Hollyland Lark M1 Wireless Lavalier Microphone Review
Lately, I’ve had the chance to test out the Hollyland Lark M1 Wireless Lavalier Microphone which is a budget-friendly option that offers decent audio quality, noise cancellation, and multi-compatibility with a range of devices. I’ll share my experiences to help you decide if it’s right for you.
Disclaimer: I received the Lark M1 for free from Hollyland in order to evaluate it, but my opinions are my own.
The Hollyland Lark M1 Wireless Lavalier Microphone set is an affordable solution for podcasters, YouTubers, and vloggers who want solid audio quality in a convenient package.
In this review, I’ll share my thoughts and experiences with it, and state the positives and negatives of this set, while also going over the sound quality, build quality, battery life, and overall usage.
Contents
Hollyland Lark M1 Wireless Lavalier Microphone
Verdict
The Lark M1 is a wireless mic from Hollyland that comes with a transmitter and delivers decent audio quality. It’s affordable, compact, and has excellent battery life. It’s quite affordable and doesn’t have some of the features of their higher-end mics, but overall, for the given price, the Lark M1 set is a solid product.
Pros
- Affordable microphone set
- Compact, wireless system with a good range
- Omnidirectional pickup pattern
- Excellent battery life
- Features noise-cancellation mode
Cons
- No transmitter screen, so it's difficult to see which volume mode you're on
- No onboard recording
- No free-range volume adjustment (only low, medium, and high)
Hollyland Lark M1 Wireless Microphone
The Hollyland Lark M1 is an affordable, easy-to-use, and effective set of mics for those in need of good audio on the go. It’s a really convenient set of mics. The design is very nice, the charging case is great, and the quality is very decent for the price.
The Lark M1 features a wireless design, allowing you to move freely without tangled cords or limitations to your mobility. It comes with a compact transmitter and receiver that you can easily attach to your clothing or equipment.
It has an 8-hour runtime and comes with a handy charging case that boosts usage to 20 hours. The USB-C port enables easy charging while using the mic, perfect for on-the-move creators like vloggers and streamers. Plus, it works with different devices such as DSLRs, computers, and phones, making it a good choice for pros and beginners alike.
Tech Specs
- Connectivity Technology: 2.4 GHZ
- Frequency Response: 20Hz – 20KHz
- Dynamic Range: 86dB
- Sample Rate: 48 kHz / 16bit
Sound quality
The sound quality of the Lark M1 is fairly decent for the price but it’s not absolutely amazing. Keeping in mind that it’s still a fairly affordable mic, you’re not going to get really high-quality audio, but it will likely be fine for most people on a budget and you can get clear voice recordings.
One of the standout features of the Lark M1 is its noise cancellation technology, which filters out surrounding ambient noise, however, it flattens the sound a little bit. If you don’t want the noise cancellation mode on, you could still press it by mistake which could give you an undesired recording.
My advice for optimal sound quality would be to record audio without the noise-cancellation mode and get a raw sample. Afterward, you could do some post-processing if you know your way around a DAW, or you could just put it through Adobe Podcast (speech enhancer) to get solid audio.
However, if you want to quickly get clean audio then recording with the noise cancellation feature will still be a good option for some people.
Durability and reliability
The Lark M1 set feels pretty robust. They feel pretty sturdy so I would be fairly confident of bringing them out on the go. It’s a good choice if you’re capturing outdoor footage, vlogs, or other content on your DSLR Camera, iPhone (iOS), or Android device.
Connectivity
The Hollyland Lark M1 comes with a bunch of different connections that will allow you to connect to your camera, phone, or computer.
One thing to note is that you might need to get a separate adapter if using an iPhone. Hollyland supplied us with an iPhone lightning cable in a separate box and it wasn’t part of the Lark M1 packaging, so double-check the product specs when buying and get a separate adapter if necessary.
If recording to a computer it would be a better idea to use an audio interface rather than connecting to a 3.5mm input jack as that would likely introduce noise into the recording.
Transmitter and receiver range
When considering a wireless Lavalier microphone, it is essential to focus on the transmitter and receiver range, as this can have a significant impact on audio quality and ease of use in various recording environments. With the Hollyland Lark M1 Wireless Lavalier Microphone, you get a transmission range of up to 650 ft which is massive!
You can attach the transmitter to DSLR cameras, iPhones, iPads, Tablets, PCs, and Android phones which is neat. The one thing I don’t like is that the transmitter doesn’t have a screen so it’s difficult to see which volume mode you’re on. It would have been better if it were more like the Lark 150, for example. It’s a lot easier to see what you’re doing and you can switch to mono/stereo and change volume level with real-time feedback on screen.
Battery life
The battery life is one of the things that impressed me the most. The Hollyland Lark M1 Wireless Lavalier Microphone is an excellent option in terms of battery life, as it offers up to 8 hours of power on a single charge. Additionally, it comes with a charging case that can provide extra battery life when needed. I’ve had no issues with it so far so that’s a huge plus!
Ease of Use
This wireless microphone system is designed to be compact and lightweight without any cable interference. It’s compatible with various devices like DSLR cameras, iPhones, iPads, PCs, and Android mobile phones. It’s ideal for those who want an affordable, comfortable, and easy-to-use wireless Lavalier microphone system, especially for outdoor live streaming, vlogs, content creators, and podcasters.
Verdict
My thoughts on the Hollyland Lark M1 Wireless Lavalier Microphone set are mostly positive. It’s an affordable microphone set with a two-in-one design that captures decent audio quality, has a nice design, is widely compatible, and has excellent battery life. The transmitter could have been better if it had a screen to show you which volume mode you’re on and an onboard recording feature would have been massive. Also, the gain adjustment levels could have been significantly better if you could manually set the gain to how you want it instead of choosing from a 3-level volume preset. Overall, for those on a budget, the Lark M1 set is a decent system worth considering.
