Wireless microphones, explained simply

Why distance is everything

Your phone's microphone is roughly two metres from your mouth when you film. At that distance it captures the fan, the road, the neighbours and the echo bouncing off your walls, all at a similar volume to your voice.

A lavalier microphone sits about twenty centimetres from your mouth. Your voice arrives far louder than everything else, so everything else effectively disappears. That is the whole trick — there is no processing involved.

What the receiver plugs into

This is the one compatibility question that matters. Modern kits come with a receiver that plugs into the phone's charging port, so check that you are buying the version matching your phone — USB-C for most Android and recent iPhones, Lightning for older iPhones.

The VM20 is sold for both iPhone and Android; tell us which phone you have when you order and we will send the right one.

One transmitter or two

A single transmitter records one person. Two transmitters into one receiver record two people, and that is worth the small extra cost even if you film alone today — the first time you interview someone, you will already own it.

Use the windshield

The fuzzy cover is not decoration. Outdoors, even a slight breeze across the microphone produces a low rumble that no editing can remove. Put the windshield on and leave it on.

When you want a handheld instead

A clip-on mic is invisible, which is right for seated conversation. For street interviews and events you want the opposite — a visible handheld microphone you can move between people, which also signals to the person you are pointing it at that they are being recorded.

The WM-1 turns a compact wireless transmitter into exactly that, for ৳790.