25 years ago when Countryman introduced the world to the E6 earset microphone and the option to close-mic the voice, it was unique.  Copycats came along and the copies were often "flesh tone" or tan only.  Countryman has always offered light beige, tan, cocoa and black colors for the E6 to match flesh tones and we generally had suggestions on which color matched best.  Today, I am starting to think differently.

Several years ago, a former NFL player spoke at a large local church.  He's African-American, and the church put a tan DPA earset microphone on his head.  To me, it stuck out like a sore thumb and might have been considered insulting by the wearer.  He likely never said a word.

Several weeks later, the same athlete spoke at the church I attend, and I made sure that he had a black microphone to blend better with his dark beard and dark flesh tone while our pastor wore his standard tan earset.  I like to think that made a difference to him.

I know all about church budgets and making extra purchases for special events, so I "get it" why the other church just put a tan mic on his head.  Heck, maybe the black or brown mic the church wanted to use didn't work that day, for all I know.

My point is that black may be the best option if you want a sharable microphone for all flesh tones and types of facial hair.  Many tan mics are too orange or yellow to match Caucasians and Asians well, and it's always better to have a microphone that's too dark than too light on camera.  And most churches are streaming video today, so this is an issue for almost everyone.

Black goes with darker beards, darker skin, and lighter skin, too!  For a "white" guy like me, it's more than okay to wear a black microphone.  I often have a 5 o'clock shadow and very few people think twice about a miniature microphone being "too showy" 25 years after the concept was first introduced by Countryman.

Take a look at these options from Thor AV for black, brown and tan earset microphones with an included ("free") dual ear adapter.

 

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