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Gear / Technical Help => Recording Gear => Topic started by: Ozpeter on November 13, 2024, 07:57:32 PM
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[Retitled discussion as it's now covering Rode & Hollyland devices]
Rode have just announced a new wireless mic kit. Think earbuds, but it's mics. Its receiver is tiny and plugs into the bottom of your phone. It comes with two very small transmitting mics. It has no inbuilt recorder. But it can record in stereo from the two mics and quotes max SPL of 135dB. So on the face of it you could clip the mics either side of a baseball cap, or one on each shoulder, press record on your phone, and there you go. Downside might be that it sets its own level. Whether that would lead to compression effects remains to be seen. Anyway, although I never use the two radio mic systems I already have, I have ordered one for release in mid December and will report here.
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I believe you can adjust the gain in 3 steps in the app.
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It would be interesting to know what data compression and bit rate is used for the wireless transmission. AAC? It’s hard to imagine the sound is not compressed at all by some lossy algorithm…
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At last I managed to get hold of this device this afternoon. I plugged the very small USB C equipped receiver into my Android phone. I clipped the mics either side of my baseball cap. And I went out into the street and used the relevant Rode app to record the suburban ambience and occasional passing traffic. Bingo. Lovely binaural stereo image, good frequency response, very quiet sounds and a large and noisy passing truck recorded very nicely.
At dusk I went down to the local lake park and recorded the frogs as I walked across the lake bridge. Then I walked back to my car and recorded the drive home. Oh... At the far side of the bridge I had turned off the phone screen, not realising that would stop the rather basic Rode app recording. Still, on replay the frogs and footsteps and birds sounded just fine.
I have just been testing the rig with the "Field Recorder" Android app at home. That has more configurations and settings than any other app I have used for any purpose. Stupidly good. And it records the rig just fine, and isn't affected by the screen being turned off.
Tomorrow first thing I have a couple of hours spare, with my studio at hand, and I will try to create and rapidly upload a YT video showing the hat rig and sharing some new tests. As far as I can see, nobody else has spotted this possibility of using this device as a wireless binaural low profile recording rig able to handle 135dB levels. I'm excited! And it is so easy to use - no buttons, plug and play. And cheap. Watch this space...
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I've now managed to get to my own house and do some further initial tests there, where I have more ancillary gear to be deployed as required.
Although it's now after 1am here I can't help posting this before sleep.
These tiny mics with their tiny receiver are simply gobsmacking when used as a stereo pair. The frequency response is full and uncoloured. The stereo image with the simple cap mount is very accurate. I am not hearing any undesirable compression or self noise. I suspect this setup will become my go-to portable recording tool, not least because it's so compact- the charging case is like the case you'd store your earplugs in, slightly bigger, but still pocketable. I've tried it with a range of audio and video apps on my phone (Pixel 7a) and it's generally fine with almost any of them. Basically the mics can be treated as an omni pair and mounted by clip of magnet either to one's person, or I guess they could be mounted in a good place near a stage in a suitable configuration, and then the recording can be made from the back of the auditorium! This opens up a whole new range of possibilities it seems to me. But maybe it's an old hat approach. Or old baseball cap....
The only reservation I have is whether the receiver, powered by the phone's usb socket, will drain it too quickly. Certainly its battery level is much lower than normal right now but I didn't start my tests with it anything like full. I'll have to try to check that aspect more carefully.
More tomorrow.
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how long does a charge last for the microphones?
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^ Yeah that! Also, can you do a check to help determine reliable transmission distance?
I was at a show last Fri where I ran the tiny Deity PR-2 as a head-worn pseudo-binarual glasses rig from the optimal open recording location of a venue I know well, mostly just to compare against the open rig recording made simultaneously which included the same model mics along with a few others. However, if I'd had two PR-2 recorders available I would have tried a strategy we've discussed here at TS, which the Rode setup would be even better suited for as long as transmission works reliably over a distance - which in this particular case is about a ~50 foot (~16m) triangle.
