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.

[Ozpeter]

I received the following info from Insta360 about functionality of their "Mic Pro" transmitter, when used without a receiver -

"32-bit Float Stereo Recording Configuration: The Mic Pro does offer compelling features for audio-only users, such as high-quality 32-bit float stereo internal recording that can be managed via the Insta360 app for configuration.
 
If there is only a single transmitter and no receiver, you can complete the setup via your phone. Simply connect the transmitter to the Insta360 App, and you can adjust TX settings in the App, such as:
Audio Capture Settings: Adjust TX Gain, Tone Mode, Sound Direction, etc.;
Internal Recording Settings: 32-bit, Stereo, Loop, etc.;
Hardware Settings: Power Button Functions, Button Lock Mode, Vibration Feedback, Indicator Lights, etc.
 
2）Remote Start/Stop of Recording in app: I'm sorry that this feature is currently not available. "

So, setting aside the rather important question of actual sound quality, this device when used on its own is pretty basic in the context of live music recording - configure it to record in 32 bit float stereo with no loop function, using your phone, then press the record button on the device and place it where required.  At least it isn't complicated, and personally I don't have much of an issue with starting the recording before the performance - easy to chop off afterwards.  Placement would appear to include mounting the little thing to the peak of your baseball cap using its mounting clip - just don't turn your head during the show.  Magnetic mounting is probably another option, to a rail of some sort for instance.

I recall reading someone's comment that it splits files every half hour.  Of course then comes the question, is it a seamless split?

I'm tempted to get one just out of curiosity, but even though it is small, my cupboard is getting a bit full of seriously underused recording devices...
 

[Ozpeter]

There's more - I just noticed in my emails a further message from Insta360, and they state that in fact the internal recording on the mic CAN be started from the phone app,  along with setting the other configuration options.  And to acknowledge my suggestions and interest they have offered me a voucher which is sufficient to prompt me to place an order.  And having received it I will post my opinions about it here, and make my own YouTube review purely about using the device just for audio, rather than in relation to video.  It will be handy to have such a pocketable recording device in my, well, pocket, ready for use in short order.  As far as I am aware the only other device that small which can record 32 bit float stereo internally is the Instamic device, and I believe that may be slightly larger.  And twice the price.  And having just checked, the Instamic doesn't do 32 bit float stereo.  Hmmm.

Extract from the transmitter specs -
Fully charged in approximately 1 hour, 80% in about 24 minutes.  A 5-minute charge gives 1.5 hours of use.  Operating Time 10 hours but when transmitting rather than recording.  Memory 32 GB, giving 22 hours of stereo 32 bit float (twice the memory of the Instamic).  Weight almost 19.7g, about a gram heavier than the Instamic.

Watch this space....

[rastasean]

Another video review:
https://youtu.be/8H-OHAzS5xY

The device looks neat, but it's just another audio recorder with built in batteries on 2.4 GHz. I've lost count of companies that make these kinds of recorders. Seems like it was Rode who first started it, but I could be way off.

Now content creators have the best gear available to them (cameras, lights, microphones) but will they make original and interesting content, or will this neat gear get used by politicians and companies trying to peddle their message and products noticed by the masses.

[Ozpeter]

Another video review:
https://youtu.be/8H-OHAzS5xY

The device looks neat, but it's just another audio recorder with built in batteries on 2.4 GHz. I've lost count of companies that make these kinds of recorders. Seems like it was Rode who first started it, but I could be way off....

This is the problem that I'm highlighting - it's being promoted as a wireless mic system, but it also seems to be the only 32 bit float stereo recording device of this size with built in mics.  The Instamic, I believe, doesn't do stereo in 32 bit float although its size is similar (and it costs double).  And no other wireless mic does, simply because they don't have multiple capsules.  But the reviewers, apart from one, are just passing over this.  Like the review you mentioned.  And I've watched a couple of dozen.  Well, mine is on order now and I will then discover, and report, whether it is amazing or dreadful.  Or somewhere in between.

[Edited to add that as the 'lid' of the device is a customisable e-ink display, it might be possible to put the logo of some pill company onto it, so when it is checked at venues, it looks more like a little pill box than a recorder.  Well, at a quick glance...]