Telefunken

Explore Telefunken vintage audio equipment in the Vintage Technology Archive.

Microphone

• M204E — Telefunken M204E four-track stereo reel-to-reel, c. 1966–68: 6W/ch, built-in speakers, walnut case, 7½/3¾ ips, £111 6s.
• M251 — Telefunken M251 (c.1958) — the AKG-built, Telefunken-rebadged tube condenser with AC701, 40Hz–13kHz, and a $7,500–$10,000 collector market.

Unknown

• 15-A — Telefunken 15-A: obscure pro open-reel recorder documented in 1970s Studio Sound ads and reviews. Thin archive file; known specs inside.
• 204-E — Telefunken 204-E quarter-track stereo tape recorder, c. 1966–1969. Vertical side-firing speakers, 6 W per channel, 40 Hz–18 kHz at 7½ ips.
• 204-T — Telefunken 204-T four-track stereo tape recorder, advertised 1968–1971. Claimed 40–18,000 cps at 7½ ips, separate record/playback controls. Thin documentation.
• 204-TS — Telefunken 204-TS all-stereo four-track tape recorder (c. 1968–69), three speeds, £124 19s, built to stringent German standards.
• 47-M — Telefunken 47-M (U-47-M) condenser microphone, known only from a 1955 roundup: polydirectional, 30-17,000 Hz, 50/200 ohm strap, $390. Little else documented.
• 85-KL — Telefunken 85-KL Magnetophon — push-pull EL95 valve portable, 30–20,000 cps at 7½ ips, 79 guineas, two oval speakers.
• EL34 — Telefunken EL34 power pentode — datasheet specs, push-pull up to 100W, and why the brand on the glass doesn't always match the factory that made it.
• II-18 — Telefunken II-18: a little-documented four-track monaural tape recorder from the late 1960s, known mainly from 1969 UK dealer ads in Studio Sound.
• KL-85 — Telefunken KL-85 (c. 1959) reel-to-reel — 30–20,000 cps at 7½ ips with a per-machine certificate, DC-heated preamp valves, and a static-prone belt drive.
• M-12 — Telefunken M-12 professional studio tape recorder, reviewed in Studio Sound (May 1975). Little other documentation survives.
• M-15A — Telefunken M-15A (M15A) professional multitrack tape recorder — floating isolated I/O, 16,900-ohm input impedance, microprocessor autolocator.
• M-207 — Telefunken M-207 Magnetophon (1969–1973): two-head reel-to-reel with 4.75/9.5/19 cm/s speeds. Thin specs, real parts support, messy pricing.
• M-28 — Telefunken M-28 (c. 1968–1971): a little-documented pro studio recorder family, known from Studio Sound coverage of the M.28, M28C and M28A.
• M-300 — Telefunken M-300, a mid-1960s half-track battery portable tape recorder. Period Studio Sound reviews document specs and a £34 13s price.
• Magnetophon 75K — Telefunken Magnetophon 75K portable reel-to-reel: two speeds, 60-16,000 cps at 3¾ ips, six-hour playing time, 52 guineas in 1960.
• Magnetophon 76K — Telefunken Magnetophon 76K four-track reel-to-reel, c. 1959-60. 12h40m from one 5½ reel, 30-16,000 cps at 3¾ ips. 64 gns in the UK.
• Magnetophon 85KL — Telefunken Magnetophon 85KL (c.1959-60): six-watt push-pull valve reel-to-reel in a luxury case, 79 guineas, twin oval speakers and magic eye level control.

Other Models

• 251E — Telefunken ELA M 251E — a multipattern tube condenser ranked among the most sought-after vocal mics ever built, cited by Mix alongside the U47 and C-12.
• AC-701K — Telefunken AC-701K subminiature triode — the broadcast-standard tube inside Neumann M49, M50, and KM mics, now scarce and expensive.
• AR-51 — Telefunken AR-51 tube condenser — ELA M 251E circuit design, NOS tube, $1,695 street. A budget-conscious modern classic for vocal and instrument work.
• CU-29 — Telefunken CU-29 Copperhead tube condenser — cardioid, NOS tube, custom transformer; reviewers called it present but not harsh.
• EF-800 — Telefunken EF-800 pentode tube — no catalog data survives, but NOS stock was spec'd into the Miktek CV4 condenser mic. A component with a reputation, not a paper trail.
• ELAM-250 — Telefunken ELAM-250 tube condenser — AC701, 40 Hz–13 kHz, omni/cardioid/figure-8. The midrange signature engineers still chase.
• ELAM-251 — Telefunken ELAM-251 tube condenser mic — one of the three most sought-after vintage vocal mics, ranked with the U47 and C-12. Reissues, market, and buying notes.
• KM-56 — Telefunken KM-56 small-diaphragm tube condenser — a first-call piano mic for engineers like Bruce Swedien and a perennial target in studio classifieds.
• M-10A — Telefunken M-10A tape machine — variable preview head assembly (6.4–16.5 in) made it the mastering-room standard for disc cutting.
• M28A — Telefunken M28A, a professional Magnetophon tape recorder advertised in Studio Sound (1971–72) at £600–£633. Little else is documented.
• Magnetophon M28A — Telefunken Magnetophon M28A professional tape recorder — three-motor transport, 3¾ and 7½ ips, £600–£633 in early-1970s Britain.
• MX-80 (1982) — Telefunken MX-80 (1982) PCM digital audio recorder — the first PCM deck with cut-and-splice editing, built by Mitsubishi. A specialist pro machine with a confusingly shared model number.
• MX-80a — Telefunken MX-80A — the European-badged Mitsubishi X-80A PCM recorder, 1/4-inch tape at 15 ips, 16-bit/50.4 kHz, razor-splice editing with auto cross-fade.
• TK-60 — The Telefunken TK-60 (sold as the Grundig TK.60) is a 1960 stereo tape recorder — 7½/3¾ i/s, 50–15,000 c/s, £134 8s, detachable speakers.
• U-47M — Telefunken U-47M reissue: NOS VF14 tube, BV8 transformer, M7 capsule, $7,495 MSRP. A faithful modern U-47 with caveats.
• UA-175 — Telefunken UA-175 tube limiter — the weird Fairchild-adjacent compressor that shows up in studio racks from Malibu to Jackson. A color piece, not a clean bus box.
• VF-14 — Telefunken VF-14 — the 1930s radio pentode Neumann built the U47 around. Scarce, microphonic, and irreplaceable.