Earthworks SR314 Handheld Vocal Condenser Microphone - Stainless Steel

Product Information

The frequency response chart shows a very flat response within +/- 3dB throughout the entire spectrum. As a result, the SR314 picked up quite a bit of spill from the instruments on stage, as well as from the rear wall and ceiling.

The 103 third parties who use cookies on this service do so for their purposes of displaying and measuring personalized ads, generating audience insights, and developing and improving products. I've watched many reviews with in studio use and it seems to shine on a variety of sources so it's not a one trick pony. Only downside is insufficient pop filtering, however can be mitigated by the usual means and also depends on user's mic technique. The SR314 has a wide sweet spot, captures plenty of detail, and effectively controls proximity effect.Being capable of reproducing sounds down to 20Hz and below, it demands some respect from singers, and although the grille incorporates pop protection, strong plosives still get through when used up close. The SR314 requires 24-48 V phantom power, and like all Earthworks mics, it draws the maximum permissible 10mA current. The SR314 is a cardioid condenser microphone with a pre-polarized capsule coupled to a transformerless preamp employing Class A electronics. Please give us the reason for your assessment in the following text box and – if possible – your e-mail address for further questions.

Agreed - being the in-house sound guy at your average small venue is thankless - a parade of no-hopers with the occasional bright light. Edit: I just checked, and the best rejection in the "no" area of the microphones, being all of them supercardioid, is the DPA, followed by the Sennheiser, and the 105 being the worst of them. At that point, you're really looking at the least-worst sonic result captured, whilst getting the performance.

The SR314 has perfect clarity and smoothness making it easy for it to cut in a mix and sit on top without overpowering any other elements in the mix. Like the SV33, the SR314 is an end-address mic that uses a small-diaphragm cardioid capacitor capsule; and, again like the SV33, its design is optimised not only to pick up the wanted audio with optimum clarity and faithfulness, but to reject off-axis audio evenly through the frequency range. An absolutely beautiful microphone, built like a literal tank and delivering a sound very naturally.

I'm gonna be sincere: I have a few of those vocal mics: DPA 2028, Neumann KMS105 and Sennheiser MD441. I was looking at these for a while and saw a review of one of these being used at Red Rocks in big wind and the metal sheath allowed for incredible wind resistance without cutting out the vocal quality so I was really intrigued. Singers get right up on the mic during live performances, and the screen did a nice job in catching most of it, but some heavily emphasized P’s still popped through.

It can accept sound pressure levels of up to 145dB, though Earthworks don't state what level of distortion is reached at that point, and sensitivity is a comfortable 10mV/Pa. While some microphones tend to get a bit clinical sounding if they’re heavily focused on accuracy, the SR314 does an excellent job of providing a musical and vivid sound. I've been looking into some higher-end mics for live ambient minimalistic music where tons of details in the vocals matter a lot.

I've yet to put it through its paces on recording other than voice, but I can imagine it doing very well on cello, flutes and other melody instruments. when I used to gig in the UK 10+ years ago, the one consistently great guy we had was also the promoter for the venue, so had a vested interest). Especially in the studio, if you close your eyes it's like if you listen directly to the person behind the mic without anything in between. It's a welcome and inviting sound that allows me to add some body to my tenor voice without losing the EW window of clarity. There is no polar response data supplied for frequencies below 400 Hz, but I suspect that the pattern is wider at lower frequencies, making it more susceptible to feedback in the low end (that’s probably also the reason why the off-axis response is so uncolored).

The SR314 is not only designed to capture its source with absolute clarity, but also to reject off-axis material in a natural-sounding way.