External microphone for smartphone. The best external microphones for a smartphone
If you have ever made a video, on Youtube or just for friends, then you must have been bothered by the sound. This is not surprising, because the built-in microphones of cameras are not designed for clear recording and suppression of external noise. Therefore, sometimes it turns out that the picture is high-quality and polished, but the sound, on the contrary, is full of hiss, fuzziness, sighs and other details that interfere with the perception of the text. This is where lavalier microphones come to the rescue. The system is almost win-win - I attached it to my clothes, connected it to the camera and go ahead, record sound and video. And we will help you to find out the features and benefits of different models.
Camera tabs
GreenBean GB-VM02D
frequency range: 65 - 18000 Hz; Sensitivity: -30 dB ±3 dB (at 1 kHz); Signal-to-noise ratio: not less than 74 dB.
The GB-VM02D is a condenser lavalier microphone ideal for connecting to a camera or DSLR. One of the advantages of this model, which can be noted even before testing, is a long six-meter wire. This is very convenient, since when shooting there will be no need to stand in one place.
Another one important characteristic GB-VM02D is an omnidirectional microphone. This makes it ideal for recording press conferences and interviews. It picks up sound from multiple directions, allowing you to get a complete and accurate audio picture. The frequency range of this model is 65-18000 Hz, and the weight of the microphone itself is only 2.5g, 18g is the weight of the battery pack. GreenBean GB-VM02D is different good quality sound recording, and its price is only about 1500 rubles.
Sennheiser ME 2-US
Frequency response: 30 Hz - 20 kHz; Sensitivity: 20mV/Pa; Sound pressure level: 130 dB (max.); Equivalent noise level: 36 dB (A-weighted).
When it comes to Sennheiser, we are not just talking about quality microphones, but about professional equipment, from which expectations are high both in terms of level and price. Lavalier microphones from this company are no exception. The ME 2 is a small condenser lavalier suitable for voice and vocal recording. Sennheiser is a circular buttonhole like the GreenBean, and it comes with a clothespin and a metal wind filter. The frequency range of this microphone is 30-20000 Hz. The length of the wire, however, is only 1.6m. This is not essential for many bloggers and video lovers, however, it can create inconvenience when shooting. Therefore, before purchasing, it is better to figure out exactly what length will suit you. However, the sound quality more than compensates for all possible disadvantages - after all, this microphone records sound almost indistinguishably from a professional one. Perfectly coping with whistling and hissing sounds in speech, it creates a high quality soundtrack. Such a microphone costs about 3600 rubles.
Sennheiser ME 4-N
Frequency range: 60 - 18000 Hz; Sensitivity: 40 mV/Pa; Maximum sound pressure (passive): 120 dB; Equivalent noise level: 110 dB; Connector: 3.5mm.
Another pro-level device from the German company is the Sennheiser ME 4-N cardioid buttonhole. What does this mean? Less extraneous sounds and more pure directional sound with high quality speech recording. The frequency range of this microphone is 50-18000 Hz. Otherwise, its quality characteristics are similar to ME2. It will be just as easy and convenient to work with him.
The price of such a buttonhole is approximately 4500 rubles.
Boya BY-M1
Frequency range: 65~18000Hz; Signal-to-noise ratio: 74dB SPL; Sensitivity: -30dB +/-3dB / 0dB=1V/Pa, 1kHz; Connector: 3.5mm (1/8).
Boya is a Chinese company that has become popular due to its budget and high-quality buttonholes. BY-M1 is a prime example of Boya production. So, we have a buttonhole that is ideal for beginner audio / video lovers who already have a desire to improve the quality of sound recording. These buttonholes are used for both podcasts and videos. The wire, as in the case of GreenBean, has a length of 6 meters. Which at least frees you from the need to be chained to one place. Boya has a frequency range of 64-18000 Hz. And in terms of characteristics, it is really very similar to its direct competitor - GB-VM02D. A separate plus of this buttonhole is that it is suitable for any device. Plus, it has a circular orientation. And the price is around 1500 rubles. is a nice bonus.
