preferable to the ELAM. On piano, the openness, cleanness and "size" of
the Soundelux gave the instrument great warmth, detail and dimension,
although the ELAM was also superb.
I found the ELUX's omni pattern to be quite smooth and even all
around the mic, with the expected reduction in proximity effect. In
figure eight, however, I found the backside response to be so far from
equal to the front that it was, frankly, unusable. I called David Bock
to ask about this and he said he chose to optimize the design for
cardioid and omni, even if figure eight suffered a bit as a
consequence. He observed that on vintage ELAMs the figure eight
response was also erratic, so he felt a certain license to focus less
attention on that aspect of the design. Unfortunately I had to return
the Dreamhire ELAM before I could compare figure eight patterns.
Summary
Bock confirmed that voicing the ELUX somewhat differently from
the ELAM was a conscious decision - to depart from a strict "replica"
approach in favor of a mic that might more accurately be termed "in the
style" of an ELAM 251. A mic with some of the cherished characteristics
of the ELAM (particularly the incredibly smooth, extended, airy high
end), but different in the midrange and proximity effect areas to give
the mic a somewhat "larger" sound. While its departure from the ELAM is
slightly disappointing from one point of view, its overall greatness is
so unmistakable that the ELUX easily justifies itself.
I tip my hat to David Bock and Soundelux for creating a truly
superb new mic in the tradition of what is, for some, the greatest mic
ever made. This outstanding microphone will bring "holy grail"
greatness to many owners without requiring a second mortgage.
Ted Spencer, based in New York City, has been a studio owner and
engineer for over 25 years. He specializes in music and film score
recording, mixing and mastering.