TransAudio Group is the U.S. distributor of professional audio recording equipment, including ATC monitors, Tube-Tech processors, and, added recently, Telefunken Elektroakustik Diamond Series microphones.
A small contingent of TransAudio Group representatives – founder/president Brad Lunde, business development leader David Seal, and Western Regional sales manager Zach Winterfeld – recently traveled to Telefunken’s Connecticut headquarters and production facilities to witness the meticulous, part-for-part process by which Telefunken hand-builds the Diamond Series ELA M 251, ELA M 260, U47, U48, and C12 condenser microphones: workhorse recreations of vintage studio microphones.
Telefunken recently expanded its production facilities from 8,000 square-feet to 24,000 square-feet to try and meet demand.
“For someone who thinks a lot about what makes the best recording equipment so great, visiting the Telefunken production facility was a real insight,” Lunde reports. “In so many areas of technology – computers are an obvious example – the technology of today totally eclipses the analog technology of the 1960s, but certain pieces of vintage recording equipment are different. There was something completely unique about the designs and materials used, multiplied by the extreme “artisan” handcrafting of the day, that made these vintage AKG, Neumann, and Telefunken microphones so amazing.
“No stone has been left unturned in the effort to make these as close as possible to the originals. The “no expense spared” goal to recreate that famed sonic signature, that original feeling that is impossible to put into words but is clear to engineers that use these mics to make great recordings. Telefunken Elektroakustik has dedicated itself to nail down every aspect of these Diamond Series microphones, from internal construction to the external finish. I’ve never seen anything like it.
“There are thirty people out there in Connecticut working long hours to create something completely unique in the industry. This is exactly the kind of effort that fits with TransAudio Group as we too are dedicated to a specific purpose, helping those who build the “best of the best” to find those who seek the best of the best.”
