About

Switched On: The Brand Reborn

TELEFUNKEN Elektroakustik was born out of the desire to develop restoration parts for some of the world’s most prized vintage vacuum tube-based microphones and in turn, preserve their legacy. Now in production for over two decades, the Diamond Series consists of the most historically accurate recreations of a handful of the most sought-after microphones ever made. The Telefunken Diamond found on every product continues to represent premium quality and craftsmanship.

TELEFUNKEN Elektroakustik’s origins began in 2000 with the reverse engineering of a single part known to break over time: the original ELA M 251E polar pattern selector switch. The true story is that after purchasing an original 251E with a broken polar pattern switch and realizing there was no suitable solution for this common issue with the actual units, current owner Toni Fishman set out to create a replacement and decided to revive the historical brand in the process.

After acquiring the rights to the name and iconic Diamond logo for use in North America and recreating the switch, the next two years were spent meticulously reverse engineering the rest of the ELA M 251E microphone to original specification, as dictated by original documents and drafts. With the 251E revived, the C12 and U47 soon followed before Telefunken created the R-F-T Series (predecessor to the Alchemy Series), a line merging vintage-inspired microphone designs and modern manufacturing practices. Dynamic and phantom-powered designs utilizing the same principles soon followed.