Lavalier Microphone Comparison Results

We’ve done a bunch of episodes on lavalier microphones including reviews, technique, which recorders they work best with and, well, maybe we’ve been a little too obsessed with lavalier microphones.

But one thing we have not done is blindly pit them one against the other to see which one sounds best—by that I mean, not tell you which is which, just let you listen to each one where the talent speaks the same dialogue. Last week we did just that and now, the results are in! Let’s see which mics won at the blind comparison test!

If you’d like to listen to the raw sample audio for each mic, check http://LearnLightAndSound.com

Here's the key to which mic was which:

Microphone A: Giant Squid
Microphone B: HMNSound MicroLav
Microphone C: RODE smartLav+
Microphone D: Audio Technica Pro70
Microphone E: Audio Technica AT899
Microphone F: Audio Technica ATR-3350

This episode shot with the following:

—————————————————————————————

Audio Technica AT899 (The Winner!):
https://geni.us/gX7cGVt

—————————————————————————————

HMNSound MicroLav (2nd Place):
http://hmnsound.com

—————————————————————————————

Giant Squid Audio Lab Omni Mono (3rd Place):
https://geni.us/kTBUDef

—————————————————————————————

RODE smartLav+ (4th Place):
https://geni.us/LsKBnx7

—————————————————————————————

Audio Technica ATR-3350 (5th Place):
https://geni.us/LMIhLsy

—————————————————————————————

Audio Technica Pro70 Cardioid Lavalier (6th Place):
https://geni.us/foRz2G

—————————————————————————————

Zoom H1 Audio Recorder
https://geni.us/Esjq

—————————————————————————————

Tascam DR-60D Audio Recorder
https://geni.us/Mv5wc

—————————————————————————————
Photoflex Starlite QL:
https://geni.us/MBvqqu

Photoflex Large SilverDome nxt Soft Box:
https://geni.us/bLDemux

—————————————————————————————

Limo Studio 650 Watt Fresnel (kicker light)
https://geni.us/Bdkj

—————————————————————————————

Fotodiox 508A LED Light (used as a kicker to camera left, behind talent)
https://geni.us/BGa4Ho

—————————————————————————————

Westcott Photo Basics 5-in-1 Reflector (Fill)
https://geni.us/sT8lCA

—————————————————————————————

Gray Card--Lastolite EZ Balance
https://geni.us/Wqhb9

—————————————————————————————

Panasonic GH4 (Wide shot camera):
https://geni.us/K9yB

—————————————————————————————

Olympus 45mm f/1.8 micro 4/3 Lens
https://geni.us/q8z7P

—————————————————————————————

Atomos Ninja II HD Recorder
https://geni.us/GBTx

—————————————————————————————

Nikon D600 (Close Shot Camera):
https://geni.us/PMaly

—————————————————————————————

Nikon 50mm f/1.8 AF-D Lens (Close cam lens):
https://geni.us/yASKL

—————————————————————————————

Music copyright Curtis Judd 2011

Ethics statement: Some of the links above are Amazon.com, B&H Photo, or other affiliate links.