Neumann M 149 Tube (1995–)
The first new Neumann tube microphone in over three decades.
Neumann's advertising at the time noted that the company had been building tube microphones since 1928, with the U 47, M 49, U 67, and KM 53 counted among its legendary models (Mix, August 1996, p.69). The M 149 Tube paired the K 49 capsule and headgrill from the classic M 49 with the transformerless FET 100 circuitry from the TLM 50 (Mix, November 1996, p.187).
Overview
Neumann reintroduced a tube microphone in the fall of 1995, and the announcement leaned on one line: the M 149 Tube was the first new Neumann tube microphone in more than 30 years. The company had been building tube mics since 1928, and the U 47, M 49, U 67, and KM 53 had become the reference points for the industry. Neumann didn't simply reissue an old design. It took parts from the old line and combined them with its modern circuit work.
The result is a hybrid. The M 149 Tube uses the K 49 capsule and headgrill from the classic M 49, the same acoustically achieved response that gave the older mic its reputation. Paired with that is the transformerless FET 100 circuitry borrowed from the TLM 50. Neumann's own advertising, which ran across the trade magazines through 1996 and 1997, called it "a modern microphone in the classic Neumann tradition." That fits: vintage capsule, modern electronics, no output transformer in the signal path.
The mic offers 9 polar patterns, selectable from the power supply, and a high-pass filter with multiple positions. The period advertising describes a 7-position or 9-position filter depending on which run of the copy you read, so treat the exact count with caution. Self-noise was quoted at about 11 dB-A in the original ad copy. That is respectable for a tube design, and part of why the M 149 found its way into critical recording situations rather than being kept for color duties.
In one documented session, a producer set up a spaced pair of mismatched large-diaphragm tube mics - a Neumann M 149 Tube alongside another tube condenser - high in the front corners of the room to capture ambient detail. Later the producer used the M 149 Tube alone in omni mode, with the musicians arranged in a circle around it, to record group vocals across six passes for a chorused ensemble sound.
According to Neumann's own product manager at the time, the M 149 Tube was quickly accepted as a benchmark in high-end tube microphones after its introduction. That is company positioning, not an independent verdict. The M 149 Tube Set was also given away as a prize in Neumann's 70th-anniversary Sound Engineering Contest in 1998.
It is not a cheap way into tube microphone ownership. Period dealer listings from the late 1990s show the M 149 Tube Set selling for about $2,800. The tube itself is a service item over the long haul, and any used example should be checked by someone who knows the power supply and the tube complement before it goes into a session. The capsule and headgrill are M 49-derived, and they are the part most worth inspecting closely.
Specifics beyond the capsule lineage, the transformerless circuit, the 9 patterns, the high-pass filter, and the roughly 11 dB-A self-noise figure are thin in the surviving documentation, so this page sticks to what the record actually supports. What's clear is that the M 149 Tube occupies a particular place in Neumann's catalog: a modern mic wearing a classic's clothes, built for engineers who wanted the M 49 character without giving up the quiet, uncolored signal path of the company's newer designs.
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