Hollyland Lark M2 Wireless Lavalier Microphone for iPhone 14/13/12, Lightning Mini Lapel Microphone Wireless, Hi-Fi Audio, 1000ft Range, Noise Cancellation, 30H Battery for Video Recording, Streaming

As part of my job, I create an audio recording of my voice each week. Previously, I have used wired lavalier microphones. Eventually, I switched to a wireless, Bluetooth lav, but I wasn’t quite satisfied with the sound quality.Basics:The Hollyland Lark M2 comes with several pieces. There is a T-shaped usb-c connected receiver. You plug this piece into your phone, or other usb-c device. It will receive the sound from the mic/transmitter, and put it into your device, using whatever app you use to record.Two wireless mics/transmitters come with this set. These record your voice, and send the sound to the receiver, and thus into your phone or usb-c device. The receiver and transmitter will automatically connect whenever the receiver is plugged in and the mic is both turned on. When they are connected, each piece has a solid blue light on it. If you only connect one of the mics, the t-shaped receiver will show one solid blue light, and another blinking one.A yellow button on the mic/transmitter will turn it on or off. A short press on the button puts the mic into noise-cancellation mode. At this point, the little blue light turns green, rather than blue.The receiver and mics are stored in a small case that will also charge the mics.Along with these pieces are several other things that help you attach the mics. You can hang a magnet on a string around your neck. The mics/transmitters have a magnet on the back and will attach to this. So it looks like you are wearing a necklace with a round pendant, which is, in fact, the microphone. If you prefer, you can place a magnet on the inside of your shirt, and attach the mic to it on the outside of your shirt. Simple, and you can place it anywhere. Finally, if you have clothing where this is appropriate, you can use a clip and magnet to clip the mic on wherever you like. I find this magnet system to be incredibly versatile, and easy to implement.Sound Quality.The Lark M2 has excellent sound quality. In fact, at first I thought it wasn’t going to work, because it reproduced sound TOO faithfully. I like to walk around when I record my voice, and the mic was picking up the creaking floor, or the sound of my cat trying to get into the room. But then I discovered that there is a noise cancellation function. You push the yellow button on the mic piece, and the blue connection light turns green, both on the transmitter and on the receiver. The green light means that noise cancellation is on. With noise cancellation, I found I had the sound I wanted.Note on connection. I record into a Google Pixel 6a phone. The phone has a case to protect it. I found that the USB C connector on the Lark M2 was short enough that phone case was sometimes pushing it out, causing the transmitter to disconnect from the phone. This was easily solved with a USB C extension adapter, available for a couple of dollars from Amazon.I’m very glad I purchased this, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who frequently records voices.

So far I haven't done much with these mics. Just some basic tests to see how they configure and, most importantly, how they sound.The sound is almost as good as a studio mic, of the sort you might have mounted on a boom for a podcast (I have a Heil Sound PR-40 for recording my voice and used to use a Røde NT-1). I bought wireless mics for the flexibility, so I can move around or record voice outside. (I also have a Shure MV88 for my iPhone, for field recording. It also sounds pretty good but picks up too much ambient sound for voice recordings.)…I tried a cheap imitation of the Røde Go mics and sent them back. The sound quality was awful.The Hollyland mics sound great and are definitely keepers.They are tiny—about the size of a quarter—with strong magnets for attachment to clips, necklace, or through fabric. This is a good thing for everyone but me. My hands are so numb and clumsy from neuropathy that they're hard to handle. Haven't tried stuffing one into one of the provided dead cats yet. (I've seen videos where an able bodied person has some difficulty pulling the magnets apart. So it's not just me.)Some quirks.1—The transmitters (mics) only connect with one receiver or the other. I thought I might be able to use both simultaneously, the Lightning on my iPhone and the USB-C on my iPad. Nope. One or the other. I don't know if this is something I can figure out, that they'll change, or it's just the way it is.2—When using the Black Magic Camera app the signal is much weaker on my iPad. Other configurations work and are equally good: on my phone while using the built-in camera app or Black Magic and on my tablet using the built-in app (also worked fine recording to AudioShare). The phone is iOS 17 while the tablet is iOS 18. I think it's a compatibility glitch between Apple, Black Magic, and Hollyland in the newer OS. A small disappointment but nothing major.(After trying those cheap mics I watched dozens of comparison and ranking videos. This type of mic has a tendency to sound muffled and distorted, even some of the expensive models.…The Lark M2 mics were always the best sounding or close to it. Sometimes one of the DJI mics and the Røde Pro sounded better. The cheaper models by both were inferior to the Hollyland to my ears despite the occasional claims of the tester that one of the others were better. I also thought the Lark M2 sounded better than the newer Lark M2S (which is the mic I would have preferred, for size and ease of use). The Lark M2 is actually the cheapest of the lot.…I strongly recommend these videos. Unfortunately there may not be any for the really cheap mics. Boya, yes. But probably none of the others.)