Latest news with #RodeWirelessMicro
Yahoo
15-07-2025
- Yahoo
Rode's Smallest, Most Affordable Wireless Microphone for Your Phone Is On Sale for Prime Day
Your phone's micrphone is fine, up and until it isn't. Prime Day is helping you dodge audio problems, like wind noise and distance issues, with the Rode Wireless Micro, which is on sale for as low as $125 (16% off) right now. Pocket-size, two mics, no excuses. If you need to capture better audio on your smartphone, whether it's for an interview, podcast or skit that you're shooting, look no farther than the new and ultracompact Rode Wireless Micro. You can get the Wireless Micro, which includes a tiny receiver and two small transmitters, for as low as $125 right now. Prices range depending on color and what type of connector you need (lightning or USB-C). I've written about Rode's wireless microphones before (you can check out my review of the Wireless Go II), and while all of their wireless mics can get you high-quality audio for your phone or camera, the prices range vastly, so it's good to know which is the best option for you, or for someone else, especially if you're thinking about giving the Wireless Micro as a gift. For more, here are the best phone deals we've found and the best headphone deals for Black Friday. Hey, did you know? CNET Deals texts are free, easy and save you money. The Wireless Micro, released just this year, is the smallest and most affordable option of the Rode wireless microphones. Inside the charging case you'll find a receiver and two transmitters. Unlike the other wireless microphones from Rode, you can plug this receiver straight into your phone using USB-C or Lightning, which covers pretty much all the new iPhone and Android models. No extra cables needed. Once the receiver is plugged in to your phone, all you need to do is remove the transmitters and they'll automatically sync without you having to do anything. You'll know you're good when the blinking green lights stop. Now any video that you record on your phone will use the audio from your transmitters instead of the audio recorded by your phone's built-in microphone. You can hold the transmitters in your hand and speak into them directly, or you can do what I do, which is clip the Wireless Micro transmitter onto my shirt, jacket or sweater. The transmitters also come with two magnetic attachments in case you want to better hide them. If you're worried about the audio being too soft or too loud, there's intelligent GainAssist technology that makes sure your audio sounds good in any environment, whether you're recording audio inside of a church filled with reverb or outside at the beach on a windy day. The Wireless Micro also comes with two furry windshields that you can attach to your transmitters to help mitigate wind noise. And you're probably thinking about battery life. The charging case, when fully charged, can provide two additional charges to the transmitters, for up to 21 hours of battery life. That means that the wireless microphone can be used for 7 hours at a time before you need to charge it again. You'll know the battery life is low when the LED lights change to amber (10-20%) and then red (below 10%). The Wireless Micro works with Rode's mobile apps, but you don't need them to capture better quality audio on your phone. Now, why should you get the Wireless Micro over something like the Wireless ME or the Wireless Go II? As someone who has used all of Rode's other microphones, here's why: It's the most affordable wireless microphone you can get from Rode. The Wireless ME is usually $150, which is essentially the same price as the Micro, but the ME only comes with one transmitter, so you get more bang for your buck with the Wireless Micro. It's incredibly small and lightweight. You barely notice the receiver attached to your phone, and the two transmitters are a fraction the size of Rode's other transmitters, so it's less noticeable when clipped to someone else. You don't need professional audio features. The Wireless Micro doesn't have some of the pro features you would see on the more expensive models, like an LCD display or timecode, but if you don't need those things, you're good with the WM. You don't want to deal with cables. The receiver just plugs into your phone, becoming a tiny and unobtrusive extension. For more, check out the best bluetooth speaker and the best soundbar of 2025.