That idea is to run two mono-rigs, each placed on opposite sides of the room, close to being in line with the PA stack on either side. This particular room features room-length second level balconies along each side, with the PA line arrays on either side of the stage hanging at the same level, facing out into the room land projecting more or less in parallel with the balcony railings. Could easily gaff tape a small rig or mic to the railing on either side, far enough back to get an appropriate balance of direct PA sound verses room and audience. This could be ideal for that, requiring only the little self contained mics to be taped in place unter the railings, with both channels being recorded wirelessly to the same device.
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how long does a charge last for the microphones?
Full specs here - https://rode.com/en/microphones/wireless/wireless-micro?variant_sku=WIMICROC#section-specs
7 hours is the answer to your question. They say that with the case you can get a total of 21 hours (3 recharges I suppose).
I don't know that much about the competition but the specs seem impressive to me for this type of device. And Rode should know what they are doing when it comes to mic
Gutbucket, there are a lot of imaginative uses for such devices indeed! The range of these is supposed to be 100m. There are some YouTube reviews which confirm that in the open air. I'm not quite sure how I can test in gig conditions readily. I'll try to think of a way...
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Here you go. I had to create and upload this on a very tight timetable but I think it gives a pretty good account of this device. It seems to me to be perfectly adequate for a range of location recording purposes, and very good value.
https://youtu.be/AVsnyFbRVPM
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Thanks for the info, Peter. Is it possible to defeat the Intelligent GainAssist feature?
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No, there is no Gain Assist control. But although these samples have plenty of loud transients (actually went into the red at one point in the recording app) I'm not hearing any limiting or compressing or AGC symptoms. You might! I suspect that if the output level is set to 'low' or 'medium' there might be less likelihood of the Gain Assist feature feeling like it has to kick in. I have heard evidence of it in some demos where guys are talking far to loud and far too close (at unknown gain levels) but like I say, not here. Would it sound ok with loud rock bands live? I'm too old to find out... but the 135dB peak figure seems to indicate that it's not just for folk music...
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Because of the non-defeatable ‘features’ (auto gain and bass rolloff beginning at 70Hz), I wouldn’t choose to use these for live music. Shure’s similar offering also rolls off (even earlier).
If a full frequency, manual gain option in a similar design becomes available I would be very interested.
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Because of the non-defeatable ‘features’ (auto gain and bass rolloff beginning at 70Hz), I wouldn’t choose to use these for live music. Shure’s similar offering also rolls off (even earlier).
If a full frequency, manual gain option in a similar design becomes available I would be very interested.
Gain has 3 settings (high, medium and low) but "Gain Assist" can't be turned off. However, in my own (relatively short) use so far, I can't hear it working. It's certainly not an old world AGC thing.
As for the low end, the specs say it goes down to 20Hz but without some kind of indication of how much that level is attenuated compared to 1kHz, the claim doesn't mean a lot. I'm not aware of a bass rolloff value, and throughout my test I was actually very surprised at how well the bottom end of both music and street scenes was captured. But I have no ready means of testing its real performance under gig conditions. Maybe I should get out more.
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When it comes to stealthy field recordings I would still prefer to wear some wired buds in the ears. I have done this often and never had any strange looks since the assumption is that I am simply listening not recording.
I have never worn binaural mics to record live music though, because I suspect they would look odd and draw attention. I don’t think I would use these either for the same reason, but interesting nonetheless.
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Here you go. I had to create and upload this on a very tight timetable but I think it gives a pretty good account of this device. It seems to me to be perfectly adequate for a range of location recording purposes, and very good value.
https://youtu.be/AVsnyFbRVPM
Peter, thanks for the detailed description and demonstration, I am impressed, especially at the price point. Do you have experience with the Sennheiser Ambeo? If so, can you offer comparison, please?
For certain situations I can see this being more practical/acceptable than carrying a full rig of Sennheiser 30/40 in a cyclone tethered to a field recorder for crowd ambience.
