Video: Warm Audio's Entire Affordable Mic Line, Compared

If you’re at all interested in recording, you’ve probably heard of most of the truly sought-after microphones when it comes to large- and small-diaphragm condensers. You probably also know that the originals can get pretty costly. Thankfully, Warm Audio has been blazing a trail of super affordable mic designs based on many of these classics.

In our video above, we put nine of them to the test, including the brand new WA-CX12 (Warm Audio's take on the AKG C12) and WA-47F (in the style of the Neumann U 47 FET). You can also hear all of the full clips in a lossless audio format below.

The 47 Family

To start, Warm Audio has three flavors of 47, all part of the holy lineage of the Neumann U 47.

The WA-47 is a tube-condenser based on an amalgam of two flavors of the original tube U 47. It has a low noise floor, creamy and smooth top end, with a larger-than-life bottom-end that is beloved on vocals and acoustic instruments. It boasts nine polar patterns, for a huge array of uses.

The WA-47F is one of Warm Audio’s latest releases. It’s a FET condenser based on the U 47 FET. (Beginning in the late 1960s, Neumann began producing U 47 FETs once the original's tubes stopped being manufactured.) Because of this, the WA-47F can handle much faster transients and higher SPLs, which makes it a game changer for mic’ing drums and other instruments.

The WA-47jr is an extremely affordable FET-based, transformerless condenser that has a similar vintage reproduction aesthetic. Its 47-style capsule that allows it to be accessible for any budget, with just three polar patterns to choose from.

Vocal Mic Darlings

The WA-67 is a faithful recreation of Neumann’s U 67. The original tube condenser featured many technological advancements from the U 47 that allowed it to be more versatile and rugged in the studio.

The brand new WA CX-12, is another take on an all-time classic. In this case, it's the AKG C12, originally produced in Austria from 1953-1963. Warm Audio’s CX-12 cuts no corners on design and component quality, making a truly faithful recreation of the original C12.

The WA-87 R2 recreates the Neumann U 87, a transistor-based condenser that has become the most ubiquitous microphone of all time, due to its incredible musical versatility, reliability, and usage by just about any artist you could think of. The WA-87 uses high quality components like an NOS fairchild transistor, custom-wound Cinemag transformer, and a K-87 capsule that is designed to the exact specs of the U 87s produced in 1968-1972.

The WA-251 is based on The 1950s Telefunken ELA M 251, another mic considered one of the greatest vocal mics ever produced. The original 251 has become extremely pricey due to the rare components inside, but Warm Audio has managed to source and create parts that retain the 251’s incredibly musical properties on vocals, guitars, piano, and just about anything else.

The Sony C-800G—a modern classic beloved by pop and hip-hop vocalists—has never been cloned as often as the Neumanns and AKGs of the world. Warm Audio’s WA-8000 offers the smooth and versatile Sony design at less than one-tenth the price of the original.

Go-To Instrument Mics

The WA-14 is based on AKG’s 70’s studio classic C414. A studio workhorse for decades, the original 414 can be used on just about any instrument you can imagine and is known for its realism and thickness. The WA14 faithfully recreates the brass capsule that contains all the smoothness, top-end clarity and overall warmth of the original, at a fantastic price.

Stepping into the small-diaphragm world, we have the WA-84, based on the Neumann KM-84–one of the most famous small condensers ever created. The KM-84 is generally known for its natural, flat response and its use of off-axis pickup. This makes it great on acoustic stringed instruments, snares, hi-hats, and drum overheads—but Motown also used 84’s as vocal mics to great effect.


All of these mics would make great additions to any home or pro studio±and you can buy them all from shops at Reverb.

Vintage U 47s & Modern Clones
Want the classic Neumann sound on a smaller budget? You're in luck.
Learn More
comments powered by Disqus

Reverb Gives

Your purchases help youth music programs get the gear they need to make music.

Carbon-Offset Shipping

Your purchases also help protect forests, including trees traditionally used to make instruments.

Oops, looks like you forgot something. Please check the fields highlighted in red.