Thanks for the review! My interpretation of Earthworks saying it has the "safety and familiarity of a dynamic" was that it has similar feedback characteristics to a dynamic microphone: i.e. the SR117 isn't going to be a hassle in small loud rooms with lots of stage monitors, something the SM58 is good at relative to most condensers. That's what excites me about this mic, a good multi-purpose live microphone, with condenser-like accuracy, and close to dynamic-like "safety" or easy of use in tough live sound situations.
Thank you again, very useful test and amazing singing! I commented on your other video too but the 'safety and familiarity' of a dynamic could be that in my experience the similar Earthworks SR314 seems have some feedback issues live with monitor speakers etc. and it is a pretty difficult mic to sing to live. Sound engineers seem to have trouble with it and that affects the performance sometimes. I only have live experience with it on quiet folk type acoustic stuff in 50 to 300 people indoor and outdoor venues. But it sounds great! Maybe Earthworks has tackled that with the SR117 supercardioid to make it functional and usable with all music styles and venues. Mic seems similar in design to Neumann KMS105 which works very well in all circumstances in many years of live use. But the SR117 has the low frequencies and more natural sound to it. And the price!
Thanks for keeping up the reviews. Love to hear you on some other mics, like Austrian Audio OC18, CAD E100S and Sx... But certainly a natural comparison would be the SR40V! They say the 117 is the best live vocal mic they have ever made -- bold statement. Now to this video. First, I noticed that it was -8.7 dB off the TH-cam -14dB normalization level allowable. And then on the "what do I notice immediately" segments I noticed that both segments have bumps in the sub-44Hz frequencies! The 117 goes from -54 up to -46 at 15Hz. The Ethos climbs to -38dB by 10Hz. A 40Hz high pass filter would be nice IMO. Finally, the primary differences I found in your recording were: 1) the 117 had a more pronounced valley at 117Kz which went down to -43dB, but the Ethos only went to -37dB; and then b) the 117 topped out at ~13.5KHz and the Ethos ~15.5KHz, while both dropped off pretty steeply from 9KHz, with just different slopes thus affecting the air. Ones cans will, of course, affect the impact and relevance of these numbers.
Thanks, I've been looking forward to this. On spoken word, I thought the SR117 lacked something in comparison to the Ethos - you described the SR117 as 'contained' and I think I know what you mean. However, when you were singing I found I was enjoying the performance rather than critiquing the microphone. In other words, I thought the 117 sounded great.
I have a 117. I find it pretty thick for singing. Takes EQ really well, but you do have to spend some time tweaking knobs to get any sort of punch. I appreciate it now, but was disappointed right out of the box.
I think we are so used to the hype of presence peaks (salt and sugar) that it can be disappionting when lacking. I think it takes a while to get used to a more natural sound and it may not be for everyone. It's a bit like listening to an orchestra in a good acoustic space, it can sound a bit uniteresting until you ears relax and then you hear detail and textures.
@@AntonBrowne I wholeheartedly agree. Initially I had written the 117 off as a dud, until one evening I heard our bass player using it as a talk-back mic, and I thought to myself “hey, that actually just, sounds like John.” So I’ve reintroduced it to the playground, and now it’s slowly but surely making friends with its more keyed up peers.
This is the one I've been waiting for. Thanks for the review, Anton. (Interesting that the mic is unbranded on the outside. Why?). I bought one of these a few months ago, and I have to say I was underwhelmed. Yes, with some EQ you can get closer to where you want, but I did miss the openness you demonstrated with the Ethos. So for me, it was a bit dull and lifeless. I won't be retiring my KMS105 any time soon.
Thank you Sir for a great review!!! I cant stop wondering if this mic is better alternative to KSM 8 for untreated room vocal recording, taking into account its openness weighed against condenser self-noise and room tone pickup tendency. Another words will its sound superiority (due to airy/openness) outweigh its tendency to pick up unwanted noise + self noise. Can KSM 8 be EQ-ed to get more like a KMS 105/SR117 sound or KSM 8 is doomed to be more on a boxy side anyway? Warm regards.
It’s weird how some mics sounds clear for one voice and for another voice looks muffled. I like a more brittle and crispy (and even with a tenor voice with good mid highs, I find it hard to find what I want ) I don’t know, I liked the e945 but sometimes it hits my ears so hard. And all the others sounds sweet and smooth, it’s like missing something I can’t find on Eq. And I really hated the v7 on my voice. My most go to it’s b87a, ksm9 (supercardioide)and ksm9hs(hypercardioide) but even being clear enough, it sounds smooth 🤔
Thanks for these great detailed reviews. You also said the KSM8 was "neutral"; I wonder how they would compare side by side... I'm on the fence between the 2. Condensers tend to sound better, but are more fragile. Will the engineer at gig xyz remember to turn off phantom before connecting/disconnecting?
Great to see and hear the Man. Thanks for an excellent review! Cheers! 🥂
Thanks for this comprehensive review. Thoroughly enjoyed watching.
Another masterpiece! Thank you for sharing your wisdom!
Many thanks.
Thanks for the review! My interpretation of Earthworks saying it has the "safety and familiarity of a dynamic" was that it has similar feedback characteristics to a dynamic microphone: i.e. the SR117 isn't going to be a hassle in small loud rooms with lots of stage monitors, something the SM58 is good at relative to most condensers. That's what excites me about this mic, a good multi-purpose live microphone, with condenser-like accuracy, and close to dynamic-like "safety" or easy of use in tough live sound situations.