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Peter, thanks for the detailed description and demonstration, I am impressed, especially at the price point. Do you have experience with the Sennheiser Ambeo? If so, can you offer comparison, please?
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As soon as I can I will do a comparison between the Micro, the Roland binaurals, and the Ambeo. Should be interesting! But it may take a few days before I have a chance.
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I have never worn binaural mics to record live music though, because I suspect they would look odd and draw attention. I don’t think I would use these either for the same reason, but interesting nonetheless.
I must double check but I think it is possible to wear them beneath a cap kind of on the inside, so that only the back of the clip would be clearly visible. But you are right about the potential to look odd - I felt a bit of a twit wearing the cap on a hot day with the wind muffs of the mics on the outside of it as if protecting my ears from the cold! Still, people in Australia are kind of used to weird people from the UK wandering around... :)
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Still, people in Australia are kind of used to weird people from the UK wandering around... :)
Lolz … that was me in March this year.
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As for the low end, the specs say it goes down to 20Hz but without some kind of indication of how much that level is attenuated compared to 1kHz, the claim doesn't mean a lot. I'm not aware of a bass rolloff value, and throughout my test I was actually very surprised at how well the bottom end of both music and street scenes was captured. But I have no ready means of testing its real performance under gig conditions. Maybe I should get out more.
There is a frequency response graph in the data sheet:
https://edge.rode.com//pdf/products/1465/Wireless%20Micro%20Datasheet_14a_FA.pdf
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Thanks for the link to the frequency response - I hadn't seen that - well, I'd still say that to me it doesn't sound 'thin' but I admit I need to do more tests.
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I appreciate you sharing your experience. I started a thread on Shure's MoveMic Two, so I'm definitely keeping my eyes out for a full range solution in the same form factor! These could still be useful for performances without much low frequency content (e.g. choirs).
I love Gutbucket's idea of having 2 people or stands arranged in optimal positions with respect to the PA, it could really open up some interesting captures.
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^ If you look more closely at that frequency response graph the response rises almost 10dB starting at <2kHz and doesn't come back down to 0 until 13-14kHz then down 10dB at 17-18kHz which is totally reasonable amount of high frequency roll off for a lot of people.
I got the Movo version of this and have had limited success due to low SPL handling. A lot of the music I see is pretty loud. Since these claim to deal with much higher SPL they should be very useful.
IME line of sight is important for stable connection on these. The Movo work great up to 50 feet (the farthest I've separated them they claim 164 feet in their marketing) as long as they can see each other. Too many bodies or any wall corners and they get disrupted quickly.
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In my YouTube demo the music sample was chosen for a good range of frequencies, together with transients amid held tones to reveal any compression happening. I thought it sounded fine, but younger ears might be more critical! I can imagine that the device is optimised for voice, but nobody wants thin sounding or muffled voices.
[Edited to add that I just noticed that YouTube have added a link to the music I used, in the description element of my video. This makes it very easy to compare the original track, against my recording of that track being played on my Tannoy bookshelf speakers, sourced from YT Music running on my TV. Of course the speakers and the room etc will degrade the sound, but for all that it's better than I would have expected.]
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In the context of capturing ambient sound, this video may be interesting. I walked through a suburban park with subtle natural sounds around me, wearing the Rode Wireless Micro devices attached to a baseball cap to provide 'binaural-type' sound. Using headphones to listen, I really do get the impression of front and back as well as well-defined left and right. Narration is via these mics also and the quality of my voice sounds perfectly good to me.
https://youtu.be/zacIDqupRG0
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And here is the opposite kind of soundscape, a busy outdoor bar in a city centre on a warm summer night.
https://youtu.be/6jDW8CKzQWI
This is not a video. It was captured on my Android phone using the excellent 'Field Recorder" app.
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Thanks for the recordings - I like them and they sound good. I'm assuming the audio was recorded into your phone and the footage was from your osmo action camera and you later synced the audio?
