The LS208 is the “microphone for microscopic details”. (given your pipes, your space/rig and other variables). It’s not just ethos, I guess 208 can intimidate pretty much every sought after industry standard in your mic-locker!
Night and day… the Lauten sounds so much better. In comparison the Ethos sounds like a toy. I got the Lauten after watching your recent videos and I couldn’t be happier. I used the Neumann U87 AI, Sennheiser MKH416 and UA Sphere DLX before and I really prefer the Lauten Audio 208. ❤️
I’m going to screenshot your comment and send it to Lauten. You totally get it. And let me say that the 208 has been killing it on auditions. Killing it.
Thanks for putting this out, Mark! A much-needed comparison. :) I agree with the Ethos sounding woolly, and having more bass! It's essentially a condenser SM7b with a bit more air. I think that was a smart move from Earthworks, since they're positioning it as a more aesthetically-pleasing, clearer sounding, faster SM7b. And I think they succeeded with that! Thing is, the SM7b sound is far from the "VO" sound. But in your shortgun mode, you really can hear that the Ethos goes up to 30 KHz. It becomes more of a mix-cutting VO mic. Listening back through my DT770 250ohms, I think the LS-208 is more neutral. I'm blown away by how much it cuts through that foam pop filter without sounding muffled or woolly. The EQ seems VO-ready as it is. This is just my observation, but I do think the 208 is slightly sibilant on your voice, as some s's have an almost-piercing whistle-like tone. It appears to have a bit more presence. I'd personally give it a smidgen of de-essing for your voice, for long-form narration. Of course, maybe that's what allows it to cut through a dense mix. If ever a Round 2 ever happens, I would love the hear the LS-208 without the foam, and the Ethos with a Hakan/fish foam filter. Just for fun. Really enjoyed this. Thanks for the great content!👏🏼
Thanks Dave! Yeah, the 208 often requires a touch of de-essing before getting sent out, so I can dial in that top end, but your'e right, it does get sibilant very easily. Luckily, it's also easy to handle if needed.
Yuuup I'm selling my Ethos took me bout thirty seconds to be okay with selling it once i tested the ethos. Using it without the pop filter was tricky with plosive control. I do a pretty wide range from husky feminine reads to bright annoying ones and reaaaally don't need help with bass. And even with the bass roller off the ethos isn't as detailed to my ear (except in the highs a bit), definitely less clarity though so the 208 handily won. The Ethos is fantastic for a classic broadcast sound though... And it's prettier hands down😅.
I totally agree. If I was filming a scene and needed either the 208 or Ethos as a prop for the protagonist to appear to be speaking into, the Ethos' slicker look would probably win, but this is possibly the only time I'd pick it over the 208 for a job. LOL.
Maybe I’m scarred from owning it in the past but I hear that faint whistle/wheeze (not sure how to describe it) Ethos is such a tease but doesn’t quite get there IMHO
I hear ya. I tend to be sibilant on bright mics and with work stuff I always put some de-essing on it before I send it to the client. Here, the tracks are unprocessed.
I haven't. And I too had a love-hate relationship with the 103 that eventually jumped off the fence to full hate. It's not the close-up voice mic everyone wants it to be.
To use an expression my dad would say, the Ethos sounds more "plummy" than the 208. Overhyped bass and lacking in detail straight out the box. I normally don't hear much difference between mic's but there's a big difference here. Ah, the "triangle of sadness". I won't be able to look at an aging model in the same way again. :)
I hadn't realized until I compared them how much EQ the Ethos needed to get where I wanted it to go, but yeah, in the absence of any, the Ethos feels like talking through a pillow.
@@MarkYoshimotoNemcoff 🤣 I really wanted to like this mic too because of how beautiful it was. I went through the EQing song and dance and got it close to where I wanted but still. There's just too many mics in the price range that would crush this thing in sound quality. I couldn't justify based on just the aesthetic qualities. On the plus side I got the Icon Pro and it sounds perfect. You should try it out.
:-D :-D :-D Congratulations on discovering what I've known for a long time that Ethos is yet another overrated trash. Maybe in time you will come to another discovery that the Shure SM7B is a similarly overrated muffleboy. Muffled, no detail, unpleasant sound like under a blanket or with earplugs. That's Ethos, that's SM7B. Lauten thanks to hi- and low-end is miles better.
The LS208 is the “microphone for microscopic details”. (given your pipes, your space/rig and other variables). It’s not just ethos, I guess 208 can intimidate pretty much every sought after industry standard in your mic-locker!
The Ethos is a perfectly fine mic, but yeah, it’s not a fair fight with the 208.
Yup, that 208 is really good! I bought one because of your vids on it. Thanks!
The 208 has been a total revelation.
much needed comparison!
I felt so. I had to know for the greater good.
