That’s actually not an accident! I usually process my audio to get it sounding consistent and smooth, but this time I wanted to give everyone the chance to hear everything totally raw. No plugin magic or processing chains, just the honest sound of each microphone and nothing else. So it came out a little quieter overall than usual. Good ear!
I own both of these mics and I never use the 103 anymore. The 208 is so much easier to work with and just sounds great. In an untreated space, in a booth that may have some resonance, etc., the 208 shines. Just all around better sounding because of its forgiveness. It does exactly what they say that it does and it's superb. especially for the price.
Lauten Audio absolutely hit a homerun with this mic. I consider it a desert island mic for me and I have a fleet of 4 of them. SO versatile I consider it an SM57 killer...live and studio use. Between these and the Lewitt 441 Flex, just about all auxillary large diaphram uses typically/historically covered with an AKG C414 sound BETTER with these new mics. Thanks for the comparo!!
I've heard of the company but not that particular model. Very nice sound coming from both mics of course but the Lauten LS 208 is intriguing at $600. Great video.
@@karmagothits6268 Hi. I have used it for voice over and have no complaints there. I didn´t compare it to anything else, but it sounds very good. I have also used it live as the lead vocal mic for "singer-songwriter" type gigs. It sounds very nice and i get a decent level before feedback. :) All in all, I am very happy with the 208. :)
Hey Alex Thank you for being so unselfish and for helping so many people. Can you tell me the best interface for this microphone? The vocaster has a 70db gain. My vocal dialogue is not loud. But I value your opinion.
They’re different mics, but they’ll both get great results. The SM7B has a quieter output so you need to boost your preamp gain more - which could be noisier. The LS208 won’t need as much gain. Best thing to do is order both, test, and return the one you don’t prefer. Most places will allow you to do that so you won’t be out any extra cash! I personally liked the LS208 for my voice in my room.
Haven’t tried the Earthworks, will have to check it out! Their stuff is generally pretty great. For what it’s worth, what makes the Lauten compelling to me is that it’s a condenser that responds to its environment like a dynamic mic. It also works great on guitar and percussion if that’s your thing! 🥁 🎸
Hello Alex. I learned a lot from you and you gave me some confidence to go "professional" with audio recording. I am currently upgrading my setup for movie production (stereo recording/ambience). And yes, i know, there is always a microphone that shines in specific occations, but what i need now is some "allrounder" for outdoor and indoor work. I currently work with the Sennheiser mk600 as main, but have to match it with stereo pictures. What i stumbled upon: SE Electronics SE8 (cardioid=380Euro) Octava Mk012 (3 polar patterns=600Euro) Rode NT55MP (cardioid/omni=600Euro) Neumann KM184 (cardioid=1200Euro) Any expirience or suggentions? Did i miss some other good mics in this price range? Witch one for what, downsides etc. I would really appreciate some help, because i have no options to try them out and are relying on some professional suggetions/experience. For example, is twice the price here worth it, do i really need hypercardioid or is omni and cardioid enough? Thank you in advance for any help.
i'm starting to think that "use dynamic for untreated room, use condenser for treated rooms" is not at true as true as it seems, i'm using a samson cl5 handheld condenser that has -48db sensitivity, it didn't capture the echo in my untreated room as much, almost as good as my behringer xm8500 dynamic mic, looks like the deciding factor if a mic is suited for an untreated room is not just the polar pattern but also the sensitivity (less than -44db seems to works best in an untreated room). Dynamic mic usually has less than -50db sensitivity while large capsule condenser usually has -20db to -38db sensitivity, which might explain why untreated room is bad for most large capsule condenser.
Hey brother even I have seen fenneas recording tlm 103 hand held in untreated room and even he has mentioned that it’s his go to portable travel mic! Im considering tlm 103 over ls 208 what’s your opinion??
@@karmagothits6268 seems like tlm will capture more room tone than LS208 according to the specs. But i have no experience with both, so you should ask for more opinions.