I'm interested in this product, since I record video on my phone, sometimes with external mics. However, I'd prefer if the receiver had an option for an audio output jack that way it wasn't dependent on my phone.
To go that route, looks like you're spending easily $100 more on the other Rode products.
Even though I have an iphone, I would get the usb-c connection, since apple has started using that connection on their phones.
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Thanks for the recordings - I like them and they sound good. I'm assuming the audio was recorded into your phone and the footage was from your osmo action camera and you later synced the audio?
I'm interested in this product, since I record video on my phone, sometimes with external mics. However, I'd prefer if the receiver had an option for an audio output jack that way it wasn't dependent on my phone.
To go that route, looks like you're spending easily $100 more on the other Rode products.
Even though I have an iphone, I would get the usb-c connection, since apple has started using that connection on their phones.
The video was shot with DJI Pocket 3 with the Rode receiver plugged into the USB C socket of that camera. No phone required. Generally speaking the Micro will work with any device which accepts USB mics. The audio-only sample was recorded just with the Micro receiver connected to my Android phone, screen off, in my pocket. Pretty stealthy especially as the kit in its case looks like a slightly large bluetooth earbud set.
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Thanks for the recordings - I like them and they sound good. I'm assuming the audio was recorded into your phone and the footage was from your osmo action camera and you later synced the audio?
I'm interested in this product, since I record video on my phone, sometimes with external mics. However, I'd prefer if the receiver had an option for an audio output jack that way it wasn't dependent on my phone.
To go that route, looks like you're spending easily $100 more on the other Rode products.
Even though I have an iphone, I would get the usb-c connection, since apple has started using that connection on their phones.
The video was shot with DJI Pocket 3 with the Rode receiver plugged into the USB C socket of that camera. No phone required. Generally speaking the Micro will work with any device which accepts USB mics. The audio-only sample was recorded just with the Micro receiver connected to my Android phone, screen off, in my pocket. Pretty stealthy especially as the kit in its case looks like a slightly large bluetooth earbud set.
I ordered a set of these directly from Rode today after reading the receiver can be plugged into the usb-c audio input on a camera. There are no systems like this made by anyone that I know of, and if there is I bet it costs more than $150.
Edit to add: I considered the Rode Wireless Go setup, but the wired lavalier to a belt worn transmitter held me back. This micro setup is truly wireless and I can't wait to try it out.
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I hope you enjoy it! One tip - work out which transmitter uses channel 1 and that will be the left mic in a stereo setup. I put a piece of black tape over the Rode logo on both of mine, and a tiny additional piece on the channel 1 (left) mic, to avoid having to mess with channel swapping when editing - like I've had to do twice now!
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As soon as I can I will do a comparison between the Micro, the Roland binaurals, and the Ambeo. Should be interesting! But it may take a few days before I have a chance.
I'd be interested in hearing the difference between these two mics. I did a small comp between the Ambeo and the Naiant X-X. I didn't post it because the source wasn't great (small stage), but the Ambeo's sound was noticeably brighter than the X-X.
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Has anyone tested these in a live concert setting? Curious to see the quality of capture.
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Sadly I've not been able to record with them in a concert setting. But I sure will if I get a chance. Meanwhile, in the setting which is the complete opposite to where most Taperssection members record, I used the Rode Wireless Micro kit to make another ambient recording in a park which I had not visited before. While I was there I thought, this is a complete waste of time as there's no sound here! But when I cranked up the gain when editing I heard reams of stuff, particularly high pitched bird calls, which I had not been able to hear at the time. That boosted gain does introduce the (commendably low frequency) distant sound of traffic around the perimeter of the outer suburban park, but what I don't hear is any significant system noise, even though I had the gain set too low in the earlier shots (expecting to hear more sounds!). Sure there's noise, but I am convinced it is ambience because you can localise where it comes from and the placement changes as I turn my head. Anyway, here's the upload. The recording device was a DJI Pocket 3 camera into which the tiny receiver was plugged direct. Yay, no dangling wires.
https://youtu.be/BFmZURAq-zI
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Quite the peaceful visit to Riverband park on a sunny afternoon; thanks for taking us there.
