The Warm Audio WA-47jr SE is an interesting mid-range (£176) XLR cardioid microphone that offers a warm, rich and retro sound. It’s certainly not as capable as the legendary Neumann U47 vintage microphone that it’s designed to emulate at a tenth of the price, but it is at least capable of providing reliably detailed audio in a well-built chassis. This SE model is the cheapest version available, lacking the switchable recording patterns, 10dB pad and hi-pass filter of the more expensive vanilla WA-47jr.
- Polar pattern: Cardioid
- Fully discrete signal path
- Frequency range: 20Hz-20kHz
- Dynamic range: 138dBA
- Inherent noise: 9dBA
- Maximum sound pressure level: 147dB
- Sensitivity: 14mV/Pa
- Output impedance: 100Ohm
- Requires 48V phantom power
- Dimensions (H x D): 203mmx50mm
- Weight: 0.60kg
- Includes: mount and storage bag
Despite being an aggressively price offering, I appreciated the fact that the microphone came with a convenient soft pouch with a bit of padding, which is large enough to hold the microphone and maybe cram in a few extra gubbins as well. You also get a couple of stickers, a marketing pamphlet, an instruction manual and the screw-on hard mount.
The entire body of the mic is made of metal, with a metal grille at the top quarter and the diaphragm clearly visible within. There are no controls on this SE model, so the only other elements worth mentioning are a couple of Warm Audio logos/wordmarks, a WA-47jr SE label, a heart-shaped pickup indicator, threads for the included screw-on mic mount and the XLR output.
The entire assembly feels premium, and I didn’t feel worried about damaging the mic whatsoever. It also weighs a usefully high 540g, or 630g with the included mount. Heavy microphones are of course not as convenient if you spend a lot of time travelling with them, but I like not having to worry too much about my mic arm flying away as it sometimes does with lightweight microphones.
The WA-47jr SE sounds good too, with plenty of presence when connected through an Elgato Wave XLR audio interface. I ended up using around 60% gain here for most of my testing, which was plenty for recording a recent Digital Foundry Direct Q&A session even when I wasn’t right on top of the mic.
The sound is relatively clean, even when quiet, and doesn’t demand any significant equalising, which is always a relief when switching to a new mic. Likewise, plosives are well handled given the relatively open mesh. However, you can definitely notice if you bump the microphone, which I managed to do with my face during the above recording, so this is less suitable for an environment where you’ll be touching and adjusting the placement of the microphone while recording.
And of course, that warm, retro-inspired tone is really pleasant to listen to, even if it doesn’t have quite the body or presence of a higher-end microphone or the off-axis noise rejection of a dynamic mic.
Overall, the 47jr SE is a very capable microphone for the money, and well worth considering for voiceover; I’ve seen a lot of recommendations for recording musical instruments too. It could also work well for streaming, though you’d want to ensure you were recording in an area with little ambient noise and a quiet keyboard.