Tom's Guide
16-05-2025
- Tom's Guide
The Rode Wireless Micro is so easy, I bet my cat could figure it out — it's perfect for total newbies
The Rode Wireless Micro is a smartphone-first microphone that is so easy to use, I think my cat could give it a go. There's no question about it: the Wireless Micro is intended for social content creators over traditional camera-forward videographers. As a result, it prioritizes portability and ease of use, both of which are integral for social media creators. So, is that enough to make it one of the best microphones? I think if you're after the easiest microphone in the world, then yeah, sure. The audio quality might not cut it for professionals, but, then again, it's just $150. For $150, this is an excellent set of wireless mics, and I have no doubt that it would instantly level-up your social media prowess. I'll get into all the gnarly details in this Rode Wireless Micro review. Price $149 / £139 Connectivity USB-C, Lightning Max SPL 135dB Audio resolution 24-bit, 48kHz Frequency response 20 Hz - 20 kHz Microphone type Condenser Battery life 18 hours Polar pattern Omnidirectional Weight 3.6 ounces Dimensions 2.8 x 2.3 x 1.1 inches Colors Black The Rode Wireless Micro is $149 from Amazon U.S. and £139 on Amazon U.K., but it's often on sale for around $15/£20 off. While this isn't massively cheap for a set of wireless mics, for the quality, I'd say this is a very reasonable price. The DJI Mic Mini is $149 for a receiver and two transmitters, which is the exact same price as the Rode Wireless Micro for the same number of RXs and TXs. The more professional-focused DJI Mic 2 is $349, and the Rode offering Wireless Pro is $399. If you need something with a higher bitrate, then I'd recommend the Rode Wireless Pro over the Wireless Micro. Actually, we use the Rode Wireless Pro in our 'Buy or Skip' videos — an example of which you can find in this Ultenic U12 vacuum cleaner review — which are just proof of how excellent this microphone is. Even so, if you're more of a casual content creator looking for a quick and easy way to upgrade your social videos, then I think the Wireless Micro is a fantastic choice. Now, if you want a wireless microphone that requires no setting up, then the Wireless Micro is for you. I was able to get recording the second I unboxed this mic. Think about the easiest microphone you've ever used, and then make it about 10% easier. That's the Rode Wireless Micro. The charging case is just 2.7 inches across — small enough to fit in my palm. It looks like an earbuds charging case, and has a soft-close clamshell-like lid. The case feels quite sturdy, too, and I'd have no doubts about throwing this into my recording bag willy-nilly. The two transmitters and the receiver fit snugly into the charging case and snap into place thanks to the magnetic charging pins. The magnetic clips slot underneath the TXs, and I'd recommend keeping them attached to the transmitters as they seem very easy to lose between uses. The windshields (AKA dead cat) don't fit in the charging case, which is a little bizarre. This is the only issue I have with the Wireless Micro. I'd recommend getting a little pouch to store the windshields between use, otherwise they might get lost. As for the transmitter microphones, they're omnidirectional mics, which means they pick up sounds from all around. If they're clipped to collars or simply held, they'll be able to capture voices. The mics are condenser microphones, so they will perform well in noisier environments. The Wireless Micro has a wireless range of up to 328 feet, which is around 500 feet less than the Wireless Pro, but 200 feet more than the Shure MoveMic 88+ ($449). I was quite surprised to see minimal app features on the Rode Central app. Unlike the Shure Motiv Mix smartphone app, you can only update firmware and control stereo/mono recording in Rode Central. I'd perhaps like to see some more customization options in future, like vocal effects, noise canceling options, and manual gain. The Wireless Micro mics have built-in gain adjustment, which I found worked well in testing, but I do think this should have a manual setting too for complex environments. Again, the Wireless Micro has built-in noise cancellation, but it would be more versatile if users could actually see and control this in-app. As I'll demonstrate in the 'Audio quality' section below, the noise cancellation is fine. It's not phenomenal, but it's not negligible, either. It would perform adequately for street content creators or casual content creators, but might not cut it for loud environments like festivals or music concerts. Even so, the Wireless Micro would be a perfect first microphone for beginner content creators, or content creators who have yet to invest in a professional-sounding mic setup. The wireless micro is easy to use right out of the box. It's