JJC SGM-38
Frequency range: 50~18000Hz; Sensitivity: -65dB +/-3dB (0dB=1V/Pa at 1kHz); Connector: 3.5mm or 1/4.
JJC SGM-38 is another GreenBean and Boya equivalent in the same price range. Basically. With the adapter, this microphone has a cord length of approximately 7 meters, so the lavalier has the same removable battery as competing models. Again, like GB and BY, the JJC is an omnidirectional microphone. Naturally, it will pick up some noise, and will not give such high quality as, for example, Sennheiser, but for video recording it is very suitable.
Aputure A.lav Lavalier
Max. SPL: 100dB Frequency range: 50~20000Hz; Sensitivity: -45dB±2dB; Signal to noise ratio: 65dB SPL.
Aputure specializes in photo and video equipment, but buttonholes are still included in this list, which is how the A.lav circular buttonhole got into our review. It is worth noting right away that it is it that distinguishes it from competing GB, BY and JJC appearance, price, and equipment, which includes a convenient case, filter, a lot of adapters and more. So, rather, Aputure is on a par with Sennheiser. By the way, adapters allow you to connect A.lav to almost any device and get a high-quality sound track.
A very handy feature that makes A.lav stand out is the ability to monitor the battery charge status with the help of indicator lights.
In a word, sometimes you can spend a little more on a better and more widely applicable product: this buttonhole costs about 2,000 rubles.
Buttonholes for smartphones and tablets
Many of us abandoned heavy cameras a long time ago and switched to shooting from a smartphone or tablet. Easier, simpler, more convenient and possible to edit video immediately. Of course, the sound of modern devices writes with high quality, but they also capture a lot of outsiders, so we again turn to the help of buttonholes.
Aputure A.lavez
Frequency range: 50~20000Hz; Sensitivity: -41dB±2dB (0dB= 1V/Pa at 1kHz); Signal to noise ratio: 65dB SPL; Connector: 3.5mm.
You can start where you left off - Aputure and Aputure A.lav ez - for use with smartphones and tablets. Lightweight and compact buttonhole from a manufacturer who has already proven the ability to create a quality product, at a price of about 1600 rubles. This is an omnidirectional buttonhole, so it will definitely make it easier to record at conferences, events, etc. The kit includes a case, a filter, a clip and a convenient fastener for the wire. The length of the wire is 3 meters, which is quite enough to work with a smartphone or tablet. Frequency range 50-20000 Hz.
Boya BY-LM10 for iPhone/iPad
Frequency range: 35Hz ~ 18KHz; Sensitivity: -30dB +/- 3dB (0dB=1V/Pa at 1KHz); Signal to noise ratio: 74dB SPL; Connector: 3.5mm TRRS connector.
Again Boya is a popular microphone manufacturer. To begin with, it is worth noting that the LM-10 is suitable, contrary to the name, not only for Apple products, but also for a number of other devices. In fact, this is a slightly cheaper, slightly less powerful analogue of Aputure. He will do an excellent job with everything that is required of him. The frequency range of BY-LM10 is 35-18000Hz. The cable is slightly shorter than the Aputure - 1.2 m.
Rode Smartlav+
Frequency Range: 60~18000Hz; Sensitivity: -35.0dB (17.80mV @ 94dB SPL) +/- 2dB @ 1kHz; Connector: TRRS.
Among lavalier microphones for tablets and smartphones, in this case - for devices based on iOS, there are also premium models. This is exactly what the Røde Smartlav+ buttonhole is. It connects via a classic headset jack and increases sensitivity when recording video or audio. This lapel kit includes, among other things, a convenient case and a filter. The sound quality is also undeniable, since Røde has been manufacturing professional audio equipment for many years. This well-known name also affects the price of the buttonhole - after all, its cost is about 4500 rubles. However, is it worth paying more for highest quality- to decide, of course, you.
Hello friends, today we will see how you can connect an external microphone to your tablet or phone.
