Earthworks ETHOS Streaming and Broadcasting Microphone — Silver

Product Information

Anyone who’s tried it will know that small‑diaphragm mics are perfectly capable of capturing the human voice. With some voices, in fact, they even have advantages over their large‑diaphragm brethren. Our tendency to put up a U87 or even an SM7B ahead of a KM84 when a singer walks into the live room is probably driven as much by habit as by genuine sonic preference — or perhaps by the unconscious expectation that a large and imposing mic will deliver a large and imposing vocal sound. Capacitor stage mics have been accepted in part because they outwardly resemble the moving‑coil models we know and love, but a typical pencil mic just doesn’t look the part for vocal recording. Small Is Beautiful Above you’ll find an example of how the Ethos sounds when flat and then with effects applied. I’m talking into the mic at a 45-degree angle, which is generally best practice for livestreaming as it keeps your face clear without drastically impacting sound quality.

The provided windscreen does a fantastic job of reducing the impact of plosives, further adding to the overall feeling of confidence I had when using this mic. The ETHOS is the successor to the ICON Pro XLR I reviewed last summer. It shares much of the same DNA, sharing the gorgeous stainless steel finish. It’s also designed around the same guiding principle of speed . They’re designed to capture the transients with the utmost clarity, allowing the mic to sound more true to life and realistic to the source. Sitting further away doesn't drop the quality, though I recommend choosing a better recording location than my bare-walled home office. The simplicity and setup speed make this mic a little more versatile than a podcast-focused XLR model. I expected the ETHOS to sound un-naturally bright, given that extended frequency response. In truth, the mic is extremely natural in its reproduction, with a very pleasant weight and detail to the sound when used close-miced on voice. Here at Gearnews we get sent a lot of press releases and see a lot of music gear; it’s therefore massively refreshing when we see a new and unique product. Last year Earthworks released its Icon and Icon Pro Broadcast mics which couples a beautiful mid-century aesthetic with premium audio performance. I liked them so much that they made my list of the best live gear of 2021.

Setting up

The SR314's polar pattern remains impressively consistent across the frequency spectrum.In terms of its other specifications, the SR314 is very similar to the SV33. It can accept sound pressure levels of up to 145dB, though Earthworks don't state what level of distortion is reached at that point, and sensitivity is a comfortable 10mV/Pa. The SR314 requires 24-48 V phantom power, and like all Earthworks mics, it draws the maximum permissible 10mA current. At the price, it's likely to be used in professional environments where this shouldn't be an issue, but it's worth knowing about if you take it out and about to unfamiliar venues. One solution that works: surprisingly, using the default grill style windscreen provided with the Icon Pro (also from Earthworks) on the Ethos gives the best compromise between plosives and liveliness and still sounds absolutely amazing. The chassis of the two mics are the same, so you can screw off the default foam windscreen and replace it with the Icon Pro's, if you have access to one, and see which you prefer. The Earthworks ETHOS XLR is a Broadcasting condenser microphone with a Super Cardioid Polar Pattern. The ETHOS by Earthworks is designed to push warmth and intimacy to portray the charisma of each voice, while providing natural, smooth sibilance that is not fatiguing to the listener. ETHOS is naturally resistant to handling noise and thumps thanks to internal dampening and robust stainless steel construction. The included Triad-Orbit M2-R ball joint mic adaptor allows precise placement and adjustments and is ideally suited to pair with a heavy mic arm or stand for optimal results.

One glance at the SR314 won't be enough for most people, in fact, because this is a stunningly good-looking microphone. The industrial design recalls the old Sennheiser MD416, with the solid part of the shell splitting into metal 'fingers' that enclose the grille, but without that mic's ball-shaped windshield. The polished steel finish is very classy indeed, and there's a sense of balance and proportion to the whole thing that just works. I'd go so far as to say that this is the best-looking stage mic I have ever used, and it never failed to attract positive comments from musicians. It can sometimes be a struggle to persuade singers to try a new stage mic, but they were queueing up to have a go on the SR314! Hear Clear Earthworks make several different sizes of small‑diaphragm electret capsule, and the ETHOS uses their 14mm design, configured here to deliver a supercardioid polar pattern. It can operate on phantom power from 24 to 48 Volts and, like other Earthworks mics, draws the maximum permitted 10mA from the supply. Sensitivity is a comfortable 20mV/Pa, self‑noise is specified at 16dBA, and the ETHOS is said to be able to cope with sound pressure levels up to 145dB, though the level of distortion this represents isn’t stated. The balanced, transformerless output has a nominal impedance of 65Ω. Strengths: perfectly crystal clear, lively, crisp sound. Not overly sibilant, but still has a nice sizzle at the high end. The mids are rich, and the lower frequencies, while somewhat difficult to deal with in an untreated space, are manageable and sound nice. For me, the flexibility of the Ethos and being able to place it in a wider range of spaces without suffering too much quality loss, combined with the overall more natural tone that is particularly receptive to EQ and compression, makes it a winner over my Shure SM7B. Both mics can be great, but it’s tougher to make the SM7B shine and, if you’re not fully concentrating on your vocal performance, it’s easy for the quality to drop off.The new Earthworks ETHOS is a supercardioid 14 millimeter condenser microphone with an extended frequency response that covers from 20Hz to 30kHz. It is able to handle extreme SPL levels up to 145dB, enabling even the most extreme of sports commentators to scream their hearts out. But its capsule was also designed to handle "the sound of relaxed confidence," as Earthworks describes the ETHOS. "It is sophisticated but uncomplicated, impactful without being hyped. And like all Earthworks microphones, ETHOS is built for speed and designed to capture every transient. That's the reason Earthworks microphones have been used during the Superbowl, at Mecca and Medina, and with the Pope," the company states. Transients are essential to articulation. We need them to understand the shape of a sound and our ears interpret sounds differently depending on how the transient is formed. You can think of most transients in an “above average” or “below average” mentality. The ETHOS is its latest microphone and is designed to take on the heavy hitters in the broadcast world. If you’ve watched a clip from a podcast or radio talk show, you’ve surely seen its biggest competitors, the Shure SM7B and Electro-Voice RE-20. The ETHOS is designed to target the exact same space but in a unique way, playing to the brand's strengths, earning the loyalty of professional broadcasters and recording artists. That also means it should be a perfect fit for podcasters, content creators, voice-over artists, and more — assuming you’re at a level where such a prestigious mic makes sense. Overall, I’m deeply impressed with the ETHOS. Indeed, it’s now part of my daily “tool kit” and I’d feel somewhat lost without it. But should you buy one with your own, cool, hard-earned cash?

