SOMA Ether V2 Reviews

Soma Ether

Very nice piece of gear for experimenting with harsh noises and dystopian soundscapes.

If you want to record the electro magnetic fields that you hear, you’ll need a field recorder.

Does what it says!

Great little tool for capturing audio strangeness

Portable noise radio

Ether is surprisingly small and light, and does what is was designed to do.

It works well with headphones (A-T ATH-M60x), but when attached to a portable recorder (Tascam DR-22WL, phone) a constant hum is always present. Maybe changing the length of the connecting cable will help.

Also, the case is made of plastic, and to replace the batteries one must unscrew 4 screws - hopefully the batteries will last long, or the screw holes will not!

Great exploratory gadget

I’d seen lots of reviews and videos about this and similar products. Within seconds of setting it up I was picking up all sorts of weird and wonderful sounds around me. Perfect for adding that something extra to a track or sampling into something else. It’s light and very compact and easily fits in your pocket or in a bag. I guarantee you’ll be hooked.

Great machine to find and record electromagnetic noise

The Soma Ether is a great machine to find and record unexpected electromagnetic noises, as a basis for your samples or background sounds. The little machine is portable and can be hooked up with a recording device. You will find amazing sounds just by pointing this unit to lightbulbs, hard drives, mobile phones etc. The build is a bit plasticky, but sturdy enough for mobile use.

The sound of signals

This tool amplifies electro magnetic waves - it's a real discovery what goes on in a house or on the streets. Use the recording - via the stereo out into a Tascam handheld recorder - as atmospheric sounds for music and video.

Works on batteries for a long time and the 2 pins work as an amplifier when touched.

A different perspective

First of all, I’m a SOMA fan - I love how Vlad explores uncharted areas with his instruments. Ether was on my radar as not just another instrument but as an exploration tool to take on travels. It essentially grabs weird noise from the environment not very musical but very usable as interesting sound snippets. I’ve spent a full weekend with it in NYC, it was just stupid fun to see another dimension of the city.

Overpriced

Very limited sounds are generated from this unit. You are better off buying a short wave radio and you will gain far more odd frequencies to use or manipulate. I know it's not the same but most users from a music store not a science lab are looking for noises.

Static Electric

I wanted something to pick up electrical interference noise. Does the job. I managed to connect to my iPhone using AUM mixer. I was then able to record the sound I was hearing. Perfect.

It's alright but feels like it's made a bit cheaply

Feel like there's other devices like this that have a better sound quality and the case is really cheap. But it's a fun little thing, pocket size

Amazing source of organized chaos

A great tool to gather non-white noise, and to use as controlled-random CV (needs external amplification for proper CV, since it's earphone level), although of course the recording gear or whatever you're controlling will create its own noise.

By controlled random I mean that the signal is noise, but the specific noise changes with location/orientation, and it's easily reproducible (as long as you keep pointing it in the same direction :) )

Weird Mic for Weird people

I love this. It is at times soothing and others terrifying.

Great if you have a discreet/small handheld recorder, but plugged into my Zoom I was worried about dropping one or the other.

Pros -

You can get some amazing samples / beds using this

Cons -

It is very light plastic and I don't think it would survive a drop. Could really do with a shock cover etc or a wrist tie.

Overall though, it's a very specific purpose tool. If you want it you won't be disappointed.

Electromagnetic Sounds

What can I say? Soma makes some really great stuff and this one is so much fun to use.

If you like noise / drone music / ambient stuff than this is a must-have. You can pick up some amazing and unique sounds with this (and it gives you an excuse to go outside). The extra controls are a nice update on the last version and it's a sturdy little case.

Only Con: In order to change the batteries you need to use a really small screwdriver to open the entire thing. I love this device but this can be a little bit annoying, other than that it's great!

Clever wide Radio Receiver

This is something you could build yourself using coils and diodes and hours of fidgeting and meddling. On the other hand, this device receives radio energy in a wide spectrum and transduces it to audio. Built in headphone amp and external antenna contacts are a nice bonus. Its well built, solid feeling an excellent tool for grabbing radio noise.

Ok but could be better

The plastic casing and the total build feels like a 10 euro toy.

The screws which you have to take out to place batteries already got bent while opening it for the first time. No second output for headphone + rec out. Sometimes it seems that you have to restart the device because it gets stuck on some overdriven frequencies. There is much to be upgraded but a fun thing nontheless.

Interesting experimental device

When I heard about Soma Ether, it reminded me of transhumanists implanting magnets in their bodies - a device to grant a brand new sense for a human being. And I was not wrong.

Ether allows me to get a taste of the world that is hidden in plain sight - all the sounds are actually there, we just can't hear them normally. I can hear a clock on the other side of the wall, I can hear when a tram accelerates, I can hear wires in my walls. All the lamps, all the electric devices become things I can feel.

I feel a little bit deaf when I'm without Ether.

amazing....but

firstly sound and features are amazing and so happy with it. wanted one since v1

not a great idea adding screws to remove the back of the device to add batteries. screws are low quality and I can see they have worn down already just fro opening and closing the back once.

so will need to replace soon and will be a pain finding some to fit. its a design flaw imo.

once batteries are in and screws are down there are gaps in the case.. no great again moister can get in and water... seen as its a field device not a great design idea.