Hearing the room never really bothered me in your videos (just my opinion...) But you might want to use this mic for other purposes. To my ears, the Lauten is harder sounding especially on the esses (there seems to be some emphasis in the 3-4KHz area) but it might be handled with a basic de-esser. Also, I find it a little bit less "coherent" in the mids, like there's the lows/low-mids on one part and 1K up on the other part, with no body to connect both. I don't know if it's clear ^^ Anyway, I'm nitpicking here, it sounds great and I had never heard of it so thank you
I'd prefer the Neumann, too. But for recording with a band live in a room or other problematic acoustic situations the Lauten seems to be a good alternative to "normal" condenser microphones. I'm tempted to give it a try.
IDK, to me these two are really not in the same league, but I can relate to the untreated room frustrations. But in that case the sm7b is even cheaper and I not sure if the Lauten sounds that much different. Perhaps that would be a useful comparison in a future video…
Very hard to hear this video - volume was extremely low / Loudness -13.3 dB according to Stats for Nerds - your videos are usually not this quiet
That’s actually not an accident! I usually process my audio to get it sounding consistent and smooth, but this time I wanted to give everyone the chance to hear everything totally raw. No plugin magic or processing chains, just the honest sound of each microphone and nothing else.
So it came out a little quieter overall than usual. Good ear!
Thanks for the great video Alex!
Thanks for making great mics!
I'd love to hear a comparison between the LS208 and the Austrian Audio OC16, covering both the sound and the room rejection.
I own both of these mics and I never use the 103 anymore. The 208 is so much easier to work with and just sounds great. In an untreated space, in a booth that may have some resonance, etc., the 208 shines. Just all around better sounding because of its forgiveness.
It does exactly what they say that it does and it's superb. especially for the price.
Brother I need to take a decision between these two model do you stop recommend 208 brother ??
So happy you're back
Lauten Audio absolutely hit a homerun with this mic. I consider it a desert island mic for me and I have a fleet of 4 of them. SO versatile I consider it an SM57 killer...live and studio use. Between these and the Lewitt 441 Flex, just about all auxillary large diaphram uses typically/historically covered with an AKG C414 sound BETTER with these new mics.
Thanks for the comparo!!
A great in-depth, analytical and insightful review. Thanks, man.
Thanks for the video. Always nice to see your videos. And please post more often.😊
I've heard of the company but not that particular model. Very nice sound coming from both mics of course but the Lauten LS 208 is intriguing at $600. Great video.
Alex is back! Dude I bought a Sony PCM-D100 because of you.
You made a great choice! Love that recorder, it’s honestly my most used.
Thank you for this! Needed it
This is a Damn excellent review. Thank You, I believe I have made my purchase decision.. Ls 208 !!
Brother would you still choose ls 208 over 103 have you made your purchase ?
Awesome vid! Can you recommend the best mic for hard rock vocals with easy to get mix, all in the $1400 and under range?
Very good video! Result: Just ordered a LS 208… 😎😎🇳🇴
Hey brother can you share your experience? With 208
@@karmagothits6268 Hi. I have used it for voice over and have no complaints there. I didn´t compare it to anything else, but it sounds very good. I have also used it live as the lead vocal mic for "singer-songwriter" type gigs. It sounds very nice and i get a decent level before feedback. :) All in all, I am very happy with the 208. :)
Hey Alex
Thank you for being so unselfish and for helping so many people. Can you tell me the best interface for this microphone? The vocaster has a 70db gain. My vocal dialogue is not loud. But I value your opinion.
If I wanna buy a Preamp for LS 208, for Vocal, what would be your suggestion?
Alex, have you tried the Senal SCM-660. Very similar to a $3600 Neumann U87, for $179. :)
For my ears the Lauten sound better.
I am considering sm7b and ls208. Is the noise control of ls208 as good as sm7b?
They’re different mics, but they’ll both get great results. The SM7B has a quieter output so you need to boost your preamp gain more - which could be noisier. The LS208 won’t need as much gain.
Best thing to do is order both, test, and return the one you don’t prefer. Most places will allow you to do that so you won’t be out any extra cash!
I personally liked the LS208 for my voice in my room.
I have a mic that I'd recommend over both - the Earthworks Icon Pro. Super underrated neutral sound and is simple and beautiful in design.
Earthworks sounds awesome! However, it might not be as great for background rejection.