Even with that factored in, you’re spending extra here. There’s no way around it. You’re paying for that extended frequency response range. You’re paying for the speed and clarity. You’re paying for the beautiful stainless steel chassis. You’re paying for that Triad-Orbit adapter. And yes, you’re paying for the pedigree of Earthworks Audio itself. So, there’s more on top, and you have to consider whether that differential makes sense for you. I didn’t have access to an SM7B or RE20 for this review, but I did have a Sontronics Podcast Pro handy, as well as a Sony ECM‑100U. The Sontronics is a good example of a dynamic mic designed for spoken word, with a HF response that starts to drop off at around 15kHz. And though the Sony is not at all aimed at podcasters, it is part of Sony’s premium ‘High Resolution’ range, and has a frequency response extending all the way up to 50kHz. But before I get onto comparisons... First Impressions Once again for this project, and like the other microphones in the ICON streaming family line, Earthworks partnered with Triad-Orbit to design a microphone adapter, able to hold and balance the stainless-steel microphone body. ETHOS ships with an included Triad-Orbit M2-R ball joint mic adapter allowing users to make precise placement adjustments. For maximum flexibility, the integrated M2-R swivel ball joint can be disconnected and re-mounted on any studio mic stand or boom arm. In audio, our perception of what feels real and natural is incredibly sensitive to resolution in the time domain. In particular, the level of detail present in the initial transient is responsible for much of our sense of content, meaning, and frequency balance. This includes defining attributes like “timbre”, “texture”, and “air”. Earthworks’ blazingly fast technology at the core of ETHOS ensures that every performance sounds like life.there's a bit of low-mid honk, but a couple dbs of cut around 300-400 cleaned it right up. no need to EQ out any harsh high mids, and esses were under control. In fact, this effect is easily observed both in listening to the mics and in their spec sheets. The Shure SM7B has a frequency response range of 50-20,000Hz. The Electro-Voice RE-20 comes in at 45-18,000Hz. The ETHOS, on the other hand, captures all the way from 20-30,000Hz. It’s this incredible sensitivity, and the impeccable design, that lends it such fantastic transients. The same couldn’t be said of the Sony ECM‑100U, which would pop and blast at the slightest provocation. That isn’t a very fair comparison, because the Sony mic really isn’t designed for close‑miking of speech — there’s precious little between the capsule and the outside world, unlike the Icon Pro, with its grille that essentially works as a pop filter. In other respects, though, the two sounded quite similar. Both exhibited the analytical sound you expect from a good‑quality small capacitor capsule, with a very detailed high end. it's very clean, no added color, which is great for straightforward VO but it's not necessarily what I'd call an exciting sound. for singing or hyped-up radio-style VO, I'd definitely go with an LDC or dynamic, something with more personality.

The Ethos microphone has a Triad Orbit M2-R ball joint adapter which makes adjusting the mic's ... [+] position much easier and more flexible. Earthworks Audio Let’s start out with the frequency response, shall we? 20Hz to 30kHz with a frequency response that is fundamentally flat throughout! You’ll also enjoy excellent directivity, as the polar pattern stays fundamentally hyper-cardioid throughout the frequency range. ETHOS is naturally resistant to handling noise and thumps thanks to internal dampening and robust stainless steel construction. The included Triad-Orbit M2-R ball joint mic adaptor allows precise placement and adjustments and is ideally suited to pair with a heavy mic arm or stand for optimal results. For streamers looking to graduate from USB microphones to something more professional, XLR condenser variants are top-shelf for broadcast-quality audio. You have a little more versatility than a dynamic model, and the higher sensitivity found on the Ethos means you don't need it placed right in front of your face at all times. Earthwork Audio's Ethos is an XLR condenser broadcast microphone with a super-cardioid polar pattern and removable foam windscreen. Based on Earthworks' reputation for building microphones with presence and clarity, the Ethos goes a step further, offering intimacy and warmth that matches any voice's sound while anticipating the sound engineer's needs. How do you achieve "natural" sound?

Rating

This microphone is legendary. However, even legends have (minor) weaknesses, which I'll discuss below. Voice-over quality XLR condenser broadcast microphone with supercardioid polar pattern featuring a natural, smooth sibilance, with a generous sweet spot and gentle proximity effect Earthworks Audio has taken the design and manufacturing process of the Ethos microphone extremely seriously, resulting in a sturdy and elegant construction loaded with high-end components. The design is straightforward, perhaps even leaning toward professional studios than desks of energetic gamers, but it's undoubtedly one of the best microphones for streaming if you want XLR.