These mics certainly have their appeal to be cable free and relatively inexpensive. In fact, the usb-c set is ~$10 less than the lightening version.
The wind muffs do seem to help, but I noticed a low rumble of wind in some parts of the video; no big deal, though.
Keep enjoying the visits to the park and making recordings!
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In response to some requests I have now made some quick comparisons between the Rode Wireless Micro and the Roland CS-10EM, (suburban traffic noise) and between the Micro and the Sennheiser Ambeo (music on the hifi). I think the Rode acquits itself pretty well, certainly in terms of stereo image, and it's no disaster in terms of frequency response. Yes, I should have compared all three in the same video but time did not allow...
https://youtu.be/cOwL_p0-CGM
https://youtu.be/2N_ogzX7enc
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This post has been two weeks in the making. To begin, I returned the Rode Wireless Micros because they simply are not made for what most of us on this forum do, rock concert taping. I didn't just conclude this, it was painfully clear after trying them out mounted to the ends of my regular mic stereo bar when I recorded moe at the Jefferson Theater in Charlottesville, VA on March 5th.
It's just like ALC, reacting immediately and extremely to transient peaks, as well as quiet interludes, up and down. What a shame...
So for the last 2 weeks I have been doing a deep dive in the world of video content creators and that entire branch of the market that seems to have exploded in the past few years. Not wanting to make the same mistake again, I researched extensively the current crop of wireless lav microphones designed to feed cameras, and/or smartphones and here is what I learned.
1. There are two classes of wireless lav microphone capsules, traditional small electret condensers, and MEMS, a newer technology with mics so small they can be mounted directly on a device's main circuit board. Micro condensers typically top out at 120db max SPL, but MEMS mics are able to take 130db or more before distortion, and with full 20hz to 20khz frequency response, and an SNR at or exceeding 70db.
2. There are three types of wireless transmission, old school UHF, 2.4ghz wifi, and Bluetooth 5 and higher. True lossless transmission of high resolution pcm is not possible by Bluetooth, 16/48 already maxes the bandwidth and bitrate. So called "lossless compression" methods like Aptx are used to send HD audio to headsets/earbuds and bluetooth speakers, but that's not true lossless. That leaves the option of 2.4ghz wifi frequency. As with UHF, 2.4ghz wifi requires a receiver between the mic/transmitters, and the recording device. These are used for sending analog audio to a camera or recorder and fairly recent developments with USB audio now allow these types of mics to be plugged into an ios or Android device to record on whatever app is installed for audio/video capture.
3. There are two types of recording methods. Capturing the audio from the receiver on a phone/camera, and onboard recording in the transmitters themselves, some 24bit and some 32bit float.
Ok, with all that in mind, here is the outcome of my deep dive investigating several systems.
I first looked at the Rode Wireless Pro since I was moving from their micro, reading reviews, watching video reviews, and studying the user manual. I did this same process with each mic I looked into.
The Rode Wireless Pro can take 123.5 db of pressure which is decent, but they are too big and the internal recordings in the mics are auto-split at 1 hour and these splits are not bit perfect. To capture full length files on your phone, the receiver will bring in the audio at 24/48 and send it to the phone to be recorded there. Rode is not a contender, bottom line.
Next I investgated the top line Sennheiser, Hollyland, DJI, Shure, and Sarmonic wireless systems and found they all fell short for concert taping in some way. Ignoring the issues raised by reviewers for this model's bad plugs, or that brand's counter-intuitive work flow, etc, I first eliminated all the ones with a max SPL below 130db, which left the Shure MoveMic 2 and the Saramonic Ultra Pro. The Shure uses Bluetooth direct to phone, so the only way to record to a phone is to go to the full kit with receiver unit, and there is no onboard recording in the trasmitters. The Sarmonic was the only one left. The deal breaker here, same issue as the Shure requiring receiver attached to phone to record uncompressed 24bit. They have onboard recording, even 32bit float, but make an imperfect file split every 30 min. Booooooo
So, what did I get? Stay tuned, I will follow up with that story later, it's a tale worth telling all by itself.......
