Earthworks Ethos Broadcast Mic Review / Test (vs. SM7b, RE20, U87 Ai)

Today I review my new favorite broadcast condenser microphone, the Earthwork Ethos. This is an expensive mic, but it offers a powerful low-end without being muddy, a clear and detailed mid section without sound scooped, and an extended and open top-end without sounding over-boosted or artificial. It also rejects plosives extremely well handles handling noise like a champ. It’s expensive, but hacking shoot am I impressed by this thing.

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00:00 - Intro / Price / Disclaimer
00:35 - Setup
00:55 - What’s in the Box
01:18 - Build Quality / Walkthrough
02:10 - Specifications
02:36 - Polar Pattern Test (Tone / Rotation)
02:56 - Plosive Test
03:09 - Distance Test / Proximity Effect Test
03:27 - Background Noise Test
03:45 - Untreated Room Test
04:06 - Shock Rejection Test
04:24 - Mic Resonance Tap Test
04:41 - Windscreen Tone Test
05:24 - Intro to Comparison
05:48 - Shure SM7b Comparison
06:19 - Rode Broadcaster Comparison
06:52 - Electro Voice RE20 Comparison
07:23 - Earthworks Icon Pro Comparison
07:58 - Lauten Audio LS208 Comparison
08:38 - Neumann KSM105 Comparison
09:15 - Earthworks SR314 Comparison
09:52 - Neumann BCM705 Comparison
10:39 - Neumann U87 Ai Comparison
11:21 - Music Test
12:27 - Pros & Cons
13:28 - Overall Thoughts
15:17 - Recommendation
16:38 - Outro

#BroadcastMic #PodcastMic #MicReview

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[EarthworksAudio]

Another excellent review Bandrew! Thank you so much for covering ETHOS.

[danielk]

This thing is only $399 for the silver now!! I have been trying the SE Dynacaster for streaming and it's fantastic, however, once this thing dropped to $399 I HAD to snag one and I'm glad I did! This mic is phenomenal. The dynacaster is plenty but I do believe this is replacing it as my main for streaming.
I got both because of your reviews! Keep it up!

[MaSTARMedia]

Beautiful mic. Sounds incredibly crisp and clean.

[EposVox]

IT'S SO GOOD, the best you've sounded

[TheMillersBibleStudy]

I do a radio program and used SM7B for years....tried the EW Icon Pro and it was OK but for Radio this EW Ethos Broadcast mic is the winner by far...love it... also you have a great review.

[MellowXBrew]

You are honestly the only mic review person I consistently care to listen to for objective reviews

[HungryForTastyFoodAndComicArt]

Aesthetically, this piece is outstanding, mixing a bit of mid 1960's sci-fi with the shiny snazziness of gear from around 1979. The triad-orbit is beautiful in form and function, too! The self-noise of 16 dB isn't too bad, and the tone is "cuddly" without verging into "muddy". Excellent review! 👍

[VOByRobbins]

Great review as always, love the size of this Ethos, I'd lose the windscreen too-- sounds killer on your voice! could be a new Voiceover mic contender!!! Earthworks is killing it lately!!!! Thanks Bandrew!!!!

[jmclane]

You're the goat with the mic reviews FYI.

You were part of the reason I bought a the EW icon pro over a Shure sm7b! And I love it!

If I'm comparing the Icon that I own to the say the Ethos overall has a better baseline sound, but for the price difference....I think one would be just as happy with the Icon and doing a taste of processing for the desired sound. I'm using my ICON primarily for singing(my secondary mic) and a little bit of spoken word. And I run it thru a RND(trim a lot of gain) and then through a distressor... So I'm doing some tone shaping on the front end when I actually record. But earthworks is the sh*t

Btw...bought a pack of cheap little wind covers for like 12 bucks that work great for the ICON

Shout out to the gear community!

[NotEnvalid]

$700 and no sticker? What is this world coming to.

[ernestthompson]

Wow!!! That mic is incredible with your voice, especially without that foam windscreen. It is just smooth on it's tonal qualities. OK...here comes another purchase, darn it (smile). Always enjoy your complete equipment assessments, especially the mics. You narrow down the guess work as to "what might work best". Truly appreciate that. It has led me to many purchases with confidence. Thank you for your honesty and integrity with your evaluations. You are just "Fun" to come to for a balanced "NO B.S." unfiltered perspective. Very cool. Best to you and your endeavors in the remainder of 2021.

[ShawnMilo]

My thoughts (disclaimed: I have tin ears).

* SM7b seems to lack detail compared to the Ethos
* Broadcaster: Has a more abrasive/grating quality
* RE20 sounds smooth, not quite as "in your face" presence
* Icon Pro sounds lower-res. I have this and I'm not the biggest fan.
* Sounds very similar but sounds like there's an uncomfortable boost in the highs
* KMS105: Sounds really good, not terribly dissimilar, but lacks some fullness. Maybe lows?
* SR314 Very similar.
* BCM705: Sounds lower-res by comparison, like the sound is coming through a screen door.
* U87ai: Seems a little thinner. Maybe the low-end is boosted in the Ethos, but back-to-back the Ethos is much more pleasant.

[ThisIsTechToday]

Yeah, this thing does sound nuts. I have the icon pro and I love the built and sound. This one covers that high end sound that I am always missing from broadcast mics. Wow.

[jgurtz]

Absolutely loved the sound! My main quibble with the SM7b was not there—muddy/muffled low end—and wow, would love to listen to audio books recorded through this thing!

[Hablmet]

This sounds pretty pleasant, what the hell..then again I am happy with most mics Earthworks makes (SV33 being my favorite).
Love that that ball mount came back onto this one.

[rakeau]

The Earthworks site does list a windscreen for the Icon / Icon Pro for $75. That turns the contest from a $500 vs $700 test into a $575 vs $700 test - a much narrower gap in price. Would love to see a more thorough "versus" between the two.

Both of these mics seem like fantastic all-rounders and are beautiful to look at, I think the small size and minimalist approach is a big plus too, mics like the Procaster, RE20 etc just seem so massive by comparison.

[patbollin]

Great review. So far this is the only video I've found that has a direct comparison btwn the Ethos and the SR314. On paper, those two mics look almost identical. Seems like the physical properties of the two mics impact the way they take in sound quite a bit.

[timcity]

The RE20 always sounds SO good on close voice.

[ZachariahConnor]

Earthworks is honestly one of the most innovative companies right now. They’ve made the SDC fit into any context, excellent build quality, great looks, incredible sound.

[FrankTheTankA]

I really liked the Icon Pro. But damn, I REALLY like Ethos. I think I might just wait a bit to pull the trigger on the Ethos. I like how it's small, fairly "flat" frequency response, and how it treats air frequencies really help bring clarity out with it. Yeah, Earthworks killed it with this one.