What's The Best Wireless Mic? DJI vs Rode vs Sennheiser vs Saramonic
There's no shortage of 2. 4 gigahertz wireless systems. And so in this video, I want to compare four systems that I think could be good for you. Maybe that didn't work that well, but what does work well. Are these systems these wireless systems that means what we're looking at today is going to be the road wireless pro the dji mic 2 the ceramonic ultra and the sennheiser Profile wireless, so i'll give you a quick rundown of each of these systems We'll hear how they sound and then i'll share my thoughts on each of them I should let you know each brand did send their system to me at no cost and i'm under zero Obligation to make a video say anything do anything some of these i've had for a while Like the RØDE Wireless Pro, I think I've had it for over a year at this point, whereas others like the Sennheiser.
Is very new to me. I just got this last week, but I have likes and dislikes about each system Which I'll share to you and maybe hopefully help you figure out which one might be right for you Or if it might actually be a better option to go with something like a UHF wireless system If you need something that's a little more powerful and a little bit more on that professional level So the reason I wanted to use these four systems specifically aside from the fact They're the ones that I have is that they are 2. 4 dual transmitter systems and they all record internally as well to their transmitters. So there are certain things like the Hollyland Lark, which I really want to go out on a Lark and check out because it seems awesome.
And the price is really good on that one, but it does not have internal recording. So I wanted to kind of stick with things that have internal recording. really good battery life, all that. And that's these four systems right here.
Now, when it comes to these 2. 4 gigahertz systems like this and others that are out there on one hand, I'm really interested in them. And I find them really exciting because wireless audio used to be something that was incredibly complicated and super expensive.
And when road was really the one with the original wireless go, suddenly. Wireless audio was affordable and simple, and that's really cool. Now, anybody, even if you're just using your phone or whatever can get awesome wireless audio, but they're also not perfect because 2. 4 gigahertz that I've talked about in some other videos is not always the most reliable wavelength.
You can get interference. You can get signal dropouts. All of these systems really do need direct line of sight to work their best.
That means the transmitter. needs to be in a direct line of sight with the receiver. If you go behind objects or even turn away from it, sometimes those can cause signal dropouts. They don't have incredible range like UHF systems can. Oops.
All of these pretty much have a range somewhere between two and 300 meters. And honestly, I'm not even going to do a range test here because I didn't want to arrange that. If you're maxing out the crazy far distance you can go with these systems, You probably need a UHF system.
Now, all of these do have internal recording, like I mentioned. So if you want to record a backup, that means if your signal drops out, it's no problem. You can just pop in the recording and everything's good to go. If you're doing things, you know, live or in a situation where they can't be edited, then the recording doesn't necessarily help, but they do work best when you are close. The other downside with these systems is that pretty much none of them have replaceable batteries. I've talked about that before.
That really sucks because even if the batteries last a really, really, really long time, it does kind of limit the lifespan, the usable lifespan of what are otherwise incredibly awesome systems. So with all that in mind, let's dive in and check out some of the features that differentiate these systems. do some sound comparisons, and then I'll kind of give you my thoughts on each one.
Right here I'll put a side by side real quickly so you can hear quick comparisons of my voice on all four systems. This is what I sound like on the Rode Wireless Pro. And now for comparison, this is what my voice sounds like on the DJI Mic 2. This is what my voice sounds like on the Saramonic Ultra wireless system. And this is what my voice sounds like on the Sennheiser Profile Wireless. If you just want the TLDR and you just want to know, hey, which one do I get of these systems? My personal choice, if you had to pick one, would actually be the DJI Mic 2 because it's not the least expensive of the systems, but overall, I think it's the most practical, most functional, one of the most fun to use.
And especially if you use Sony cameras, then it can just connect directly to your camera without needing cables. And that's a huge time saver. So especially if you're a Sony shooter, I think the DJI mic two is the best one to go with, even though I don't actually think it's the best sounding overall.