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What a comprehensive analysis. You may have seen that I posted some comparisons of devices deployed (briefly) in front of PA speakers playing loud music at a local festival, and that I was suspicious of the result from the Rode Wireless Micro, which didn't look right, although the result to my (elderly) ears was passable. Maybe I was suspicious more of the sound source. On some reviews I have seen, there was pumping even from the presenter's voice, and in others, no problem. I suspect this may be related to output level affecting the limiter, and I keep mine set to low, unless recording ambient silence. I must get around to doing some tests using a tone increasing in loudness, with the output set to low, medium and high, and see whether the resulting waveforms differ.
Generally I have always assumed that wireless mics would be good for close voice and not much else, but the Rode does impress me with frequency response, sensitivity and self noise, at the price.
Anyway I look forward to your revealing next post!
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Meanwhile I had an unplanned chance to use the Micro binaural rig at a roller skating venue. In this short video you can hear the (bored??) spectators talking over my shoulder and from time to time, very loud whistles from the referees. These don't seem to me to cause a significant limiting problem (which would result in the sound of the spectators dipping briefly) but you may disagree... The whistles were so loud and shrill that some in the crowd actually winced!
https://youtu.be/yD5DdKO1kPE?si=FdDnACCzA5bzpoEW
The stereo image is very surrounding on headphones. Nobody seemed to notice that I was recording - the mics really are pretty inconspicuous under a baseball cap. I used "Field Recorder" Android app in my phone and synced it to the video when editing.
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And another test, this time with the Rode binaural rig connected to an antique DJI Action 2 camera. I'm very pleased with the result. More related to field recording than live music recording but it does show how the device can capture subtle, and loud (dog barks!) sound very capably, with an excellent surround image.
https://youtu.be/yTuU-04BNF8
(Not a monetised channel, I don't get paid via these links.)
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Hi Peter,
I just got an update on my version of rode capture that allows the app to connect to the micro via bluetooth. The rode capture app is a video recording app with some neat features. You may want to take a look it and see how the audio sounds via bluetooth vs the receiver connected.
https://rode.com/en-us/apps/rode-capture
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Hi Peter,
I just got an update on my version of rode capture that allows the app to connect to the micro via bluetooth. The rode capture app is a video recording app with some neat features. You may want to take a look it and see how the audio sounds via bluetooth vs the receiver connected.
https://rode.com/en-us/apps/rode-capture
Thanks, but - it's iPhone only at the moment. And I'm Android. Still, I noticed in Android there's now an option to turn on 3 levels of noise reduction which I will try, but I suspect (based on other wireless mics) that the outcome will be deeply unpleasant...
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Today I was watching a review of the Hollyland Lark A1 wireless mic kit and thinking that it was also very small like the Rode kit, and then wondered whether it worked in stereo and might be a competitor for the Rode Wireless Micro. The reviewer didn't cover mono vs stereo, but reading the manual online, yes it does do stereo, and in the review the sound quality seemed at least passable. So I checked the price, and it's less than half the cost of the Rode. So, needless to say, I promptly ordered it simply to test it against the Rode for low profile binaural recording. It arrives tomorrow and I should be able to upload a review in a day or so.
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[Faced with the choice of retitling the original discussion about the Rode Wireless Micro, or starting a new discussion about the Hollyland Lark A1, it seemed best to change the title and just have one discussion for both, and any others which may appear. I hope that's ok.]
I really should wait until I have had a chance to test the Hollyland Lark A1 set properly, but my initial tests are so impressive that I can't help posting something at once.
Firstly, they are half the size of the Rode Wireless Micro transmitters, which I thought were really tiny when I first saw them. I've been trying them on my baseball cap, actually inside it rather than outside, and all that shows is the very small black magnets that are on the outside of the cap. I can't imagine anything more stealthy (but I have no knowledge of metal detectors and suchlike - I'm just going by what can be seen).
