Topic: Insta360 Mic Pro - New wireless mic with 32-bit stereo internal recording

[hardrain62]

https://www.insta360.com/blog/insta360-announces-new-mic-pro.html

The question is, is 130db max SPL enough for our uses?

[Ozpeter]

To get a stereo recording from wireless mics inconspicuously, I attach them inside a baseball cap so the come next to my ears, and that way I get a good image in a pseudo binaural size.  But these Insta360 mics look too big for that.  As for levels, the Zoom M2 MicTrak 32 bit float dual ADC device handles 135dB which is threshold of pain - so the 130dB rating for these wireless mics is pretty good.  Do they have dual ADCs?  I might research that.

Edited to add that while the device claims to be able to record internal stereo audio, none of the reviews have actually tested that so what kind of stereo image it produces is unknown.  Some time ago Insta360 released yet another small video camera and claimed it recorded stereo sound from its single internal mic.  And none of the reviews spotted the inherent problem.  When I challenged Insta360 about this, they said it was a mistake, and conceded that it was mono only.  And they then had to update the firmware to remove the menu option for turning on the non-existent feature.  So - I'd be suspicious until someone actually posts test samples.

[dallman]

Just to be clear, this is not Instamic or Zoom. That in no way says anything about the product, but at first glance it looks like a (now Zoom) Instamic product which it is not.

[Ozpeter]

Finally - after hours of checking YouTube reviews - me obsessive?? - I have found one which tests the stereo audio, standing on bridge across a waterfall.  Ok, nothing to do with music but at least this shows it does work and the stereo image is satisfactorily wide.

https://youtu.be/M5SM-0xFiik?si=JSo6ClB0bLP2seXh&t=524

The link should take you to 8:45 in the video where the stereo test begins (albeit initially in mono).

As for comparison with the Zoom Instamic device, I am not in a position to compare them, apart from noting that the price of the Insta360 device seems to be half the price of the Zoom device.  Maybe it's half the quality - I don't know.  One thing that seems obvious is that the three mics on the Insta360 device appear to have the potential to act as a mid/side mic, and I wonder whether down the track they might add M/S options in the menu.  But of course M/S processing of an A/B file can be done in post-production anyway.