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Earthworks SR314 Handheld Vocal Condenser Microphone - Stainless Steel

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I have had fantastic results using it on guitar cabinets. Again that proximity effect is really awesome to dial in just the right amount of body. Trumpet, flute and sax all sat in the mix with great definition and realism. Spoken word is outstanding having used in at a graduation commencement. I'm gonna be sincere: I have a few of those vocal mics: DPA 2028, Neumann KMS105 and Sennheiser MD441. I don't have a "GREAT" ear to hear all the differences and the knowledge to know which of them would be "the one" for my vocals. SR314/SR3314 is designed to work with any hand­held wireless transmitter that utilizes a standard 3-ring concentric connector. This includes wireless microphone models such as Shure Axient, ULX-D, QLX-D; Audio-Tech­nica 6000, 5000, 3000 Series; Line 6 V75, V55; Lectrosonics and other compatible wireless systems with a 3-ring connector. The frequency response chart of the SR314 shows a fairly flat curve (about ±2 dB) from 20 Hz to 30,000 Hz at a distance of 5 inches, with minor dips at 4 and 8 kHz, and minor bumps at 10 and 16 kHz. At a 12-inch distance, the low-frequency response gently rolls off below 100 Hz to approximately -5 dB at 20 Hz. Signal-to-noise ratio of the SR314 is said to be 79 dB (A-weighted), and the mic can handle a maximum SPL of 145dB—so it should easily accommodate the loudest of screamers.

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 The 2028 I was very excited about until I realised the noise floor, which is just too high for me. The Earthworks apparently sound lovely but the noise floor is still an issue for me, and the polar pattern is too wide for live use in many situations. That SR314 is one of the prettiest mics I've ever seen, though, so extra points for that.If I was in a band, I would probably go with the 441, but since I'm mostly doing wedding cerimonies and private events, I think that maybe a condenser would be nicer to bring more detail in the vocals. I literally had a woman with a KMS 105 complaining it didn't work with her new Behringer portable PA speaker. 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 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

I used the mic to record a singing guitarist friend, mounting it in place of his preferred Shure SM7B dynamic microphone, and we were both immediately impressed with the accurate character it portrayed of his voice, with great detail and a ‘right-in-front-of-you’ presence. The sound was very natural and life-like, with a level of immediacy that is very attractive and which I have come to associate with Earthworks’ products.

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Handling noise was minimal when using the SR314, and what little handling noise made it to the capsule was easily removed using a highpass filter set to around 70 Hz (which I’d typically use anyway to minimize low-frequency spill). One thing I noticed about the SR314 is that it’s capable of producing tons of detail. If you choose to emphasize that with a bit of EQ, the SR314 will not disappoint. On one particular singer, a gentle boost of a few dB at 3.2 kHz and a slight cut at around 200 Hz brought the voice front-and-center of the mix, making it sound intimate without being harsh or sibilant. We hope this shootout helps you make a decision! If you want to know more about any of these mics or any of the other dozens of live vocal mics we carry, shop all of our dyanmic mics and handheld wireless systems, or give your Sweetwater Sales Engineer a call at (800) 222-4700. Of course, Earthworks have made dedicated stage vocal mics before — Paul White reviewed the SR40V in SOS December 2011, for example — but the SV33 takes a rather different approach as it is intended primarily as a studio vocal mic, with the company claiming to have “solved a number of problems normally associated with studio microphones”. As if that wasn’t enough, Earthworks quotes a “peak acoustic input” of 145db SPL! In the real world, that should all translate to a mic that sounds detailed, lively, and almost impossible to overload. But do the specs translate to real-world performance? First Impressions of Earthworks ETHOS as a Broadcast Microphone

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