as easy as this: plug the USB-C/Lightning receiver into your phone and press record. The mics will automatically be the preferred input when you use your native recording app, and you can also record into Rode Capture. However, I'd recommend using your native camera as it's just easier. Although you don't need either apps, Rode recommends you use the Wireless Micro with Rode Central and Rode Capture. I found both apps very easy to use, although nothing groundbreaking. User reviews on the App Store claim the app doesn't recognize Rode microphones, but I didn't experience any of this. The second I plugged in my USB-C receiver, the app recognized the mics. As you can see from the screenshots of the Rode Central (left) and Rode Capture (right) apps, the UI is very clean and has clear options for customization. As I mentioned earlier, there are minimal features in the app. In Rode Central, all you can do is customize the gain and merge or separate the two transmitter channels. There are no further options like EQ, noise cancelation, or similar. As with all microphones I test, I put the Rode Wireless Micro through a series of standardized audio tests. First, though, I'll let you hear the sound quality right off the bat. Word of warning, though, this was recorded onto my iPhone 16 Pro in m4a. I then had to convert to MP3 to upload here, so it will have lost some quality. I promise it sounded better in editing than it does here. My voice is clear, clean, and faithful to real life. While the audio quality isn't phenomenal, there's no reason why this wouldn't be more than enough for YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram content. I put the Wireless Micro through a series of tests — plosive (pops), sibilant (s sounds), and noisy environments. Plosive sounds are basically 'P' and 'B' sounds — anything that might make a microphone 'pop'. The Rode Wireless Micro has a built-in pop filter. I think the Wireless Micro did a really good job of minimizing the 'P' and 'B' pops here. Of course it's not as adept as a broadcast-quality microphone — but that's like comparing apples and oranges. They're completely different products with completely different intended uses. For social content creation, I think this is a very reliable pop filter and would perform well. Fricative sounds refer to soft, airy sounds like 'F' and 'V'. Sibilance refers to hissy 'S' sounds, which can be quite unpleasant to listen to. As you can tell from the audio clip above, the Wireless Micro, again, performed exceptionally well at mitigating harsh 'S' sounds. The repeated sibilance in the clip is soft and controlled. Again, I think this microphone would perform well, even with the most inexperienced users. Considering this is intended more as an out-and-about microphone than a static, treated room microphone, it's imperative that the Wireless Micro has decent ambient noise cancelation. As I lamented earlier, this noise cancellation is unfortunately not configurable in the Rode Central app. It's simply built into the microphone itself. Listen to this clip. As you can tell from the MP3 above, the noise cancelation is fine. By no means is the ambient noise silent, but, also, my voice is still front and center of the recording. I recorded a few clips of me on the street next to an electric saw, and the microphone still picked up my voice more than the noisy environment. While it's not Shure's 'Denoiser' (available on the MV7 broadcast-mic range) level of profound, the ambient noise reduction is still good enough to protect your recordings in noisy situations. I recorded this fake interview with the 'Merged' sound, as configured in the Rode Central app. As you can hear from the clip below, the Wireless Micro does a fantastic job of minimizing hisses and pops. As you can hear, my interviewee doesn't have the best microphone etiquette. But, then again, most interviewees might not have much microphone experience and be unsure how to speak into one. In that case, I'd be confident that the Wireless Micro would tame even the wildest speakers. The Rode Wireless Micro is probably the easiest wireless mic I've ever used. Easier than the Shure MoveMic 88+ (although that has better sound quality), and much easier than the Sennheiser Profile Wireless (with comparable sound quality). There's no fiddling with Bluetooth or trying to figure out why your TXs aren't working. The microphone just works, right out of the box. Thanks to the smartphone-first connectivity, I was able to get recording via my iPhone's camera in seconds. Whether you're recording voiceovers for TikTok or street interviews for Instagram, these mics won't let you down. While, no, I don't think the audio quality quite cuts it for professional content, the Wireless Micro is just $150, making it an ideal option for a first hi-res mic upgrade. For newbies, there's really nothing better.
