Earthworks M30 30kHz Omnidirectional Measurement Microphone Reviews
Ready to align your system? Don't rely on just any old reference microphone. Trust Earthworks. These guys have some of the most accurate microphones on the planet. This is a FIRST-CLASS reference microphone. Use it with your audio-band measurement system to get honest results, so you can tune accordingly.
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Highest Rated Reviews
Accuracy
This measurement microphone is the best I've ever used. The accuracy is incredible
Excellent mic!
I have a friend who introduced me to this mic and I couldn't believe how well it performed as a calibration mic while setting up my sound system. I decided to try one as and overheard to pick up all of my drums with the exception of the kick drum. I was totally blown away with how accurate the M30 picked up everything. I decided to buy a second one and use both of them to mic my drums. Simply amazing! Not only did they work for, but they freed up more channels I could use for other things. I recommend this mic with great confidence. If you can afford a couple of these, you won't be disappointed.
Great quality and very accurate!
This is a great quality build and had virtually no handling noise whatsoever. My other measurement mic seemed to pick up a lot of background noise but this M30 seems to know what is good noise and what is not figuratively speaking.
Perfect for my project
We purchased M30 mic for a very special project. We need to record very low frequencies and M30 works like a charm. Of course we had to pair the system with low Hz recorder and headphone as well and altogether the project become pretty pricey but at the end it was worth to hear the result. I recommend this product.
Killer microphones for recording!
I haven't purchased these myself but I used a pair of them on a solo celeste recording about a year ago and after finding the files again I can't not type this up.
Yes they're measurement mics, yes they're extremely flat and analytical but don't let that fool you. These are some outstanding sounding microphones. We ran them as a spaced AB pair through some Grace's in a beautiful sounding room and it sounded like you were sitting in the room with the mics. The only thing to note is yes the noise floor is pretty high as is standard with most EW mics, but given how ridiculously small the capsule is that's kind of a given so it's a compromise. It can be fixed with RX but it really doesn't need it, either way I can't recommend these enough and have been wanting to pick up a pair for a while now.
not for everything, but great at what it does
It's supposed to be a measurement microphone, but I love my M30 for recording.
This is an incredibly accurate microphone, which is simultaneously a good thing and a bad thing. Whatever the source sounds like is what you hear on the recording. If you have a good room, a good instrument, and take the time to find the right placement, this mic will make all the difference in getting a great "you are there" sound.
But one downside is its clarity. If either your room or your instrument sucks, the M30 will make it glaringly obvious.
Also, the mic's sensitivity can be a drawback. I used it for a drum overhead one time (of many), and kept hearing a "breathing" noise between takes. The noise nearly drove me crazy as I tried to figure out what it was and where it was coming from. It turned out to be the M30 (positioned at four feet over the drummer) picking up the breath of the drummer. The noise floor on this mic is very, very low. It allows you to hear the smallest amplitude noise clearly.
The M30 has no coloration. The frequency graph for mine has a variation from unity of less than 0.2 dBu across the spectrum (up to 22kHz). There is no "hype" or "thickness" or "grain" added to your sound. What's there is there, as far as sound is concerned. If you want "color", use a different mic.
But now that I've complained about clarity, sensitivity, and a lack of coloration, those are the reasons I keep reaching for the M30. It works well as a drum overhead, vocal (at a distance!), acoustic guitar, strings, and piano mic.
Bottom line: a great mic, but only if you have a quality source and a quality room. It's not my "desert island" mic though, which is my only reason I can't give it a full five stars.
