A Classic Made Affordable

The classic 87is arguably the most widely-usedlarge diaphragm condenser microphonein popularrecording history. Rather than baseour WA-87 circuit oncurrent incarnations of this mic, wedecided to closely followthe earlycircuit designs that dateback nearly half a century.

As is true withmany classic microphones,engineers who have worked with different versions of these microphonesoften prefer the warmer, more forgiving nature of the earlier commercially availablemodels. The desire to re-introduce the warmtone of this classic mic at anaffordable price to an allnew generation of recording artists was the inspiration behind the WA-87.

Image by: Shaun Hudgens Artist: Faith L. of O’Keefe Music Foundation

It All Starts With The Microphone

The importance of a good microphone cannot be overstated; but unfortunately, finding a truly great microphone within a budget has always been challenging for aspiring engineers. There are very usable microphones available for those on a budget; but top shelf, classic studio microphones are financially out of reach for most people. We applied all that we know about bridging this barrier into crafting a microphone that reaches the level of quality and sonics mostly found only in top shelf products, yet sells for a price that is down to earth.

Quality Components Make A Better Mic

The WA-87 features all discrete, premium components such as Fairchild FETs, tantalum, polystyrene,and WIMA film capacitors, andis rounded off with a CineMag USAoutput transformer.

The WA-87 proudly usesour own Warm AudioWA-87-B-50V custom capsule reproduction stylized afterthe classic K87 dual backplate/dual diaphragm capsulefound in the early 87 microphones.

Born Out Of Need

When designing our first microphone we knew that the single greatest challenge would be to offer a capsule that was built to a high standard and priced in a range that every-day musicians and engineers could afford. We already knew where to find great microphone transformers, precision resistors, polystyrene, tantalum and WIMA film capacitors; but we came to realize that a quality affordable microphone capsule that met our specifications simply wasnt out there. We knew we would have to develop our own line of capsules.

The WA (Warm Audio) brand of capsule is the result of several years of research, a lifetime of listening, and a passion for great sound. Above all else, Warm Audio capsules came from the desire to give customers far more quality/value than what they are used to getting in an affordable microphone. Every Warm Audio capsule is made in the same small assembly house in a clean-room environment, and packaged in its own protective jewel case until the moment it is loaded into the microphone. Every capsule visually inspected and electrically tested for imperfections. Every capsule is also made with all brass parts (no teflon or other cost saving material), and is carefully skinned from the same supply of high purity NOS Mylar (PET film). We are confident that you will be just as pleased with our microphone capsules as we are to offer them, and that they will give you a lifetime of great recordings and enjoyment.

Technical Specifications

Download Product Manual

• LARGE CONDENSER STUDIO MICROPHONE BASED ON THE CLASSIC 87-STYLE CIRCUIT.

• POLAR PATTERNS: CARDIOID, FIGURE OF EIGHT, AND OMNIDIRECTIONAL.

• WA-87-B-50V CAPSULE. REPRODUCTION OF CLASSIC DUAL BACKPLATE (FOUR WIRE TERMINATION) K87 CAPSULE.

• -10DB PAD.

• CINEMAG USA OUTPUT TRANSFORMER.

• FREQUENCY RESPONSE: 20HZ – 20KHZ.

• SPL: .5% THD @ 125DB (WITHOUT PAD),132DB.

• DIAPHRAGM: 6 MICRON THICKNESS, 1 INCH DIAMETER, GOLD SPUTTERED MEMBRANE, NOS MYLAR (PET FILM).

• OUTPUT: 150 OHMS, 24K GOLD PLATED, 3 PIN XLR.

• HIGH PASS FILTER: 80HZ.

• NOISE: -117DB.

• MICROPHONE INCLUDES SHOCK MOUNT, HARD MOUNT AND WOOD BOX.

• COLOR: NICKEL.

Cardioid Frequency Chart

Figure 8 Frequency Chart

Omni-Directional Frequency Chart