WA87B Vintage-Style Condenser Microphone

The classic e87 is arguably the most widely-used large diaphragm condenser microphone in popular recording history. Rather than base the WA-87 BLACK circuit on current incarnations of this mic, Warm Audio
decided to follow early circuit designs that date back nearly half a century.

As is true with many classics, engineers who have worked with different versions of these microphones often prefer the warmer, more forgiving nature of the earlier commercially available models. The desire to re-introduce the warm tone of this classic mic at an affordable price to an all new generation of recording artists was the inspiration behind the WA-87 BLACK.

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
The WA-87 BLACK features all discrete, premium components such as Fairchild FETs, tantalum, polystyrene, and WIMA film capacitors, and is rounded off with a CineMag USA output transformer. The WA-87 BLACK proudly uses Warm Audio WA-87-B-50V custom capsule reproduction styled after the classic K87 dual backplate/dual diaphragm capsule found in the early e87 microphones.

It Had to Happen
When designing their first microphone Warm Audio's engineers knew 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. They already knew where to find great microphone transformers, precision resistors, polystyrene, tantalum and WIMA film capacitors; but they came to realize that a quality affordable microphone capsule that met those specifications simply wasn't out there. And so the research and innovation began.