condenser

Hollyland Lark M1 – Wireless Lavalier Review

Hollyland Lark M1 – Wireless Lavalier Review
9.4/10

Hollyland Lark M1 is a very compact set of wireless lavalier clip-on mics. It comes with a charging case and it’s capable of broadcasting both microphone channels independently via stereo 3.5mm output. Both transmitters and the reciever are light weight and minimalistic, yet provide all the vital features such as switchable noise reduction, stereo/ mixed output mode, volume boost and LED status indicators. Extremely small footprint along with an attractive price tag almost makes you…

Read More

Rode Wireless GO II review

Rode Wireless GO II review
9.2/10

Rode Wireless GO II is an excellent miniature professional wireless system consisting of two (2) transmitters, 3.5mm output and an on-board recorder. It is a successor to a highly successful first generation of GO with more features added to it, although the audio quality of both is same. Transmitters or the body packs have built-in mics to get you started, but more often than not, it is used with plug-in lavalier mics. Any generic 3.5mm…

Read More

Pixel Voical Lark X – Wireless Lavalier System Review

Pixel Voical Lark X – Wireless Lavalier System Review
7.5/10

Pixel Voical Lark is a wireless system consisting of two lavalier mic transmitters, a receiver and a portable charger box. It doesn’t have many features: a single volume control for both mics, outputted as single channel via 3.5mm TRRS connector. Then there is a noise reduction mode, which can be enabled individually on each transmitter. Finally, it delivers a real-time monitoring for headphones, and an additional input for mix-in; the headphone amplifier is quite powerful….

Read More

Pixel Finch lavalier mic for iPhone review

Pixel Finch lavalier mic for iPhone review
8.5/10

Pixel Finch lavalier microphone is a very decent and affordable solution for iPhone and iPad users. The biggest advantage is high build quality and cable length. The cable is a single loop and plugs straight to your phone. It is much more reliable than using any adaptors and extensions required for use with other lapel mics. In terms of sound quality it can be compared to entry lavaliers from mainstream brands, which is notable. Overall…

Read More

Fifine K780A – USB Streaming Microphone kit review

Fifine K780A – USB Streaming Microphone kit review
8.4/10

Fifine K780A is a bloody cheap full size USB condenser mic that comes as a complete package with all the necessary accessories. Most importantly, it includes a decent boom arm, which alone would cost around $20 plus, not to mention the shipping. This is especially true if you would have to buy all the individual parts separately: the mic, shock mount, a foam, boom arm and a pop filter. So, that’s where most of the…

Read More

Maono PM500 – Budget Cardioid LDC Review

Maono PM500 – Budget Cardioid LDC Review
9.4/10

Maono PM500 is a very affordable large diaphragm condenser, suitable for streaming, podcasting and home studio recording. It exhibits a uniform response and produces a natural, mellow sound. Unlike most condensers in this price range, it is quite consistent when miking up close and doesn’t seem to be affected by proximity. PM500 isn’t too sensitive and so you don’t have to worry about sounding harsh. Consequently, it is possible to record a clean audio even…

Read More

Rode Videomic NTG – compact USB/3.5mm shotgun

Rode Videomic NTG – compact USB/3.5mm shotgun
8.4/10

Rode Videomic NTG is a hybrid DSLR / USB mic of a compact size that can be mounted both on top of a camera and on a tripod while connected to a computer. The most beautiful thing about this mic is that it doesn’t have any cumbersome battery decks attached to it (unlike previous models). Videomic NTG is compact and sleek due to the fact that the batteries are stored inside. The internal components do…

Read More

Comica VM20 – budget DSLR & phone, mini-shotgun review

Comica VM20 – budget DSLR & phone, mini-shotgun review
8.3/10

Comica VM20 is a budget miniature shotgun with a 3.5mm TRRS output, which can be connected directly to cameras and cellphones, while other DSLR mics require an additional splitter to work with cellphones in particular. The sounds is clear and natural out of the box, which is also crucial if you intend to record and publish videos using your phone. The low cut and extra gain controls are very handy too. In contrast with other…

Read More

Røde VideoMic Pro+ Review, Premium DSLR Shotgun

Røde VideoMic Pro+ Review, Premium DSLR Shotgun
8.8/10

Rode VideoMic Pro Plus is an enhanced version of the VideoMic Pro, where the main difference is the size. VideoMic Pro+ is considerably bigger and weightier than the non-plus version, and although the specs might be similar for the most part, the Pro Plus offers a substantial difference when it comes to directionality. VideoMic Pro+ rejects background noise much more aggressively while focusing more on what’s in front. Tighter pickup pattern translates into a better…

Read More

Marantz Professional MPM-2000U USB Condenser Review

Marantz Professional MPM-2000U USB Condenser Review
8.5/10

Marantz Professional MPM-2000U is a computer mic, which could be easily mistaken for a studio microphone. It has a full aluminum body, shielded with a quality grille and placed into a shock mount –the only difference is – it has a USB port instead of XLR and hosts a 48 kHz/16-bit audio converter. MPM-2000U features a tight cardioid pickup pattern that results in superior background noise rejection, and it has a larger capsule, which facilitates…

