Three Lavalier Microphones for your Mobile Phone

Need to record better audio to your smartphone or even record video with better sound on your mobile? We’ve reviewed several lavalier microphones over the last few years and in this episode we’ll let you hear three of them back to back to help you decide which may be best for your projects. Each of them are well under $100 USD and two of the are well under $40 USD so there’s an option for any budget. You can get surprisingly good sound, even with a $20 USD microphone.

We’ll have a listen to the GORA Lavalier, the Aputure A.lav, and the RODE smartLav+. I personally prefer the RODE for the great sound quality and robust build quality, but the GORA also sounds really good, despite its lesser build quality. The Aputure A.lav wins as the most versatile as it can record, out of the box, to your phone, your camera, or your camcorder.

Each of these mics can be a great option.

Also, I'm finding the Rycote Undercovers to be a nice way to mount lavalier microphones and avoid clothing noise. We'll take a closer look at those in an upcoming episode.

Aputure A.lav Quick Review: Best Cheap Lavalier 2015

I’ve reviewed quite a few inexpensive lavalier microphones (~$50 or less) over the last several years. And to be honest, I haven’t found one that sounded better than the Giant Squid or JK MicJ 044 in over a year. Until the Aputure A.lav was released, that is. I’m quite impressed with this little mic and what’s more, it runs about $35 USD so it won’t break the bank.

I suspect the reason this one sounds better than many of the others is that it has its own power module. So yes, this is potentially a little more cumbersome, but it also allows you to monitor your audio while recording and to ensure you can use this with just about any device with a 3.5mm microphone input.

If you want to improve the sound of your videos but the budget's tight, the A.lav may be worth a look and a listen.