So sounds like we should go through. some of these things here. Let's go oldest to newest. Let's start there.
So that way we can go down the road from oldest to newest, which will also go from most expensive to least expensive. And that lets us talk about the Rode first, which I think is important because Rode was the company that came out with the first of these simple systems, like I mentioned. This is the Rode Wireless Pro. It has an MSRP of 399.
And, I'm just gonna do built in recording. This is what the Rode Wireless Pro sounds like if I hold it really close to my mouth. This is always where these are gonna sound the best, obviously. And they are omnidirectional, so they pick up sound from every direction. They don't have crazy proximity effect. But a lot of the times when these are being used, they're being clipped to you, either a lapel or a hat or something like that.
So where it's at. affect the sound. If I put this on the middle of my chest, this is kind of a very typical place for these to go. Now the Rode does have the highest price, but it does come with not just the receiver and two transmitters, but it comes with this other separate box little container package thing here that actually does have two Rode lavalier, two microphones, microphone, I can say words, microphones in it.
So you get two lavalier microphones. In addition to all of your windscreens and cleaning cloths, and basically every other little cable and accessory you would need. So this is actually the only system that comes with its own microphones, and it doesn't just come with one microphone, but it does come with two microphones. And it does have 32 bit float built in recording, which is right now, so if I scream really loud or talk really quietly, you can even that out. All of these except the Sennheiser do have 32 bit float inside them.
So this is the Rode Wireless Pro. This is what that sounds like and hope there are lots of pros to the Wireless Pro. It does have the charging case here. It's sort of like this. charging case, but then you can plug it in here to charge.
Oh, I should mention also not something I use in my workflow a lot, although with four cameras running right now, maybe it is something that I should use. This does have the ability to output time code, which not every wireless system does. And now you're listening to me on the DJI mic two transmitter. And this is what it's like on my chest. This is what it would sound like if I hold it.
closer to me. And you know, if I had it like pinned up in the brim of a hat or something, I'm going to keep this pin to my chest. So that way you kind of hear an equal comparison between them.
So the DJI mic two, I did mention this was the one I would recommend the most. This has an MSRP of 349, but it does not come with any lavalier microphones. So if you want to buy even DJI's least expensive microphones, That's going to push you up closer to the same price as the Rode Wireless Pro. So this is a really good system price wise if you don't need an extra lavalier microphone. And you can kind of see I have my one transmitter taken out.
I really like this case a lot more, this charging case. It's small, it's robust. It also comes with this pouch here. And what's cool about this pouch is then the case fits in here. And now I've got my windscreens, which I'm not using right now.
I've got all my cables and I do have this. This is an extra accessory. This is a small little adapter that lets me connect the DJI system directly to a Sony camera with no cables.
So what I do there is I can take the transmitter and I can take this and clip it in here. And now this can go right into my camera's accessory shoe, and it's going to work just like a native Sony mic, even though this is a DJI microphone system. So again, this is an extra accessory. But if you are someone who uses Sony cameras a lot and you're looking for a wireless mic system, not having to run extra cables, it's really, really nice. And maybe you kind of saw that with just the way this whole thing works.
A thing that I really love about the DJI system is how like gadgety and tinkery it is. I've always loved that kind of stuff. The way everything fits and works and just even the magnets kind of click in very satisfyingly. This is just, it feels like the most premium of the systems.
It feels the most high quality. And I think it's the most fun to use for that reason. It's also very easy to use when you want to go through the settings and the receiver and the transmitter and everything. It just, it works really, really well. And the quality of life usability on the system is through the roof. I, I have to admit.
I was not interested in this because I had the road one first. Like I bought the original one road, sent me this one. I wasn't really interested in getting another system. And then DJI reached out and asked if I wanted to try this. I thought, ah, fine. I was really blown away by it as soon as I used it.
And it kind of became my favorite one to use because it is. So enjoyable to use does have 32 bit float built in as well. And you can kind of see this is sort of neat in here. There's a little adapter, uh, if I can get it out, this has a lightning connector and this has a USB C connector.