Finally, you will see the difference between an internal and one external microphone.
Something about voice recording...
In order to capture sound quality, we need a good microphone placed close to the sound source. Even if we have the world's most powerful microphone, it's worthless if it's too far from the sound source.
When you place the microphone close to the source, we get a very good SNR, SNR stands for signal noise ratio, i.e. the ratio between signal and noise. Understand this well, if you are trying to talk to someone on the phone in a noisy environment, the other end will definitely complain about the sound quality.
In addition to the SNR we are interested in, and the effect of this, is injury when the microphone is close to the source. The effect of this depends on the microphone, but in general we emphasize a louder voice.
Why not use the built-in microphone?
The built-in microphone is exactly where it should be. As a general rule, a room should not have a microphone unless they are insulated with a damping system (suspension).
Startech.com 3.5mm 4x 2 3 Pin Pin to 3.5mm Splitter Headset Adapter - M/F
If the camera microphone is turned on, then it is obvious that it will capture vibration, noise or any other font in place to record what interests us, this voice.
The built-in microphone can only be used to capture fast unimportant things or capture ambient sound. Deaemenea's internal microphone can be used to synchronize subsequent video and audio tracks if we were to use an external audio recorder.
So we can connect the microphone to a phone or tablet, you need a special adapter that you can find in stores or on eBay or Amazon.
With possibilities modern technology there is no need to lose sound quality at all when recording it through the microphone built into the mobile device. It is quite possible to purchase an additional gadget for the phone - an external microphone and get rid of the forced hassle with the equalizer of the native device. Video captured by smartphone camera latest model, will withstand criticism even in comparison with semi-professional cameras, which cannot be said about the quality of sound recording. In the mobile electronics market, there is currently a huge selection of external microphones for mobile devices that can provide clear recording and acceptable sounding of audio files.
Potential user groups
There are numerous user groups that include mobile device owners who are forced to record an audio format due to their line of work.
These user groups are:
Staff and freelance journalists. Recording interviews is their livelihood, and an external microphone is a must-have technique. Sound recordings can be made outdoors or in public places with high level background noise. Therefore, the microphone built into the phone may not be able to cope with the task of recording a high-quality track.
People of creativity: singers, poets, composers. For people of a creative nature, it is important to have time to write down an idea, a line or any other aspect of their professional activity, which sometimes arise spontaneously when there is nothing but a smartphone at hand.
students, especially higher educational institutions. Not every teacher adjusts to the speed of recording their lectures in writing, especially in institutions of the highest form of accreditation. By using external microphone this task is much easier. The recording will turn out clear enough to take shorthand in a calm home environment.
Bloggers, youtubers, streamers. The occupation and zone of interests of people of this specialty is not so important. Technical reviews or a dynamic report from the scene will lose a lot of popularity precisely because of poor sound quality.
Types of external sound recording devices
1. Lavalier microphones are small devices fixed at the direct sound source. This is where the name "butthole" came from. This is the place where the microphone clip is attached to the chest of the interviewee or presenter. The cost of such a microphone is low.
An example can be given: MXL MM160 is a microphone adapted for connection to mobile devices with an operating iOS system and Android.
Lavalier microphones are omnidirectional recording devices, that is, capable of picking up background noise as clear as the target sound. They are only suitable for voice recording, due to the limited perception of the desired frequency range.
2. A directional microphone can be called a gun microphone. The shape of this microphone allows you to record sound at a specific point in the direction of the microphone head. The sound recording is cleaner. Features of the "gun" device allows you to record only a useful signal without extraneous overtones. Such a microphone can be called Rode VideoMic Me.
This model is considered one of the most convenient among its kind, because it has a 3.5-Jack connection and is sold at a very reasonable price. The presence of such a connector eliminates the need for adapters for most mobile devices.
3. Stereo microphone - an external small-sized sound recording device capable of capturing the surround sound. That's what singers and musicians need! It captures sound with the coverage of echoes and useful reflections needed to fill the music with "live" effects. You should not assume that such a microphone will cost much more than its "speech" counterparts. Any budget "know-name" - the device is able to record stereo sound of acceptable quality.
