I provide honest ratings and reviews on tech, toys, and consumer home goods that I've purchased and used. Reviews are based on hands-on testing and personal observations. All opinions and comments are my own.
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Takeaway: Boosts speaker audio and reduces ambient noise, but can add line noise or too much gain which causes distortion. You'll receive a spare LR44H coin cell battery, 2 foam wind screens, a ¼" microphone jack, metal alligator shirt clip, and the microphone with built-in TRRS/TRS switch for using different devices. You'll also receive a faux leather carrying case and an instruction manual. You'll find the second foam wind screen in the carrying case and a battery is pre-installed in the mic. The 1/4" mic plug is an adapter that connects to the built-in 1/8" (3.5mm) mic jack. This is a TRRS (4-pin) plug that can be used with mobile phones but can also be switched to TRS (3-pin) for other devices (e.g. computers, laptops, and digital cameras). The foam windscreen slips over the end of the microphone to reduce ambient noise and wind noise when recording. It's a little tight at first so you have to pull and stretch it out a bit to get it on. The alligator clip snaps onto the mic collar just below the wind screen. The in-line switch is fairly large for what it does, but it's made of a durable/lightweight aluminum metal and has an integrated shirt/belt clip. The length of the cable from the mic to the switch is 4 ft and the remaining length is just over 15 ft for about 19 total feet of cable from the plug to the mic.
The switch only needs to be on when using the mic with TRS devices. When using TRRS devices like smartphones, you do not have to turn the switch on and therefore it won't run down the battery. If using with a digital camera, like a DSLR or mirrorless camera, remember to turn the switch on otherwise it won't pick up any sound. When using the Maono lapel mic with my Sony a6300, the Maono mic offers a more focused sound which captures my voice better and more loudly, versus the on-board mic on the camera. There's also a bit less of the ambient background noise, however, there's a slight hum of line noise. When I tried the mic with my smartphone (with the switch in the OFF position and wearing in the same position) the microphone didn't perform as well, in terms of audio quality. While my voice captured sounded louder, there was significant distortion and clipping making the audio sound constrained and buzzy. I was able to somewhat alleviate this by moving the mic lower on my body, but this might look strange or awkward depending on what you're wearing.
Overall, the Maono mic does a nice job boosting the audio of the person speaking and reducing ambient noise when it's used as a lapel mic. However, performance was inconsistent across devices with the same placement. There was a tiny bit of line noise creeping in with TRRS devices like my camera and noticeable distortion and buzzing with my smartphone when positioned on my collar.
Takeaway: Works ok as a wireless PA mic, a bit too quiet for recording, mono only. The mic kit comes with a transmitter, lapel mic with 3.5' long wire and 3-pin mini XLR plug (mono), a receiver with 1/4" microphone jack, a pair of AA batteries, a pair of AAA batteries, and an instruction manual. The transmitter unit is pretty basic. It's made of plastic and has a wire belt clip on the back, a mini XLR input for the mic, and power button on the top by the antenna. On front is an LCD screen that shows the transmitting frequency and a door that swings open for loading the two AA batteries. The microphone simply plugs into the port on the top and it has a metal alligator shirt clip. The receiver plugs into your sound system via the 1/4" jack but you can use an adapter to use it with 1/8" Aux-in/mic ports (not included). On the side of the transmitter is the on/off switch and a 2.25" antenna for increasing the reception. On the opposite side is the door for the battery bay for loading the two AAA batteries.
The unit is basically plug and play. Turn on the receiver and transmitter and they will pair automatically. When paired the light on the receiver turns from flashing red to green. The LCD screen on the transmitter displays the frequency as well as remaining battery life. The channel range is 672.5 to 684.5 in 0.5 MHz increments. There are 25 channels on this mic to help you avoid interference with other equipment on mics, and it remembers the last channel you set it to when you switch it off and on again. The LCD dims after 3 minutes to save power and flashes when the unit has low battery.
The lapel mic is directional and should be clipped with the top of the wind screen pointing up towards your mouth. However, even from this short distance of about 6 inches, the pickup from the mic isn't quite strong enough and the audio is fairly quiet. The mic sounds better and is much louder when it's right in front of your mouth, but that's not how it's designed to be used. I was able to use the mic plugged into a portable speaker and it sounded fine, but after I got more than 20 feet away the sound started to audibly fade. I must be one of the lucky ones that got a mic that doesn't pop or crackle as I haven't noticed any static noise when using the mic so far.