So what that means is you can put these on the back of the receiver. And you can plug it into either a phone or a computer that has one of these connectors. So something I've done a lot while having this is put the lightning connector on the receiver, and then just clip it into my phone. And now I've got a wireless system on my phone that doesn't need any extra cables. Oops. It's very easy to use and it works incredibly well.
You can do the same thing with a computer. I've taken the same thing with the USB C connector and just plugged it into the side of my laptop. And now I have a wireless USB mic going directly into my computer. Now I did update the DJI firmware because people had said that the sound was really kind of thin and harsh compared to other systems.
And so they did a firmware update that improved the sound. This is what that sounds like. I still personally prefer the sound of the RODE.
I actually, I think the sound of the DJI is fine, but I think the sound of the RODE and some of the other systems is really good. It's like exceptional. But the usability of the DJI honestly makes me feel like, hmm, I might sacrifice the sound quality a little bit or spend a little more time in editing to make it better.
Adapt to that, which by the way, none of the audio in this video is processed or edited. It's just straight out of these recorders. And I got to point out too, especially compared to the Rode, the Rode transmitters are this big and the DJI is that big.
So they are significantly smaller and I really do love the smoky transparent electronic design of these. Plus just little things like when you turn the transmitters on and off, they vibrate to kind of let you know they're on or off. There's. It's just, it's such a tactilely satisfying system. And I should point out, this is actually on my Sennheiser overhead microphone, as I'm putting the DJI away, once you have the microphone case and all the accessories in their little pouch, it does end up being about the same size as the two Rode cases that have the transmitters and then the mics and all the accessories.
They kind of end up being basically the same size. So you can sometimes split these in half and put them in different compartments of your camera bag. Versus this has to be one whole thing. I just wanted to point that out. Now you're listening to me on the Saramonic Ultra wireless system.
So this is what it sounds like as I'm holding it near my chest. This is what it sounds like as it's closer to me. And then of course up here, like if I had it pinned on a hat or something along those lines. And same as with the others, I'm going to keep this pinned to my chest. The Saramonic doesn't come with anything too fancy beyond this charging case here, but it does come with a sack.
And it does include then the windscreens and the USB C cables. Now there are a couple of things that make the Saramonic stand out compared to the other systems like the DJI and the Rode that we've already talked about. First being price. This is 299. So it's a hundred dollars less than the Rode.
And it's 50 less than the DJI. But anyway, with the Saramonic, a couple of things you get that you don't get with any other system are IPX5 weather resistance. So this is not waterproof, but they are weatherproof. If you're out in the rain, if you're out in splashy situations. These can actually stand up to that.
Whereas the other systems are not rated to be weather resistant at all. I've used the roads and the DJI's in, you know, funky conditions as well, but I think you can have a little more peace of mind with this since they are specifically designed to do that. And that is a marquee feature.
Now another thing about the Saramonic is it does come with an antenna. It's the only one that comes with an external antenna and you can pop that into the, This is the only 2. 4 gigahertz system I've seen that comes with an antenna, which looks a lot more like, if I get out my Sennheiser UHF systems, these all have antennas. My Shure UHS system has antennas. That is a very common thing in the world of UHF, but it is not common in the world of 2.
4 gigahertz. And so this is rated to extend the range from 250 meters all the way up to 300 meters. Again, going back to what I said at the beginning of this video, I don't think 2.
4 gigahertz systems are a thing to go for if you want maximum range, because there's just so many other variables that come into play within those 200 to 300 meters, but it's kind of cool that that just comes with the antenna. And at least gives you the option. Very similarly to what we just saw in the DJI, you've got USB C and lightning connectors here, which can just snap right on the back of the receiver. And I like this because instead of just sliding, they do kind of lock in. So that way it's just.