@@Design475 No, it's a condenser, so it won't but the upside is the quality of sound is far better than a dynamic.
Haven’t tried the Earthworks, will have to check it out! Their stuff is generally pretty great.
For what it’s worth, what makes the Lauten compelling to me is that it’s a condenser that responds to its environment like a dynamic mic.
It also works great on guitar and percussion if that’s your thing! 🥁 🎸
@@KristianDowling Not all condesers are equal the Lauten thinks its a dynamic 🤣
@@Design475 haha true
Hey brother, what’s your opinion on the earthworks sr314 microphone
Great comparison. You have a good radio voice.
Hello Alex. I learned a lot from you and you gave me some confidence to go "professional" with audio recording.
I am currently upgrading my setup for movie production (stereo recording/ambience). And yes, i know, there is always a microphone that shines in specific occations, but what i need now is some "allrounder" for outdoor and indoor work. I currently work with the Sennheiser mk600 as main, but have to match it with stereo pictures.
What i stumbled upon:
SE Electronics SE8 (cardioid=380Euro)
Octava Mk012 (3 polar patterns=600Euro)
Rode NT55MP (cardioid/omni=600Euro)
Neumann KM184 (cardioid=1200Euro)
Any expirience or suggentions? Did i miss some other good mics in this price range? Witch one for what, downsides etc.
I would really appreciate some help, because i have no options to try them out and are relying on some professional suggetions/experience. For example, is twice the price here worth it, do i really need hypercardioid or is omni and cardioid enough?
Thank you in advance for any help.
if you want stereo recording, you might want to look into matched pair microphones, so that they don't record at different volumes.
i'm starting to think that "use dynamic for untreated room, use condenser for treated rooms" is not at true as true as it seems, i'm using a samson cl5 handheld condenser that has -48db sensitivity, it didn't capture the echo in my untreated room as much, almost as good as my behringer xm8500 dynamic mic, looks like the deciding factor if a mic is suited for an untreated room is not just the polar pattern but also the sensitivity (less than -44db seems to works best in an untreated room). Dynamic mic usually has less than -50db sensitivity while large capsule condenser usually has -20db to -38db sensitivity, which might explain why untreated room is bad for most large capsule condenser.
Hey brother even I have seen fenneas recording tlm 103 hand held in untreated room and even he has mentioned that it’s his go to portable travel mic!
Im considering tlm 103 over ls 208 what’s your opinion??
@@karmagothits6268 seems like tlm will capture more room tone than LS208 according to the specs. But i have no experience with both, so you should ask for more opinions.
Hearing the room never really bothered me in your videos (just my opinion...) But you might want to use this mic for other purposes.
To my ears, the Lauten is harder sounding especially on the esses (there seems to be some emphasis in the 3-4KHz area) but it might be handled with a basic de-esser. Also, I find it a little bit less "coherent" in the mids, like there's the lows/low-mids on one part and 1K up on the other part, with no body to connect both. I don't know if it's clear ^^
Anyway, I'm nitpicking here, it sounds great and I had never heard of it so thank you
Your voice sounds good over both mics. The Lauten does sound similar to a broadcaster’s voice.
Nice upper midrange on the Lauten. It's better than the Neumann. I have a TLM103. It can be bright. Nice work. Thank you.
Lauten over Neumann when it comes to most models
More pro content please!!!!!! 👍👍👍
Nothing beats a Neumann. The Lauten sounds a bit rough and nasal at the top end.
I'd prefer the Neumann, too. But for recording with a band live in a room or other problematic acoustic situations the Lauten seems to be a good alternative to "normal" condenser microphones. I'm tempted to give it a try.
Could u make a tutorial for sound for beginners like for TH-cam the decimals level the editing audition
So is this just an ad or what? Never heard an explicit statement from skimming through.
Nope, but we're happy he made it!
IDK, to me these two are really not in the same league, but I can relate to the untreated room frustrations. But in that case the sm7b is even cheaper and I not sure if the Lauten sounds that much different. Perhaps that would be a useful comparison in a future video…
Hey can you explain sound for beginners
Neumann vs. samson g track
there's an even cheaper option, Rode m2 with fethead phantom
Like whenever u ppl talk I can't understand the sound lingo