Handbook for Sound Engineers

Microphones 529

normally mount to a cushioned headband. A pivot
permits the microphone boom to be moved 20° in any
direction and the distance between the microphone and
pivot to be changed 9 cm (3½ in).
Another head-worn microphone, the Countryman
Isomax E6 Directional EarSet microphone, is extremely
small. The microphone clips around the ear rather than
around the head. The units come in different colors to
blend in with the background. The ultra-miniature
condenser element is held close to the mouth by a thin
boom and comfortable ear clip. The entire assembly
weighs less than one-tenth of an ounce and almost
disappears against the skin, so performers can forget it’s
there and audiences barely see it, Fig.16-80.
The microphone requires changeable end caps that
create a cardioid pickup pattern for ease of placement,
or a hypercardioid pattern when more isolation is
needed. The C (cardioid) and H (hypercardioid) end
caps modify the EarSet’s directionality, Fig. 16-81.

The EarSet series should always have a protective
cap in place to keep sweat, makeup and other foreign
material out of the microphone.

The hypercardioid cap provides the best isolation
from all directions, with a null toward the floor where
wedge monitors are often placed. The hypercardioid is
slightly more sensitive to air movement and handling
noise and should always be used with a windscreen.
The cardioid cap is slightly less directional, with a
null roughly toward the performer’s back. It’s useful for

trade show presenters or others who have a monitor

loudspeaker over their shoulders or behind them.

The microphone can be connected to a sound board

or wireless microphone transmitter with the standard

2 mm cable or an extra small 1 mm cable, Fig. 16-80.

Figure 16-79. Shure Beta 53 omnidirectional microphone
and its frequency response. Courtesy Shure Incorporated.

20 50 100 200 500 1 k 2 k 5 k 10 k 20 k

Hz

Standard Cap

Filtered Cap

+20

+10

0

–10

–20

dB

Figure 16-80. Countryman Isomax E6 Directional EarSet

microphone. Courtesy Countryman Associates, Inc.

Figure 16-81. Frequency response and polar response of

the Countryman E6 EarSet microphone in Fig. 16-80.

Courtesy Countryman Associates, Inc.

A. Frequency response.

B. 1 kHz polar response.

Cardioid cap Hypercardioid cap

0.25 in

1 in

24 in

24 in

Front

Null