They're in there a little more firmly. And now you can do the same thing, connect this to a phone, a computer, whatever. And now you're listening to me on the Sennheiser Profile Wireless. Why am I holding this candy bar looking brick? Because Sennheiser did something really different, and that's That was what actually led to me making this video in the first place is because this system is the one that is brings the biggest smile to my face, I think, because they actually did something different.
You kind of saw there's a lot of similarities there, still some of those similarities here, but they have actually done something that nobody else has done in the 2. 4 gigahertz wireless system. Right now, I'm using the charging case as a microphone. My transmitter's right here. I can actually push this very satisfying little click, pull that out, and now here I've got my transmitter for the profile wireless. This is what it sounds like on my chest.
This is what it sounds like if I position it closer to my mouth. This is what it would sound like on the brim of a hat or whatever and wait, I need magnets to pin it to myself. Let me just pop out the magnet from the bottom right there.
And now I've got the transmitter connected to my chest again right here. So very similarly to the other systems, this is two transmitters, one receiver, and battery charging case, MSRP of 299. So this ties with the Saramonic in terms of price, but you do have this, they call it the charging bar, and it does give you some very different functionality. I am so happy to see things that are just a little bit different. So let me walk you around this whole charging bar case thing, because this is pretty fun. This really reminds me of a piece of like 1980s technology, and I mean that in the best possible way, because it feels like the 80s.
Maybe into the early 90s were a time when it was kind of like, I don't know, adding extra uses into things was just sort of common. This feels like something that in 20 years, some nerd like me would have a YouTube channel where they're like, look at this microphone system from 2024. Isn't that crazy? And I love that about this because it, it's just something that is actually practical and usable, but also fun and different and being able to do something different in a well established market like this.
is awesome. But anyway, let's talk about this charging bar here. If I take off the windscreen, then you do have a quarter 20, a metal quarter 20 inch mount on the back. And you have these little things here, which I thought were buttons, but they just have a picture of a heart with a line through it.
And I was like, no, I, I do love this. I don't not love this. And then I realized these are the magnets for the back of the transmitters. And they're just warning you don't put a magnet near a pacemaker if you have one in your heart So that is where the magnet is stored on the other side over here You have a usb c port for charging and then you also have this little flap door Trap door that opens down and this now looks very similar to some things we've seen in the other systems You have a lightning connector that can go on the back of the receiver You have a USB C connector that can go on the back of the receiver and you have not an integrated hot shoe mount, but this is just what would go on the receiver in order to then add a hot shoe mount and also a quarter twenty to the bottom of the receiver if you want to just Attach it to your camera's accessory shoe or whatever now You do have your two transmitters stored in the top up here and there's a little button Because it very satisfyingly releases these when you press press that button This is the only system i'm using today that does not have built in 32 bit float recording It's regular 24 bit and the way that it It handles its recording as it just records like normal, whatever you have your stuff set to.
But it also then has the option if you want to enable a safety track, which basically means on one channel, it's going to record your normal audio like your left or right channel on the, on the other channel, it will record a quieter version. So if something does clip or get too loud, you can take that quieter version and boost it up. I do personally think it would be nice to have 32 bit float, even if I don't necessarily always need it. It's definitely a nice thing to just have.
But these are really nice little transmitters. Couple things I do like about them. They actually have a quarter 20 mount in the handle there.
So if you want to put this on a microphone stand or mount it somewhere or clip it onto a camera, just have a little more versatility there. And this is the only system that has a metal connector for a 3. 5 millimeter lavalier microphone. The Rode system does have a locking connector for lavalier microphones, but it is plastic. I'm never really a fan of plastic threaded things. The Sennheiser is just metal and you know, it'll just last forever as far as that goes.
Just in the same way, it's very satisfying the way like the DJI's magnets click the transmitter in. Putting this in here and then clicking it in. is also really, really satisfying. And the receiver does work very similarly. If you're using it in this configuration, it's right there and everything's accessible, but you can also just push this button, pop. And then the receiver comes out and now you have a traditional 2.
