Lauten Audio Clarion - The Microphone that Left Me Speechless

EDIT: I've accidentally swapped the LA-220 and LS-208 names at 2:35, sorry about that guys.

Check out Ethan's Video:

This microphone blew me away, and seems to have blown you away too judging by the reaction the audience has had over the last videos. If you're looking for a Neumann TLM 103, look again. The Lauten Clarion is just....well just better.

(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:

TOP *yOu CaN'T pUT mE iN a bOx* MIC:

MY CAMERA SETUP:

MY STUDIO GEAR:

MY HEADPHONES -

[aquieteveningmusic]

Thanks for featuring my music Ricky! If anyone’s curious this song is called Cygnus and it will be released later this year

[LautenAudio]

This was amazing, Ricky. We are so glad you love the Clarion! To your question about the boost/pad switch - that is a pre-JFET circuit, so it actually affects the timbre of the mic itself, as well as your preamp (-10 is a hair warmer/+10 is a bit brighter). The slight imbalance in the shock mount is just shock band tension between the inner and outer ring. A little pulling on the bands themselves should fix that. The classic shock grind? Yeah, it's not you. It's because the ring does not have a bearing system, which has been proven to last forever. Having said that, it could be better so it should be better. We will look at it for sure.

[XtopherMartin]

Here less than 10 minutes after this drop. The cinematic openings are just unparalleled. I don't need a mic, but I watch every single thing this guy puts out.

[Bubbo]

this channel deserves way more. all your reviews are amazing

[themindunset]

I've never heard your voice sound so smooth and rich. This microphone sounds PHENOMENAL for you. I'd love to hear one in person. Love it. I love the OC18 and I'd love to hear this next to one.

[legacyShredder]

This is one of my all time favorite mics. I was an early adopter of this one, and I had always thought it would blow up in popularity. However, even up to this very day this mic rarely gets mentioned online.

[JimCardoza]

Really glad i found this, i had been thinking about getting a 103 but this probably sold me against that

[teko]

I actually got the Atlantis and I've been telling people that I like it more than a U87. I've worked on a lot of mics and Lauten Audio's mics are really damn good. And the prices are crazy. I think the prices will go up as their popularity grows. Hopefully not too much but they really are so good!

[Snaps]

The mic blind test was brutal (for the other 3 mics that is). And honestly, this is the first time I hear a vocal mic test that sounds fantastic. I don't know if it's the mic, your voice, the post-processing, the room or probably a bit of all four, but the final result is amazing.
Side note: I owned a TLM 103, and screwing the mic into the shock mount was indeed horrible too!

[joshuahart]

Look forward to seeing the new direction of the channel. I love your mic reviews but I’m much more interested in what to do with the mics we already have.

[JothanGurr]

Thank you for reviewing this bomb of a mic!

I've been using a Lauten La220 and it is so so good for my bass baritone voice!! Tons of clarity and bass which can be mutually exclusive for microphones in it's price range. I've done comparison between it and a bunch of other mics that supposed to be better for lower voiced singers like the Stellar X2, X3, Senheiser MK4, EV Re-20, and the Cad M179. The Lauten 220 smoked them all to my ears, easily

While I'm sure it can't compare with the Clarion in every way it is a great way to get some of that Lauten magic at a bedroom producer price.

[nalkainenkarhu]

I was looking for a new mic and your review convinced me to go for the Clarion. I also never click on links to buy stuff but I made an exception time. You are so humble that I feel that if I can do at least something to support your channel I will do it. Please keep putting such a good and fun content.

[ethanparr]

Great review! I am sooo close to picking up an LS-208 for my home studio streaming setup and it's nice to learn more about Lauten.

[savethefails]

man, there is just so much room in the blind recordings that it's not that great a test. I bet this thing would sound even better in a better treated space.
So much reverb.

Nice review other than that and even with the room tone, the Lauten is the winner. I've loved Lauten for a while now. The Atlantis and the 208 are marvelous.

[edclevel]

1) great review 2) really liking the tonality and value prop of this mic 3) Ethan has PIPES

[officialWWM]

It’s $1500 here in Australia. It sits in a pretty tough price point. There are a lot of choices in that price range but wow, it does sound stunning!
Also, put a little white lithium grease on that thread to make it smoother and every mic I own sits crooked in the mount and it does my ADHD brain in!

[NOLASkaGuitarist]

You can get the mic to not sit tilted by fiddling with the elastic bands, sometimes they have more tension on one side vs. the other and that's why it pulls the mic crooked.

[carminelombardi]

Great video.
After my due diligence on what studio mic I'll buy, this is the one Wow!

[hjvarfjell]

It sounds like an awesome microphone. Too bad I can't afford it. Doesn't take away from the fact that it's nice to know about it and that I'm glad I stumbled across your channel. I have yet to see uninteresting stuff on your channel and I am looking forward to your new adventures in developing it.

[stephankrain]

Nice review, especially the blind test of the four mics! :)) I liked the 3rd one (Lewitt 640 TS) best in this blind audition and thought it was the clarion. And for the A/B-listening-sample of your friend singing and playing the guitar, I think the recording even sounded better unprocessed! :D But nice job anyway. <3