One of the few small diaphragm tube microphones available today, the Telefunken Elektroakustik ELA M 260 is an absolute first choice for acoustic instrument recording. Everything from stringed instruments to drum overheads will benefit from the 260’s perfect combination of small diaphragm precision and classic tube warmth. While not a historically accurate reproduction of the original ELA M 260 like the Diamond Series microphones, the new production ELA M 260 is still built with the same attention to detail and level of quality that would be expected from a TELEFUNKEN Elektroakustik microphone.

In use, the ELA M 260 has plenty of tone with excellent detail and clarity. It captures sources with a natural presence, making it a fantastic tool for recording acoustic instruments of all types. Violin, cello, upright bass, drum overheads, percussion, woodwinds, saxophones, strings, and especially acoustic guitar all shine through the ELA M 260. Also, despite its size, it has also served well on vocal applications. Its unique tonal character is very well suited for a myriad of applications, both traditional and not.

Hand-built in the USA, the ELA M 260 is designed around a NOS 5840W vacuum tube and a custom American-made output transformer. The circuit features premium quality polystyrene and electrolytic capacitors hand-plugged with a circuit board layout optimized for shortest distance traces to reduce impedance and noise floor. The combination of these features yields a small diaphragm microphone that is unique while also bearing the qualities of the vintage microphones that it was based upon.

ELA M 260 Cardioid Set system packages are supplied with one thread-on TK60 Cardioid capsule. Additional TK61 Omnidirectional and TK62 Hypercardioid capsules can be purchased and attached separately.

Each microphone system also includes a new M 902 power supply, M 860 25’ dual-shielded tube microphone cable with right angle female XLR connector, M 761 elastic shock mount, and compact zipper carrying case.