Earthworks SR314 Handheld Vocal Condenser Microphone - Stainless Steel

Product Information

anyway, sorry to hear that the situation (not only in terms of gear...) in live sound this bad across the uk! - around here, i haven't come a wimpy analog desk without enough juice for condensers in ca. 25 years... - if you still do, maybe carry a channel strip for the money channel? 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. The output levels of each mic were calibrated with a 1kHz tone originating from a dual-concentric Presonus Sceptre speaker.

I literally had a woman with a KMS 105 complaining it didn't work with her new Behringer portable PA speaker. 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.I mentioned the slim capsule behind the grille (and in fact the capsule diaphragm measures only 14mm in diameter, set within the mics’ large 50mm diameter grille); this small size is a key element in Earthworks’ optimisation of the time-domain performance, and is consistent with many of the company’s other studio microphones, of course. The microphone’s useful bandwidth is given as 30Hz to 33kHz (±2dB) measured at five inches (127mm), and that generous bass extension (for a cardioid mic) remains for more distant sources too. Bring the source and mic closer together and the proximity effect boosts the bass, inevitably, but in a well-mannered way that adds scale and warmth, without becoming boomy or uncontrolled. Like all Earthworks mics, the SV33 maintains the heritage of excellent transient clarity, and the company claim the SV33’s impulse response is much better than most large-diaphragm mics. Play Your Cardioids Right In any case, many portable PA speakers with mic inputs have no phantom power. Also, a dodgy mic lead will often pop loudly if intermittent, since some mics pop loudly, and even turn off for a few moments, even with very short cable drop-outs. It presents vocals with a natural, balanced response and maintains articulation without ever sounding strident. The SR314 is expensive when compared to other handheld vocal microphones (particularly dynamic mics), but it produces a level of quality aligned with its price point, and will be equally useful in studio applications.

What stands out to me is the stunning presence of the midrange and the ‘workable’ proximity effect. When I first tried it a giant smile came to my face. There is a beautiful body to the sound as you get closer; a sound that is neither boomy or bloated. This is a contrast to the SR40V who’s proximity effect is very slight in comparison. It’s a welcome and inviting sound that allows me to add some body to my tenor voice without losing the EW window of clarity. In studio recordings there was no need for any EQ. The vocals sat in the mix beautifully with an arresting quality. 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. For calibration the handheld mics were positioned in identical locations in front of a PreSonus Sceptre S8 dual-concentric monitor, and all the levels were matched using a 1kHz tone. For the preamp, we used the Millennia Media HV-3D preamp and recorded into Avid Pro Tools.

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What stands out to me is the stunning presence of the midrange and the 'workable' proximity effect. When I first tried it a giant smile came to my face. There is a beautiful body to the sound as you get closer; a sound that is neither boomy or bloated. This is a contrast to the SR40V who's proximity effect is very slight in comparison. It's a welcome and inviting sound that allows me to add some body to my tenor voice without losing the EW window of clarity. In studio recordings there was no need for any EQ. The vocals sat in the mix beautifully with an arresting quality. The SR314 is a diamond in the Earthworks vault. The sonic character embodies the amazing speed, clarity and definition that EW is so famous for; but there is something very special about this mic. I have done extensive testing with it not only on voice but with guitars and wind instruments. I used it mostly with their 1024 preamp, which I feel is still the greatest mic preamp on the market. One person’s “accurate transient capture” is another person’s “extended high‑frequency response”, so it’s no surprise that Earthworks claim a frequency response of 20Hz to 30kHz for the ETHOS. As this mic is intended for close‑up use, it’s voiced to give a flat response with the foam filter in place, and within the distance where proximity effect is apparent, not at 1m. The graph shows less than 1dB deviation from flat below 3kHz, with a gentle dip centred at around 4.5kHz and slight double peaks at 7 and 10 kHz. Even at 30kHz, the response is only 2 or 3 dB down. If you were to move from something like an SM7B to the ETHOS, I think you’d notice the difference as one of refinement and openness at the top end, rather than a night and day contrast in character.

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 Some microphones, especially budget condenser mics, can end up “fatiguing” to listen to for long periods of time. This can be a factor of overly-hyped EQ, low-level distortion, or even a combination of the two. In Use for Podcasting and Voiceovers

The Earthworks brand has long been associated with the production of high-quality condenser microphones designed for use not only in the studio and on stage, but for measurement purposes, as well. The company’s microphones are known for uncolored reproduction, extended frequency range and fast impulse response. The 4018 stands above all other condenser handhelds out there. The 441 is the best dynamic mic if you need that fatter dynamic tone. Less "fast" than the 4018, but amazing tone. Gentle reminder not to have your power amps/active speakers turned on when you turn on your mixer, you're gonna get thunderous popping) 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. 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.

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”.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. 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. Earthworks has achieved its goal of creating a studio-quality condenser microphone that can be used on stage. The SR314 has a wide sweet spot, captures plenty of detail, and effectively controls proximity effect. EW makes all of their products in-house in NH which means “Made In The USA”. Congrats to Taoufiq and the crew. This mic is inspiring.