4 gigahertz receiver system. And one big reason for being able to use it like this is not just so it's easier to just, have a handheld interview microphone, but also because of this quarter 20 here, you can then put it on a mount and now you have like a desktop USB microphone. So it just kind of folds in some of that same functionality we see in other systems and just makes it even more practical and even more functional. Something that was surprising to me though, about this Sennheiser system is because it does have this big case, this charging bar that they call it.
I kind of expected it to then have the biggest battery in here, But, the DJI actually has a bigger built in battery than the Sennheiser. So, that was kind of interesting. Which means the DJI system has the biggest built in battery in its charging case. But since you can't use it while it's charging, and right now I have the transmitter in here recording, but it's also connected to the battery, so that means in this situation I can get up to 15 hours of battery life in this configuration. The DJI, even though it has a bigger battery, is limited to six hours of operation in the transmitters, which is like more than you would You don't need to be recording audio for six hours, probably, but this gives you six hours and then the case can charge it probably like two times to full.
After that, this is a smaller 2000 milliamp battery versus it's like 3, 200 milliamp hour, but when it's being used like this again, 15 hours of audio. just kind of nice basically you never have to really worry about running out of power in this case and it also charges quite quickly I've noticed as well. So now that we've got a little bit of insight into each of these systems I'm going to share some thoughts on each of them we're going to start again with the Rode. If you are somebody who's going to be using lavalier microphones all the time like you know that just right off the bat you're going to be plugging lavalier microphones into your 2. 4 gigahertz system then this one really does make a lot of sense because it just comes with two really good lavalier microphones right in the package as well.
Traditionally, I have preferred the sound of the Rode Wireless Pro although the Sennheiser I think might be giving it a bit of a run for its money. It's a good solid reliable system. I've used versions of this Since they came out with the original one back in like 2019, so I really really like it Obviously if you know me and you know the channel, I like Rode products a lot. The things I don't like about this system though Are that 399 is pretty expensive for a 2. 4 gigahertz system You could spend a couple hundred more dollars and move into the world of UHF, which is going to be just a lot more reliable. If you don't need onboard recording, it's tricky when it comes to UHF systems that can simultaneously record and transmit.
There's a whole legal thing that I don't understand. But anyway, aside from that, the road sounds really good. The price is a little bit high. And since this design has gotten refined a little bit, I think a couple of bits of roads, design have been left in the dust. For example, just how giant the transmitters are. It kind of does drive me crazy when I see this giant thing with a logo on it right by someone's face when they're talking.
I just find that very, very distracting. You know, it's better than having bad audio. I would rather have this than have bad audio, but in the world where, you know, you have Saramonics getting really small, the DJI's are getting smaller, the Hollyland Lark looks like the size of a small coin. I feel like this design is just a little bit big and outdated.
And then the charging case, as nice as it is, you just have these USB C things in here and it's just sort of this very like, not that it matters, it just doesn't feel nice when you connect the things in there. The other ones all have this, you know, Satisfying click or magnet or whatever. And this one just sort of feels like you're kind of just wedging it in and plugging it in. So not the biggest fan of the charging case or the way that it works, but the system overall is incredibly reliable. I did leave one of the transmitters outside. accidentally for three months and it still worked when I powered it on so it was in rain and heat and wind and dust and harsh sunshine and all kinds of stuff and after three months it still worked so durability wise I have zero issues, zero qualms with the RODE, even though it's not technically weather resistant or IPX rated.
So now, coming back to the DJI, I mentioned that this was probably the one I would recommend if I don't know anything about you, but maybe you're a Sony shooter. And that is just because of the quality, the reliability, the usability, and it's just, it's a really nice system. And I think the weight of me saying that is the fact that I didn't want to like this. I thought there's plenty of other ones. Why do I need this? I really like the road one.
And then this one won me over just by being really, really good. So the DJI, especially again, if you're a Sony shooter is absolutely awesome and it works great. And if you're in the DJI ecosystem as well, if you want to pair this transmitter with something like an Osmo action or an Osmo pocket, then you can do that as well.