Night and day… the Lauten sounds so much better. In comparison the Ethos sounds like a toy. I got the Lauten after watching your recent videos and I couldn’t be happier. I used the Neumann U87 AI, Sennheiser MKH416 and UA Sphere DLX before and I really prefer the Lauten Audio 208. ❤️
I’m going to screenshot your comment and send it to Lauten. You totally get it. And let me say that the 208 has been killing it on auditions. Killing it.
Thanks for putting this out, Mark! A much-needed comparison. :)
I agree with the Ethos sounding woolly, and having more bass! It's essentially a condenser SM7b with a bit more air. I think that was a smart move from Earthworks, since they're positioning it as a more aesthetically-pleasing, clearer sounding, faster SM7b. And I think they succeeded with that!
Thing is, the SM7b sound is far from the "VO" sound.
But in your shortgun mode, you really can hear that the Ethos goes up to 30 KHz. It becomes more of a mix-cutting VO mic.
Listening back through my DT770 250ohms, I think the LS-208 is more neutral. I'm blown away by how much it cuts through that foam pop filter without sounding muffled or woolly. The EQ seems VO-ready as it is.
This is just my observation, but I do think the 208 is slightly sibilant on your voice, as some s's have an almost-piercing whistle-like tone. It appears to have a bit more presence. I'd personally give it a smidgen of de-essing for your voice, for long-form narration. Of course, maybe that's what allows it to cut through a dense mix.
If ever a Round 2 ever happens, I would love the hear the LS-208 without the foam, and the Ethos with a Hakan/fish foam filter. Just for fun.
Really enjoyed this. Thanks for the great content!👏🏼
Thanks Dave! Yeah, the 208 often requires a touch of de-essing before getting sent out, so I can dial in that top end, but your'e right, it does get sibilant very easily. Luckily, it's also easy to handle if needed.
would be interesting to hear you on a sm4
The new Shure? I've reached out to @Shure a couple of times to see about getting some demo mics, but never heard back.
Yuuup I'm selling my Ethos took me bout thirty seconds to be okay with selling it once i tested the ethos. Using it without the pop filter was tricky with plosive control. I do a pretty wide range from husky feminine reads to bright annoying ones and reaaaally don't need help with bass. And even with the bass roller off the ethos isn't as detailed to my ear (except in the highs a bit), definitely less clarity though so the 208 handily won. The Ethos is fantastic for a classic broadcast sound though... And it's prettier hands down😅.
I totally agree. If I was filming a scene and needed either the 208 or Ethos as a prop for the protagonist to appear to be speaking into, the Ethos' slicker look would probably win, but this is possibly the only time I'd pick it over the 208 for a job. LOL.
Maybe I’m scarred from owning it in the past but I hear that faint whistle/wheeze (not sure how to describe it) Ethos is such a tease but doesn’t quite get there IMHO
I hear ya. I tend to be sibilant on bright mics and with work stuff I always put some de-essing on it before I send it to the client. Here, the tracks are unprocessed.
I have a love-hate relationship with my TLM 103...have you tried the Mik Tech 300?
I haven't. And I too had a love-hate relationship with the 103 that eventually jumped off the fence to full hate. It's not the close-up voice mic everyone wants it to be.
would you choose the 208 or the tlm 103?
Not really a fan of the TLM-103, so I’d probably pick almost anything else over it. But for my purposes, I prefer the 208.
To use an expression my dad would say, the Ethos sounds more "plummy" than the 208. Overhyped bass and lacking in detail straight out the box. I normally don't hear much difference between mic's but there's a big difference here.
Ah, the "triangle of sadness". I won't be able to look at an aging model in the same way again. :)
Plummy AF. You're not supposed to look at aging models anyway. It's not like they're real people once they start to wrinkle.
This is shocking to me!
I am actually a huge fan of Earthworks mics, but Lauten wins here.
I was honestly shocked as well.
I sent the Ethos back because it sounded muffled to my ears, bought the Icon Pro.
It was shockingly wooly and muffled.
I hadn't realized until I compared them how much EQ the Ethos needed to get where I wanted it to go, but yeah, in the absence of any, the Ethos feels like talking through a pillow.
@@MarkYoshimotoNemcoff 🤣 I really wanted to like this mic too because of how beautiful it was. I went through the EQing song and dance and got it close to where I wanted but still. There's just too many mics in the price range that would crush this thing in sound quality. I couldn't justify based on just the aesthetic qualities.
On the plus side I got the Icon Pro and it sounds perfect. You should try it out.
:-D :-D :-D
Congratulations on discovering what I've known for a long time that Ethos is yet another overrated trash. Maybe in time you will come to another discovery that the Shure SM7B is a similarly overrated muffleboy. Muffled, no detail, unpleasant sound like under a blanket or with earplugs. That's Ethos, that's SM7B. Lauten thanks to hi- and low-end is miles better.
Never been a fan of the SM7b. Last time I used one was for podcasting in the late 2000's and was not into it at all.