Yes, thanks, I think your description must be what they mean.
Thank you again, very useful test and amazing singing! I commented on your other video too but the 'safety and familiarity' of a dynamic could be that in my experience the similar Earthworks SR314 seems have some feedback issues live with monitor speakers etc. and it is a pretty difficult mic to sing to live. Sound engineers seem to have trouble with it and that affects the performance sometimes. I only have live experience with it on quiet folk type acoustic stuff in 50 to 300 people indoor and outdoor venues. But it sounds great! Maybe Earthworks has tackled that with the SR117 supercardioid to make it functional and usable with all music styles and venues. Mic seems similar in design to Neumann KMS105 which works very well in all circumstances in many years of live use. But the SR117 has the low frequencies and more natural sound to it. And the price!
Thanks for keeping up the reviews. Love to hear you on some other mics, like Austrian Audio OC18, CAD E100S and Sx... But certainly a natural comparison would be the SR40V! They say the 117 is the best live vocal mic they have ever made -- bold statement. Now to this video. First, I noticed that it was -8.7 dB off the TH-cam -14dB normalization level allowable. And then on the "what do I notice immediately" segments I noticed that both segments have bumps in the sub-44Hz frequencies! The 117 goes from -54 up to -46 at 15Hz. The Ethos climbs to -38dB by 10Hz. A 40Hz high pass filter would be nice IMO. Finally, the primary differences I found in your recording were: 1) the 117 had a more pronounced valley at 117Kz which went down to -43dB, but the Ethos only went to -37dB; and then b) the 117 topped out at ~13.5KHz and the Ethos ~15.5KHz, while both dropped off pretty steeply from 9KHz, with just different slopes thus affecting the air. Ones cans will, of course, affect the impact and relevance of these numbers.
Beautiful Microphone. Thanks for your review
Thanks, I've been looking forward to this. On spoken word, I thought the SR117 lacked something in comparison to the Ethos - you described the SR117 as 'contained' and I think I know what you mean. However, when you were singing I found I was enjoying the performance rather than critiquing the microphone. In other words, I thought the 117 sounded great.
Thanks Anton, I bought the mic, and I love it. Cheers!!
I have a 117. I find it pretty thick for singing. Takes EQ really well, but you do have to spend some time tweaking knobs to get any sort of punch. I appreciate it now, but was disappointed right out of the box.
I think we are so used to the hype of presence peaks (salt and sugar) that it can be disappionting when lacking. I think it takes a while to get used to a more natural sound and it may not be for everyone. It's a bit like listening to an orchestra in a good acoustic space, it can sound a bit uniteresting until you ears relax and then you hear detail and textures.
@@AntonBrowne I wholeheartedly agree. Initially I had written the 117 off as a dud, until one evening I heard our bass player using it as a talk-back mic, and I thought to myself “hey, that actually just, sounds like John.” So I’ve reintroduced it to the playground, and now it’s slowly but surely making friends with its more keyed up peers.
This is the one I've been waiting for. Thanks for the review, Anton. (Interesting that the mic is unbranded on the outside. Why?). I bought one of these a few months ago, and I have to say I was underwhelmed. Yes, with some EQ you can get closer to where you want, but I did miss the openness you demonstrated with the Ethos. So for me, it was a bit dull and lifeless. I won't be retiring my KMS105 any time soon.
Thank you Sir for a great review!!! I cant stop wondering if this mic is better alternative to KSM 8 for untreated room vocal recording, taking into account its openness weighed against condenser self-noise and room tone pickup tendency. Another words will its sound superiority (due to airy/openness) outweigh its tendency to pick up unwanted noise + self noise. Can KSM 8 be EQ-ed to get more like a KMS 105/SR117 sound or KSM 8 is doomed to be more on a boxy side anyway? Warm regards.
Hello ,
Thanks for the video! Compared to the sr40v what is your opinion?
Ricardo Pereira
It’s weird how some mics sounds clear for one voice and for another voice looks muffled. I like a more brittle and crispy (and even with a tenor voice with good mid highs, I find it hard to find what I want ) I don’t know, I liked the e945 but sometimes it hits my ears so hard. And all the others sounds sweet and smooth, it’s like missing something I can’t find on Eq. And I really hated the v7 on my voice. My most go to it’s b87a, ksm9 (supercardioide)and ksm9hs(hypercardioide) but even being clear enough, it sounds smooth 🤔
Great review. Thanks.
Thanks for these great detailed reviews. You also said the KSM8 was "neutral"; I wonder how they would compare side by side... I'm on the fence between the 2. Condensers tend to sound better, but are more fragile. Will the engineer at gig xyz remember to turn off phantom before connecting/disconnecting?
Please. How is it compared to the sr40v???
It has a similar quality but the SR40V is somehow bigger and bolder.
@@AntonBrowneIt is so expensive and out of my price range as a 17 year old, but I feel like it would suit my baritone voice so well.
Hello Anton, I would like to know your opinion about the shure ksm9, it’s surprising that you have never talked about this microphone, with respect.
Hi Artur, I'm aware of the ksm9 and a student had one but I don't have funds to buy one just for testing.
the thing is that I look at all your tests, you have already shown everyone except shure ksm9, I think someday it will work out, regards
Can you compare the microphones Heil pr37 vs Senhheiser e945 or the Sr 117 please...
Would Hou consider reviewing the Audio Technica AE5400?