Sound-wise the ranges are a bit condensed lending a "boxy" sound quality. Without any post editing, the Fifine mic is much quieter than the Yeti mic that I normally use for recording and doesn't have as good audio quality. Also it only records in mono, and is therefore not suitable for much of my recording needs. However, I would use it as a PA system wireless mic for events and parties or perhaps hook it up to my camera for some B-roll video footage.
Takeaway: Easy to set up, good clarity and reproduction, nice range, decent volume.Easy to set up, good clarity and reproduction, nice range, decent volume.
Takeaway: Easy to set up and adjust, holds Blue Yeti mic weight, strong grip and stable positioning.
UPDATE: The new version comes with both a plastic and metal thread adapter for converting 3/8" to 5/8" thread , however, both of them suffer the same problem.... the threads are shallow and soft so that they strip easily if you mount and dismount the Blue Yeti mic to them often. They're essentially "one-time" use since once you install it, you should leave it installed, otherwise it's super easy to damage the adapter threads and the mic will become loose fitting on it, potentially allowing it to come crashing down on the floor.
You'll receive the suspension arm, a desk clamp, a mic holder, and 1 plastic and 1 brass 3/8" to 5/8" thread adapter for larger threaded mics like the Blue Yeti. The suspension arm is made of a medium-weight steel with a powder black coating. The full length measures about 27" with the upper portion being 14" and the bottom 13". The C-clamp is also made of metal and it has a max truss width of 2.25". The mic holder is made of plastic and its diameter is 1" for narrow ended studio mics. Some folks have complained that the locking nut for the post has defective threads; On mine I didn't find this to be the case and the locking mechanism seems to work fine. It's tight enough that I need to loosen the nut to swivel the boom, otherwise the post gets scratched and shredded by the end of the nut.
The arm is pretty simple to assemble although it comes with no instructions. Note that whatever surface you mount it to needs to be flat on top and bottom. If it has a fancy edge or bevel on top, the clamp cannot grip the surface tightly (like some fancy edges to granite countertops). At the end of the arm you can use either the 3/8" mic holder or the 5/8" thread adapter. The mic holder did a fine job holding a 1 lb moving coil mic. It was easy to adjust and maneuver around. The arm is rated to handle up to 3 lbs of weight. With the brass adapter, the boom also performed well in holding my Blue Yeti mic. The metal adapter can be a bit tricky to get in flush because it doesn't have a thumb tightening ring, so be careful not to screw it in skewed. I don't recommend using the plastic adapter because the thread tends to strip very quickly potentially putting your mic in a precarious position. But the brass adapter seems to hold the weight just fine. I think as long as you remember to loosen the knobs when you need to make adjustments at the joints you can avoid stripping the threads on the locking nuts as well. If you don't loosen the nuts before adjusting the arm, you'll likely find yourself sweeping up the black dust from the power coating that scrapes off. You can also easily add a pop filter to the post that the mic sits on.
Overall, this is an inexpensive, functional mic boom that helps you save a little space if you don't have room on for a floor stand. It doesn't have the longest reach or best dampening features, but it gets the job done for a simple set up.
Takeaway: Functions as a mic for video chat but doesn't sound amazing. Amazon Affiliate Product Link - Tonor Desktop Mic: http://geni.us/0kab Lavalier/Lapel Mic - http://geni.us/mHtWUUz This microphone doesn't require external power and is plug-and-play using any standard Aux-in port. The body of the microphone is made of plastic with a black and chrome finish. The plastic is lightweight and inexpensive, like something from the Dollar General. While marketed to be a "professional" mic, its weight and feel is decidedly low-end, but you get what you pay for.
It sounds boxy/tinny and the ranges of high and low frequencies are clipped. While the microphone didn't perform well at a distance, it did okay picking up my voice when holding it right in front of my face. Surprisingly, it doesn't pick up a lot of background noise, but there's a noticeable humming/hissing of line noise (static from current), especially when the mic is recording dead air. The product functions as a simple microphone if your goal is to use it for video chat or personal recordings, but this microphone just doesn't fit the bill for professional applications.