Principles of selecting an external microphone for the phone
To choose the right external one, you need to decide on the goals that lead to the need to use such a microphone. Consumers of different categories of professional or amateur activity will make different demands on the microphone, based on the quality of the audio track they need, recording conditions and professional ethics.
When choosing a microphone, you should pay attention to the following:
The length of the wire that connects the device to the microphone. When using buttonholes, the distance between the interlocutors and the placement of devices may require up to 1.5 meters of cable length. For a conversation, sitting in a comfortable environment, this is quite enough, but for special cases, the length of the microphone cable can be up to 6 meters. For convenience, such long cables used in conjunction with special coils. This will keep the cable from being damaged prematurely while moving and using the microphone.
External microphone dimensions. Not to mention the fact that size matters. In our case, there is a dependence between the size of the microphone and the quality of the recording: the larger the device, the better the quality of the sound it records. For example, the small-sized Rode_SmartLav+ is suitable for recording sound in a quiet place. A professional journalist will prefer to use the "gun" according to the nature of his work.
Equipment. Complete with a buttonhole, the presence of a clip, extension cord and wind protection is a must. Moreover, the wind protection can be a foam ball or special fur (removable and in several versions).
Compatible with mobile devices. There is a limitation for some types of "guns" that can only work with Apple brands. Be careful when purchasing equipment for Android, pay attention to specifications compatibility of the selected microphone. Buttonholes do not suffer from such selectivity and are suitable for all Androids (The existence of an adapter for these devices is a little lower).
Frequency range. Pay attention to the technical characteristics of the microphone you like. If it records sound in the range from 20 to 20,000 Hz, then this is the frequency range freely perceived by a person. That is, the microphone has a wide recording range. It is not only about the voice, but also about all possible sounds, squeaks, noises, rustles. This is not always an advantage for a microphone. A microphone with a narrower range will record your voice better than a wide-angle one.
The width of the range is not the last factor for musical recording, where it is important to fix the fullness of the sound of voices and instruments. After all, the frequency range of the piano starts at 27 Hz, and the overtones are in the region of 13 kHz! When recording piano playing on a microphone with a range of 60-15000 Hz, it will roughly “cut” the sound, depriving the sound of the instrument of juiciness.
Cardioid adjustment. The directivity of sound recording at the microphone is depicted in the form of diagrams. The picture below shows a schematic example of a pie chart labeled Omni-Directional. The pie chart of a non-adjustable microphone shows that the recording is equal in all directions. For musicians who are located close to each other, a microphone with an unregulated recording direction is very inconvenient. The same diagram shows examples of adjusting the directivity of sound recording, where the circular diagram was changed to an adjustable - cardioid (hypercardioid, supercardioid, "eight"). Large quantity adjustment modes gives a huge opportunity for experimentation with sound recording.
The possibility of cardioid adjustment allows the microphone to "hear" selectively, in the desired direction. A device with a cardioid can be installed with its back to extraneous noise, and they will not appear on the record.
Microphone sensitivity. The maximum sound pressure threshold (SPL) is the sensitivity level at which the microphone begins to distort the sound. A sensitivity of 120 dB is the most acceptable indicator. The pressure threshold of 130 dB is professional. For comparison, sound (with a force of 140 dB injures hearing). The sensitivity of the microphone is important for lovers of loud music. The high sensitivity threshold of the microphone allows you to record a louder sound.
Preamp power. To increase the strength of the signal coming to the phone, there is a preamplifier in the sound recording device - a preamp. Using Gain adjust the strength of the signal. The range of adjustment depends on the power of the preamp. The base power varies in the range of 40-45 dB. In some cases, it is necessary not to amplify, but to weaken the signal.
When connecting lavalier microphones to mobile devices, a splitter is used - a special adapter. It is inexpensive, and the benefits of it are significant.