Read More

Blue Yeti Nano Usb mic review

Blue Yeti Nano Usb mic review
7.2/10

Blue Yeti Nano is a smaller, lighter and cheaper version of the original Blue Yeti USB mic, released almost two decades earlier. For the most part, however both of the mics are very similar in concept and sound – not much has changed. Blue Yeti Nano is short by one capsule, so it doesn’t have the stereo and bidirectional modes, but still offers the most commonly used cardioid and omnidirectional pickups. The design has been…

Read More

Sennheiser ME 2-II Omni Lavalier Mic review

Sennheiser ME 2-II Omni Lavalier Mic review
8/10

Sennheiser ME 2-II is a basic, entry-level standard omnidirectional lavalier mic that is mainly used with the Sennheiser wireless transmitters, such as G3 or G4 and it is included in many of their kits. It has a 3.5mm locking connector that looks similar to a headphone jack but with a female screw, which makes it only compatible to Sennheiser Audio unless you have an adaptor. In terms of quality, it’s good in a sense that…

Read More

Sennheiser e965 Review – Switchable True Condenser

Sennheiser e965 Review – Switchable True Condenser
10/10
Editor's Choice

Sennheiser e965 is a premium large diaphragm vocal mic with a true condenser capsule, switchable between cardioid and supercardioid patterns. This mic has been out for some while remaining relatively unknown. The price was high in the beginning, it costed as much as Neumann and other high-end models, so those willing to try it out were few. But recently, the price has been significantly reduced, so we finally decided to give it a shot and…

Read More

Audio-Technica AT4053B hypercardioid condenser review

Audio-Technica AT4053B hypercardioid condenser review
7/10

Audio Technica AT4053b is another hypercardioid mic, commonly used by videographers indoors. Hypercardioids are supposed to have narrower pickup patterns than the supercardioids but this doesn’t seem to be the case with the AT4053b, which is among the widest pickups in its class and is even surpassed by the supercardioid MKH 50 from Sennheiser. Similarly to the latter, it offers lots of lows that make a rich sound but it just doesn’t sound as clean…

Read More

Sennheiser MKH 8050 – supercardioid indoor microphone

Sennheiser MKH 8050 – supercardioid indoor microphone
9.6/10
Editor's Choice

Sennheiser MKH 8050 is a supercardioid microphone, an industry standard for miking dialogues indoors as well as spot miking. It has natural, well-rounded sound, distinctively rich and warm in character. It offers significantly more side rejection than a cardioid but less than an interference tube shotgun. Unlike shotgun however, MKH 8050 has very little off-axis coloration, sounds more natural and less susceptible to comb filtering, which is a common problem when interference tube mics are…

Read More

Sennheiser MKH-8060 Review: extended reach short shotgun

Sennheiser MKH-8060 Review: extended reach short shotgun
9.1/10

Sennheiser MKH8060 is a professional short shotgun that features very low noise levels while being highly directional. It has distinctive switches for adjusting frequency response and offers an improved off-axis response at higher frequencies, which helps to reduce the unwanted comb filtering effects when operating in proximity to the walls. It is highly sensitive yet there is no audible distortion and the on-axis response is as neutral as it could possibly get even at 20 kHz….

Read More

AKG Perception 220 – studio worthy budget LDC

AKG Perception 220 – studio worthy budget LDC
8.5/10

AKG Perception 220 is a budget recording LDC microphone used for vocal and instruments. The price of this mic is comparable to that of a USB, which is considered a trash tier as far as recording goes, and yet it is more than capable of a quality performance in a controlled studio setting. It can sound almost as good as 3-5 times more expensive mics with few nuances but usually good LDCs are always pricey….

Read More

Sanken COS-11D Omni Lavalier Mic Review

Sanken COS-11D Omni Lavalier Mic Review
10/10

Sanken COS-11D is a top of the line omnidirectional lavalier widely used in professional broadcast. It is very small (only 4mm in diameter) and easily concealed under clothes. The three main advantages are the size, the most natural open sound and the fact that it produces the least handling noise when rubbing against the clothes. Sanken is a Japanese manufacturer with a long history and COS-11D is probably the most popular mic they’ve ever produced….

Read More

Sennheiser MKH416 Review – Video Production and Voice-overs

Sennheiser MKH416 Review – Video Production and Voice-overs
10/10
Editor's Choice

Sennheiser MKH416 is a professional shotgun microphone, which is also a renowned industry standard for filmmaking, documentary, television and voiceovers. It uses a true condenser, externally polarized capsule of a high quality that can tolerate harsh conditions very well. Featuring a fantastic rich and natural, clean tone it requires little to no postproduction at all. The amount of rejection is not too tight, it is also one of the few shotguns that works well for…

Read More

HyperX QuadCast – Gaming USB mic /w Shock Mount review

HyperX QuadCast – Gaming USB mic /w Shock Mount review
9.7/10
Editor's Choice

HyperX QuadCast is a multifunctional USB microphone mainly designed for gamers and streamers. It has a variable pickup pattern control, a gain knob and a headphone jack for monitoring. Right on top of the mic there is a handy touch-activated mute button. It even includes an internal pop filter, which does an okay job and outperforms Blue Yeti without a pop filter. All those features can already ease life for a user, but the most…

Read More
1 2 3