In my quest to get the best value, decently performing items for my video kit I have ended up with three mics that may seem the same (too similar as I will explain below), but this is only surface deep. Even though I have effectively tripled up on these, I can still justify owning them for a couple of reasons.
Dude, where’s the cheese?
The Rode Video Micro was the first purchased and the first of its type. It was bought by mistake, but as it turns out it was a fortuitous accident. The MOVO VRX 10 was the intended purchase, but I grabbed the Rode in error as it came up as the second item on the net searching for the MOVO and looked right (turns out MOVO is rare and relatively over priced in Aus, as it is possibly BOYA).
Already freighted, I resigned myself to returning it on arrival, but I decided to hang on to it because it had the best accessories, is a well liked and especially with my Zoom H1n used as a pre-amp, has very deep online support.
The dead cat looks and feels better than any other I have, the Rycote mount is the real deal and I trust the cable the most. This is the shortest of the three, but feels well made (and has survived a drop).
Sound is evenly balanced, if a little “small mic” sounding and it is the weakest. If you get it close to the target and add a bit of equalising, it can supply professional quality sound. Sound is very subjective and reviewers voices and environments vary, so take this, along with the many other audio samples available as opinion only. I find nothing offensive about its sound, but nothing stirs me either (I do like it more than the bigger Rode GO though). The treble is clean and uncluttered, the bass is below average for a mic, even of its size and much less than the Rode’s GO’s (which leans the other way). I do find the other mics slightly more full bodied before processing. If it suffers from anything it is “little brother” syndrome, being designed a decade ago to fit in a specific place in a large range of mics.
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The Neewer CM-14 was purchased not long after for only $28au. This mic is longer and straighter looking, which is handy for the quite deep Smallrig shock mount I purchased with it. Its own shock mount is poor at damping handling noise, but has the advantage of allowing closer mounting towards the subject. It came with a pop filter and needs it.
Sound is slightly more dynamic and intimate or “up front” than the Rode, with deeper tones and crisper, but more obvious “S-y” treble. I think it is either the loudest of the three or about equal with the Boya, just more dynamic sounding. My preference is for less obvious treble, which I personally find distracting and harder to fix than adding in some missing base. Never the less, the mic is popular and produces nice, full sound and is my best shotgun option on a boom indoors.
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The last mic was bought very recently and it closes the loop on this journey. The Boya BY MM1 the first and best liked of three versions of MM1 available. This is very likely an alternative branding of the MOVO (so I likely got the one I wanted in the first place). It took a while to tentatively confirm this, but true or not it sounds and looks the same and comes packaged with the same accessories, so near enough regardless. That possibly explains why the MOVO is too dear and hard to get in Australia and is always imported via other countries, where the Boya came from a local at a good price.
The Boya was again under $30 au which is the right price (about half of the Rode). The main reason for grabbing it is for its sound, which is different.
The Boya has very deep sound with rounded, gentle treble, similar to the base model Rode Video Mic Go, but not as heavy sounding and adds a nice option in my kit. It can sound a little flat to some, but I like the option of the slightly overly deep “radio presenter” presentation for some voices. The Rode then takes the safe middle ground and the Neewer is ideal for the more dynamic opposite end of the spectrum. In reality, equalisation will even these out some, but it does not hurt to get part of the way there up front.
It also seems to be the most “pop” resistant which explains why it came with a dead cat, but not a pop filter.
Overkill?
Wasteful even?
Redundancy when working professionally is always wise and options in any field where variances exist is equally so. When the three add up to a little more than the cost of the very basic Rode Video Mic Go or a little more than half the value of the H1n and each offers a reasonable alternative (along with the Zoom). I do not see any real need to improve on these with more of the same. If a better shotgun mic is wanted, the SSH-6 for the H5 Zoom is a strong contender with the added lure of side mics.
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The mic I have neglected to mention so far is the Zoom H1n, which I have tested along side these, but is in reality a different type of unit. The sound from the Zoom is more open, much more sensitive (with about the same volume as the Boya) and less focussed. This is good for echo prone locations (no interference tube issues) and groups as long as its needs are met. It has by far the worst handling issues, is very wind shy and is the biggest, but if you overcome these, the sound is well above its pay grade. The Zoom H5 coming soon, will likely become my one stop shop for most jobs, but it is nice to have options and backups.
I also have a Boya BY M1 LAV, which may be a handy problem solver. I prefer the sound of a boomed mic and the whole LAV thing does not appeal for my work flow. For $14 it was pointless to ignore this one. The sound from this is more intimate (a LAV thing), with similar tones to the Rode or even the Zoom, but louder.
In my daily kit bag, the Rode is currently the “go anywhere” mic for on camera or short boom use outdoors and on the fly. This is partly due to the “safe”, if underwhelming sound (neutral and inoffensive, with good cut out of unwanted background noise), the build quality/size and its accessories, which are simply the best.
The other two go in my video bag (unless testing reveals a better matched pair) with the LAV and Zoom H1n and now H5. They share this space with a better Smallrig shock mount, several cables and other accessories and an 8 foot boom pole.
If working off camera outside, the Boya is my choice.
If booming indoors, the Neewer is the preferred one, unless I am chasing the deeper tones of the Boya. This gives me two ways of handling different people and environments. Having heard the Boya MM1 Pro, I think the Neewer and it are close.
Both go through the Zoom H1n or H5 as a pre-amp.
Theoretically I could twin boom these two as they are nearly the same gain, but with 2 X/Y Zoom mics, I doubt that would be necessary.
As a direct shotgun option, especially for music, the SSH-6 is the winner, but the little mics are a far more sensible choice for booming.