Only condenser lavalier microphones do not need adapters when connected to smartphones.
1. Connect the adapter to the headset jack and the microphone to the adapter. Be guided by the small drawings indicated on the edges near the connectors.
2.Wait until the phone recognizes the device and the connected headset icon appears.
3. Attach the microphone to your clothing. Be sure to fix the distance from the buttonhole to the sound source no more than 25 cm.
4.Turn on Airplane Mode on your phone to prevent incoming calls from stopping recording.
5.In the Recorder application, click the "start recording" button.
To do this, you can use applications from the play store. When connecting external stereo microphones to Android devices, an adapter with a Lightning plug is also used. For iPhone, the adapter can not be used.
The existing selection of all kinds of accessories allows you to purchase high-quality gadgets that meet the needs of the most sophisticated user. Set your choice to specific model you need it when you are definitely sure that the quality characteristics of the microphone correspond to the intended use. This will save you from erroneous overspending and bring the satisfaction of a good sound recording.
You can buy these gadgets and much more on the website of the supplier of components and accessories for mobile devices of the GSM Forsage company.
Sometimes the built-in microphone on a laptop or PC breaks down, but there is simply no portable one. But you need to keep in touch somehow. Then a regular Android smartphone can come to the rescue. many users wondered: "Is it possible, and if so, how to connect the phone as a microphone to a PC?" Yes, you can. And to do this is quite simple. And for this there are several programs.
WO Mic
How to connect the phone as a microphone? The first option is using the WO Mic program. The app is available on the Play Store for free. It has been downloaded more than a million times, which clearly gives a clear idea of the demand for this utility.
It allows you to connect your smartphone to personal computer using Bluetooth, Wi-Fi or a regular USB connection. In order for the interaction between the smartphone and the PC to be successful, you need to download the drivers and the WO Mic client itself to the computer. This is a prerequisite.
Then you need to press the Start button on the smartphone and Connect in the window that opens on the computer monitor.
At using Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connections, it is worth considering that both the PC and the smartphone must work from the same network: from the same Wi-Fi.
But this is just one example of how to connect your phone as a microphone. There are a couple more alternative ways, the first of which is similar to the above, and the second is completely different from both of them.
Microphone
How to connect the phone as a microphone using the "Microphone" program from the developer Gaz Davidson? Even easier than before. All you need is a four-pin audio cable with identical plugs at the ends: 3.5mm audio jacks (the same as those installed on the headphones).
In this case, it is enough just to connect one end of the wire to a smartphone, the other to a personal computer, and then the PC will begin to read the voice recorded on the phone's microphone.
This program makes the question "how to connect the phone as a microphone to the computer" a little more than completely irrelevant.
What problems might arise?
Even if the user correctly fulfills all the conditions set and starts the programs in the right sequence, the result will still not be guaranteed. It is possible (but not necessary!), Root rights may be required for the program to work, since in fact the PC system, whether Windows or Mac OS, must penetrate Android OS and start capturing sound from the smartphone microphone. It is unlikely that in most standard firmware from official developers this is allowed by default. After all, such actions clearly violate the Android security system and jeopardize the confidentiality of data stored on the device.
Alternatives
How to make a microphone from a phone? You can connect another quality microphone. Why not?
You can purchase an adapter for Jack - audio / video connectors - and connect some kind of lavalier microphone to it. The problem is only one thing: the microphone may not work at all in this way. And it does not even depend on the presence or absence of root rights. They are not needed here.
The fact is that some smartphones, when connecting an external headset built into the headphones, continue to record sound from the main microphone, and some start recording sound from the headset microphone.
To check if you can connect an external microphone to your smartphone, just connect any headphones with a headset to your phone and check if the sound will be recorded.
If the answer is yes, then you can safely purchase an adapter and an external headset, if not, you should not spend money on anything. We need to look for another way.
By the way, on iOS devices, an external microphone cannot be connected unambiguously. Apple developers are generally famous for making their OS as closed to external influence. This applies to any accessories that can somehow harm the security of the system.
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