Then, the sound quality seems just fine. Plenty of bottom and top, no noise that my elderly ears can hear, and mounted the way I've described the stereo image is very persuasive. When I first played back my initial test which simply used a mono radio, I actually paused the playback as it sounded as if that radio was playing. I later tested with a wide frequency range audio source into rather modest speakers, and I had no immediate adverse comment at all. The device does have a limiter which can't be switched off, but when I tried to clip the recording to see if there was any pumping, I couldn't hear anything amiss.
Lastly, for now, these devices are stupidly cheap. They sell a version with two mics, one USB-C receiver, and a charging holder (which does NOT have built in batteries, it simply charges the mics via a USB socket) for $34.90 US. Almost a throwaway price for anyone wanting to try them with real live music (120dBA max). Then there are other versions all the way up to the most comprehensive which has a proper charging case, two mics, and two receivers (USB-C & Lightning).
Anyway, tomorrow I hope to really test them against the Rode Wireless Micro and get something up on YouTube for others to hear.
I love new toys...
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Peter- Thanks for testing and reporting on all these new options. Seems we've reached a brave new word of wireless microphone recording options these days.
: ) And.. looking forward to working this phrase into conversation sometime- "I had no immediate adverse comment". Just yesterday while working on a big yacht that has some of our equipment installed in it I was asked "Ozzy or Aussie?" after throwing out a "No Worries" and told them, "Neither, I'm a local, its just such a useful phrase that I took it up up long ago".
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Is the Rode worth three times the Hollyland? Well, the results are in and... starve the lizards!!
https://youtu.be/MQGYkAVHUmo
The Hollyland is stupidly good and it's cheap enough to simply have one in the cupboard, or even better in the pocket, just in case. In my stereo music test the Rode definitely has more bottom end but I have a sneaking suspicion it's actually too much. The Hollyland sounds perhaps more balanced between high and low frequencies.
When cap mounted, the Hollyland is fine for pseudo binaural stereo - pseudo because it's not actually in the ears - and it really is tiny. Its small size is almost a problem - you have to be very careful not to lose the mic or its attachment magnet - don't handle them anywhere near a drain!
I can't hear anything wrong on the noise front, not glaringly anyway, and the app enables quite a few tweaks. It seems to work with anything that would accept a USB-C mic. Phone, some cameras, probably laptops etc.
If anything isn't clear, let me know. My video ended up not quite the way I wanted as having shot all the stuff, I then discovered my camera had been set to mono sound, so I had to redo some clips and simply bin others. Hey ho, that's audio recording for you.
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When I went for a walk round the corner tonight to get a chicken takeaway, I couldn't resist documenting it with the Lark A1 set. Results were very good imho, except for a patch with some tiny dropouts. Could be the phone, could be the app, could be the connection from the mics (unlikely as they were by my ears and the phone was in my pocket). Soundscape seems very good to me, and frequency response is fine. There was some background music in the restaurant which sounded fine, though I guess that's not a full test of the suitability of the mics for rock concerts! So far I have not noticed any undesirable level compression - the limiter may well have been triggered at a couple of points which went to zero on the app's excellent meters, but the limiter time must be very fast.
https://youtu.be/DA3Kmmp7RJ0?si=r80BgyPmMlX8JpS5
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... and this time when I walked round the corner, I was surprised to see a funfair set up in a nearby open space. As the night was completely windless I walked back home, grabbed my hat, the Lark A1 wireless mics, and my camera, and shot this quick video. Not that exciting visually, but it shows how wireless mics can be used for location recording in stereo, and not just for voiceover stuff. Some of the sounds were quite loud, so it's kind of relevant to Taperssection recording... maybe... I can't hear any distortion or compression / limiting happening
https://youtu.be/pLdPAz1h12o?si=Yv9TFowFSSBBnW2Z