sE V7 MK Review - Earthworks Ethos, Shure SM58 (USA), Beyer M88 For Comparison

Apparently a V7X with a V7 grille and a fancy 'paint' job... but how does it sound?
00:00 Introduction
00:35 How I Came By This Microphone
01:54 What The Manufacturer Says
03:34 Frequency Graphs
05:43 Close-ups From Above
13:19 Plugging In And Listening
15:46 Comparing to Shure SM58 & Beyerdynamic M88
16:48 Exploring The V7 MK - Highs, Lows, Breath, Pops, Polar Pattern Etc.
28:22 Conclusions
30:04 Mr. Manual Takes The V7 MK For A Spin!

[@defmike617]

The monacle appears at 01:53 you're welcome.

[@MrNicknayme]

The end of a broom handle works great to take the dents out of a SM58.

[@AntonBrowne]

Good tip.

[@JasonBugeja]

Yes, especially a wooden one with the end of it being a bit rounded. Works wonders!

[@MrNicknayme]

@@JasonBugeja exactly!

[@JayvonBeatzTV]

Thank you so much! Very grateful for your reviews (especially having a deep voice myself)

[@ToysForTheGods]

I was not even looking at this mic. Your video popped up and looked interesting. I really enjoyed the clarity and low end on this microphone compared to the SM58, I will probably order one of these in the next few weeks and see how it sounds with my voice, yours is a bit deeper than mine, but I feel like this mic would give me a little bit more of the richness I am looking for. Thank you for the video.

[@SiwasanChiewpimolporn]

That would be me.... Thank you for your review. I'm enjoy MK so much.

[@MrNicknayme]

Great video - as always. A guest star could have been the regular V7. Something I have wondered over the years: Is the hiss & hum test something that a viewer requested? I would suspect it to be of techical nature; that it’s to inspect a mic’s inherent noise floor, and if it has any hum noticable? Both could be inspected by turning up the gain a lot, and record silence. My KSM8 has a lot of hiss, as an example. (Maybe that’s just my particular KSM8 doing that.. I bought it used.. It might have been dropped on the floor or something..)

[@AntonBrowne]

Well, I plan to compare the three sE Vs before long. As for hiss & hum... no it was me hissing and humming into the mics to hear tonal variations but I'm not sure it's that useful. As to your KSM8, I will test mine and let you know.

[@daniel777L]

thanks again, anton!

[@thuyofficial2575]

I really like your videos, very useful Could you review the EHR-H microphone ( a handmade microphones brand from Sweden) which is well-know for the triangular capsule design. I took a look on the specs and found it was amazing. The Frequency response is very flat and that will the best option for the vocalists who are the big fan of natural sound ( jazz, blues, live performance) thank you so much.

[@TheOldMundane]

If you could get your hands on a Sennheiser MD441, I believe it would be an interesting showdown to compare it to the more "open" dynamics you have - the older M88's and perhaps the V7x - and also to some condensers. It's quite expensive for a dynamic, but the general consensus seems to be that it's a dynamic that approaches condenser like "airyness." I have not been able to test one myself, but I am on the search for the holy grail of dynamic mics, specifically one that offers full frequency clarity while rejecting room noise well in a space that is not acoustically treated.

[@scottbecker3485]

Take it with a grain of salt, but why does the MK strike me as slightly more sizzly in the mid to upper range than the 7x with the 7‘s grille as you swapped them in your earlier video? Could be my memory is playing tricks on me, but I feel I preferred the 7x with the 7‘s grille over this MK edition, despite them supposedly being with the same capsule. Maybe their production of capsules is subject to variation, either across production runs or over the years? (Different sourcing of components?) Would love to hear an A/B comparison of the two in order to find out if my ears are deceiving me.

[@mokad]

How does this compare to the sr117?

[@compdude512]

This is definitely a V7X on the inside. The capsule is a DMC7X, exactly what you'd find inside the V7X. The V7 has a DMC7 capsule. Love the V7 in any variant, but sE needs to work on better isolating the handling noise. Even the V7 MC1 cartridge is pretty bad on a Shure UHF-R handheld unless you throw a HPF on it and kill the low-end (as Anton showed here). Throw on an SM58 or Beta 58 cartridge and handle the mic the same way, and the handling noise is virtually eliminated-no HPF needed. It's really the only downside of a great mic. Well...that and the smell. I bought my V7 MC1 in 2019, and there are still undertones of that harsh, out-of-box chemical smell present.

[@aruraru6644]

15:45 The difference between the V7MK and the SM58 is huge.

[@azasoundz]

Model of your stand mic please

[@azasoundz]

Got it !

[@AntonBrowne]

It's a Rode, not sure of model but I think there's only one.

[@RockAndBlues7]

Jeff Goldblum

[@alexmegavolt9010]

About the rubber suspension in the microphone. Rubber ages, its plasticity changes. Sound too. I bought a microphone (beta green), which is almost 30 years old. And it wasn't used. Never. The rubber suspension of the capsule was deformed due to the fact that the microphone was lying on the shelf in the same position all these years. It was bent to one side. I leveled it with my hands, but the rubber was so stiff and inelastic that the capsule shifted to the side again. The sound was terrible. Therefore, the rubber in the microphone has an expiration date, as does the entire microphone as a whole. To extend the service life, you need to use a microphone, but even in this case, over time it will sound different. And probably worse than before.

[@user-yc3pt3om1d]

@Anton what can you say about this? he got point with the rubber though?...

[@usuallyscott7907]

Right, rubber, not so good. Is it, could it be, silicone?

[@alexmegavolt9010]

@@usuallyscott7907 Definitely rubber. Silicone is even more susceptible to aging in the air.

[@user-yc3pt3om1d]

@@alexmegavolt9010 how many years do you think it could be ruined?

[@alexmegavolt9010]

@@user-yc3pt3om1d It depends on the quality of the rubber and the storage temperature. Obviously, the quality has become worse now. You can find articles on the Internet about the aging rate of rubber. It is recommended to change car tires every 5 years. They work in more aggressive environments. For modern microphones, I think 10 years - then the difference with the new one will be noticeable. 15 years or more is already the limit. For sure, the quality of the rubber was better before, and the constant use for its intended purpose keeps the rubber in good shape, not allowing it to harden. That's why Anton's sm58 is in good shape. However, the current generation of microphones made in China at a low price is unlikely to last long. Therefore, you should not take excessive care of your new microphones, you need to use them before their properties deteriorate.