And it's just kind of nice the way everything sort of in a pretty fun way. The only real complaint, which kind of applies to a lot of these, is if you wanted to put the windscreens in the case. It doesn't fit in there with it mounted at all. So you can't really do that. You can kind of wedge it in the road because it's this mushy case.
So that actually becomes a benefit. And then you can fit windscreens in here if you need to. The DJI doesn't let you do that.
So you sometimes find yourself needing to take the bigger pouch, even if you don't want to. And you just want to take this slim little case here. But that same thing applies. to the other systems as well. So I don't really think that's a fair dig on the DJI. The only thing I guess I would say if I had to be critical is that it's not my favorite sound quality of the bunch.
I think that it's awesome. And if it's the only one you're listening to, and it's the only one you ever used, it's going to sound great. But as soon as you pair it up against something like the Rode or the Sennheiser, especially, it starts to sound like maybe that's not the best sounding one. But the quality, ease of use, reliability, I have been able to make that trade off. A number of times in the past because I just really like using the system. So going from the DJI to the Saramonic, I will be very honest and say this is my least favorite of these systems.
I think there's some good points here, but also some kind of annoying frustrating ones. The good points are the price. It's very similar to the DJI system, but it's 50 less.
It does not have the ability to natively connect to Sony cameras through an optional accessory. But if you don't need that feature wise, there's not a lot of difference between these two, except that the Saramonic does offer that IPX5 weather resistance and does have the antenna to boost the range a little bit on the receiver, if that's something that you need. So.
And that's, those are all pretty good things, right? The problem is, I really wish Saramonic would have leaned into those cool things that make it unique and not, as you can see here, basically just copying DJI. Because this just looks exactly the same. If I take these receivers out, I have gotten these mixed up so many times, the only way I can remember it is that the DJI has the orange circle on it.
Otherwise, they look really, really similar. I know there's only so much you can do with user interfaces and things, but it, it almost feels just like a blatant copy of the DJI. And even if we look at the case here, as might be the case, the way things obviously you only have so much space to arrange things, but it looks exactly like the DJI Sennheiser did something a little bit different with their accessories.
It's cool that it comes with these accessories. But they're set up the exact same way As they are in the dji And it's pretty much the exact same thing. I do like how this lights up when you shut it.
I think that's cool The other thing is that this feels way cheaper than this This feels like a high quality charging case. It kind of locks down in this very nice clicky satisfying way This one just goes shut and it feels good little bit plasticky, but they also put this faux leather texture on everything. I don't know if I can pick up on camera here, but kind of every part of this sort of has a faux leather texture, including the actual components themselves, like the receiver.
Here's a transmitter. They all have that. They are not soft touch materials.
This is just plastic. All that to say, I do think that the Saramonic offers a lot for the price. Obviously there's only so much you can do in the world of dual transmitter, wireless 2. 4 gigahertz systems. And especially because you're looking at another 299 wireless system. that has a lot of the same features, but did something different.
And since the Profile Wireless is the same price as the Saramonic, I definitely would recommend the Sennheiser over the Saramonic for quality, build quality, also sound quality, also originality points, which for me, go a long way. Let's rank them in my order of preference, just in terms of real world usability. I think the DJI is number one, even though it's not necessarily the best sounding one.
I do think the Sennheiser is then number two, then the Rode, and then the Saramonic in fourth place. And the reason for this is I really like the Rode and I really like the sound quality of the Rode, but the design is starting to feel a little bit long in the tooth and the fact that there are just other options for cheaper. The Sennheiser is 100 less than the Rode system.
And I definitely don't think you're getting 100 less in terms of quality. In some cases you're getting more in terms of quality. So this is kind of my ranking first, second, third, and fourth place. There you go. And speaking of things that always come in first place, thank you to everyone who helps support my channel.
And if you want to know more about wireless mic systems and mic reviews and comparisons, check out these videos right here.
2024-11-30 05:10
