Golden Age Audio - GA 47 MKII

The Golden Age Audio GA-47 MKII is the culmination of meticulous research into the heritage of the U-47 microphone, with no attempt to copy a fixed model but to aim for what a perfectly working U-47 represented. Each GA-47 MKII is hand-assembled in a limited series of fifty units, in a dedicated workshop, with a level of component selection rarely seen in this price range.

The microphone body is machined from solid brass, while the steel grille faithfully reproduces the mechanical and acoustic characteristics of the original U-47. The capsule, a key element, has been developed to combine the qualities of the K47 and K67 capsules, offering a wide bandwidth, high sensitivity and a balanced response between bass, midrange and treble. For each production series, almost two hundred capsules are evaluated in order to select fifty with very tight tolerances, guaranteeing remarkable consistency from one microphone to the next.

The active section is based on a NOS Telefunken EF-800 tube, selected for its low noise and mounted in triode mode to reduce unwanted distortion and saturation. This tube is a modern glass derivative of the VF14M used in the historic U-47. It powers a specially designed 6.5:1 double-wound output transformer, a replica of the famous BV8 transformer, providing a full, structured and naturally musical reproduction.

The internal electronics are wired point-to-point on a top-of-the-range Rogers board, using hand-picked components. These include British-made Ciarit capacitors, ultra-low-loss MIAL polystyrene capacitors and American Allen Bradley carbon resistors, renowned for their warm sonic character. The internal cabling uses silver-plated copper conductors insulated with Teflon to preserve signal integrity.