When it comes to getting great audio recordings, the days of hauling around a giant bag of equipment are over. IK Multimedia's iRig Lav Mic is compact, and made to be used on the go. Whether you're podcasting, doing interviews or recording for personal use, having access to better audio is never a bad idea. With easy setup and use, this mic should definitely be on your list if you do much recording.
We've got all the details you want, about the sound quality you've been craving.
If you don't have access to the LG V10 and all it's microphones, you might be considering purchasing a mic for recording on the go. The iRig Mic Lav is here for you in that case. It's a small Lav mic that is held in a semi hard protective pouch when you aren't using it, and plugs easily into your phone's audio jack. That means that setting up for audio is as easy as plugging in, opening your audio recording app of choice, clipping the lavalier mic to your lapel, and pressing record. Considering that not so long ago you'd need a small bag of equipment in order to do interviews at conventions, this is wonderfully easy. That means that you don't need to be an expert either, and you won't be left floundering.
In terms of specs, the iRig Mic Lav is certainly professional quality. The omnidirectional condenser capsule lets you capture audio in 30Hz-16kHz frequency range (at -3db), and includes a foam pop filter to help cut down on outside noise in the environment, along with a sturdy clip to attach it to a collar or lapel and over 5 feet of cord. One of the handiest features with this mic is the on board monitoring feature. You can choose to hook up a second iRig Mic Lav, or monitor your recording with a pair of earbuds. While on board monitoring can be a bit strange at first, once you get used to it, it's an invaluable tool. This way you can make sure you only need to record once, since you won't have to play back each session to ensure the quality of the recording.
When it comes to the quality of audio you are recording, this mic really is no joke. In the sound clip above, you can hear a serious difference between the onboard mic and the iRig Mic Lav. The biggest difference is probably volume, the Mic Lav gives us a much larger sound than just using the mic on your phone, even though my actual tone never changed. Depending on where you clip the mic, you will get some serious changes in quality, and finding the sweet spot can be a bit difficult. That's because this mic is hot, and even when placed on your lapel you can get a much larger sound than anticipated. However place it too far away, and you'll get a much more muffled, less impressive result. There is a drawback with this mic too, It seems like it won't let you record through an audio app while also recording video. This means that for the time being, you're only able to record audio using the iRig Mic Lav. While the hardware for this mic is definitely on point, seeing some more software support would be fantastic, especially if you were hoping to film from your phone while picking up audio with the iRig Mic Lav.
IK Multimedia offers an app available on the Google Play Store called iRig Recorder. You can pick up the free version, which gives you access to the base software, or shell out $7.99 to get access to all the bells and whistles when it comes to features. With the free version you can record, share and see the waveform on each recording, however editing anything will require the full app. In the settings for the iRig Recorder app, you've also got access to several options to make recording easier. You'll get In Level, and Out Level at the top of the screen, along with sliders to adjust the db level for In and Out. This can certainly help with the mic being a bit hot, even when positioned at a reasonable distance. You can also toggle Input Monitoring, Auto Recording, Background Audio, and an Audio Input Optimizer on and off. The sound clip above is using the default db levels, and you can tell that it almost blows the sound out, so some tweaking to find the levels you want is certainly a good idea.
Overall the iRig Mic Lav is a solid purchase for anyone who plans on doing recording from their smartphone. Compact, and easy to setup this is a great addition to your kit if you plan on recording on the go, or in high noise, high traffic areas.
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