I've tested more microphones than I can count, from budget USB options to XLR premium picks, and nothing has ever beaten my favorite. The Earthworks Audio ETHOS XLR microphone never saw any discounts during Black Friday, but it doesn't matter because it's worth the standard asking price of $399 at Amazon or B&H Photo. Forget Shure; THIS is your next XLR mic.
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Graduating to XLR is worth it for the Ethos alone
Earthworks Audio's flagship microphone is an XLR condenser option designed for broadcasters and professional streamers. Its price point might initially cause concern for newcomers. Still, I haven't stopped using it since my Earthworks Audio Ethos review. I tried it in a simple home setup to see how it could appeal to anyone looking to invest in a high-quality mic, and it proved its worth.
The standard silver model is packaged with a custom foam windscreen and a 3/8" screw thread adapter. However, the matte black variant jumps to an eye-watering $749 without including any extra accessories, so stick with the regular edition.
Earthworks Audio doesn't manufacture cables, and you'll need to provide 24-48v 10mA of Phantom power to power the Ethos. The foam windscreen performed admirably as a pop filter, even when positioning myself only a few inches away. Considering I've needed to pick up additional shields to clip onto previous microphones, this performance out of the box is incredible.
If the Ethos still feels excessive, the Elgato Wave DX is $69.99 at Amazon for Cyber Monday, with the Wave XLR for $119.99 at Amazon, offering one of the most affordable avenues for XLR microphones.
However, without any processing, the Wave DX does pick up a disappointing amount of noise. You'll need to use a set of post-processing plugins to shape your recordings into something more professional, which is a huge selling point for the Earthworks Audio Ethos when it skips that step.
