Lauten LS-208 - Shure SM7B? RE20? Try This Instead...

The LS-208 is a new kid on the block....but it came out swinging, and it definitely landed some punches. What do you get when you have a large diaphragm condenser with the off axis rejection of a dynamic? Well you get a microphone that makes me very happy. Here's how it sounds vs the Shure SM7B, RE20, and more :)

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(Please note these rankings represent my subjective tastes. These lists would change with different applications, so this is a bit of an oversimplification.)

TOP THREE BUDGET CONDENSERS:

TOP THREE BUDGET DYNAMICS:

TOP THREE CONDENSERS

TOP THREE DYNAMICS:

MY CAMERA SETUP:

MY STUDIO GEAR:

MY HEADPHONES -

[ChroniclesofGhoul]

Gotta be honest, the SM57 sounded great and full. Yet, so many people still say it's cheap and doesn't work for voiceover. You're about the only person online saying the opposite which I appreciate.

[LautenAudio]

😃Thank you so much for such a fantastic video, Ricky! We are so glad you love the 208!! If you get a chance, we hope you play with the filters. They cause your preamp to behave a bit differently because there is less information to amplify. (Ex. Setting the filters to 50Hz + 10k will be closer to the RE20 while still sounding open).

Thanks Again!!
- Lauten Audio family

[soundthealarm]

Maybe it’s just me, but I can’t stand the SM7b. I know it’s a familiar sound, but come on. Now this Lauten. Whoa…how cool is that? Great review. I am like a ton of people watching this and I feel like this will solve all sorts of problems. Well done Lauten and AudioHaze.

[techmed-rainer]

Blind test - got them right. My favourite here was the RE 20. And I realized once more, that I´m not a fan of the SM7B, though it´s a very familiar sound.

[amberwoodstudio]

I’m a lover of the RE20 and use often in the studio. Not sure their’s enough of difference to warrant the purchase. Gotta say I’m impressed yet again at the quality of the sm57.

Great shoot out

[Leoine]

I've been wanting this exact concept for so long. Thanks for letting me know it exists, never would have been on my radar.

I only wish it were half the price. You can get some fantastic mics for $600. SE T2, OC16, 441 Flex, LCT 540, WA14... Most of those are multipattern, and still $1-200 less. Enough extra for a pair of 57s or small diaphragm condensers. I'd take the more versatile setup, personally, but I'm glad this exists!

[Jakepf]

DUDE your hair looks SOOOO bad ass slicked back like that

Oh yeah, good video too haha

YOOOO I thought Mic 3 was the SM7B!! It sounded WAY more bellow-y and bassy on your voice. I got the first two right though, so I felt good about that.

[edclevel]

This video was the last piece of research I did before recently purchasing an LS-208. I do a lot of voice over work, often in a not optimally treated space, and the design concept of this mic seemed really sensible and appealing. And I have to say, WOW. It is a *great* performer, and punches waaaay above its weight in terms of value-per-dollar, IMO. I normally swap between an RE20, SM7b, and LCT 440 Pure, and not one of them has made it out of the mic locker since the Lauten arrived. This thing is kinda magical.

[latorreoscar]

i love how this mic gets the exact amazing tone of the RE20 but with the depht of a condenser mic

[conurus]

Bought this hoping for better room rejection and based on the polar pattern published by Lauten Audio, which you showed at 2:51. It looked too good to be true, looked more like a supercardioid or hypercardioid with no rear lobe, and certainly better than their Black series such as LA-220. The dB levels are not labeled but I assume it is the same 5dB/div. So I did some measurements in my "recording studio", that was not sound proof, there may be minor noise coming from traffic on the street, and room treatment was not any more than hanging a few blankets to cover the walls (but not the ceiling). Compared to a different cardioid mic, the signal/noise ratios are almost exactly the same. (Exactly the same on my voice and less than half a dB on my wife's.) That makes sense because room background noise is random and the directivity index (on-axis:ominidirectional ratio) of two cardioid microphones are supposed to be the same. Or it could be the LS-208 actually outperforming a regular cardioid mic just that I did not conduct a rigiorous-enough test to demostrate it.

Now, the mic gives me great results and I am the most impressed with the way that very little effort is needed to tweak, if any. It's a very "plug-and-play" mic! Thank you for your recommendation!

But I am still very much troubled by the polar-response graph that Lauten published. I shined a flashlight through the metal grille and there was only one capsule, which sits very near the end of the mic. So it is not second-order. (I suspect the LS-308 had two capsules.) If Lauten had sold me a hyper/super-cardioid mic I would have been more than happy, but tests indicate that the null is indeed directly behind the mic (180 degrees). How did they make the 90 degree rejection this good? (2:51) Any ideas/comments/opinions?

[ciaransmith]

Thanks very much for this great video! It convinced me to choose the 208 over the RE20 due to its extra clarity on my voice straight out of the box. Getting it right at the source and all that. Keep up the fantastic work!

[Caysekong]

I've been looking at comparison videos for weeks, trying to decide between an SM7B and RE20. Gotta say this video has helped me more than any other video so far 😂 Deff gotta drop you a sub, you make great videos dude.

[Samasiam]

Never a disappointment with your reviews. You've got it, information and delivery in the most useable, accessible way. And a cat. Still happy with my RE20 your review sealed the deal on. Definitely prefer the RE20 with your voice. In Ethan's case, he sounded really up front and overtly present on the Lauten, a bit more subdued "broadcast" on the RE20. Maybe a rare case of preferring the SM7 here. Very rare for me. Hypnotic voice in any case 👍

[billyhughes]

I just got LS-208 today, can't wait to try it out. The 4 mic blind compare was interesting -- I guessed wrong on all of them and 57 sounded best. Burp, ....

[SteveRockstein]

Hey AudioHaze. Thanks for this review, and your content in general. I record in a semi-treated suburban home studio. I bought a SM7b a while back and - like you- loved the room rejection but found it too dark for my voice. Not being ready to upgrade my gear, I found a happy solution I'd like to share. I combined an AT8022 stereo small condenser mic (great for acoustic guitars) with the Shure. The SM7b was angled parallel to the floor about 8 from my mouth and the AT8022 was angled perpendicular to the floor with the windscreens just barely touching at a 90° angle. Surprisingly, I had no phase issues and the two mic combo really brought out. the best of my voice. And from one vocal take, I get three tracks, compressing the center track and adding reverb/delay to stereo track that is panned slightly off center. Works for me. Keep up the good work, please.

[henrikpetersson]

Wow, the LS-208 really shined at the vocal test in the end. Very interesting mic!

[JackDenning]

Dude your passion for audio gives me passion for audio

[jmclaughlin]

Sounds great with your voice. Very clean sound. Great review.

[danielc]

I've honestly been coming back to this review almost every other day just to hear Ethan's song at the end. Is there a full version of this song posted anywhere?

[ulfonthetube]

A very warm sound. Thanks for reviewing this 👍