Apple’s iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch devices have evolved to the point where it’s becoming much more common for people to do video blogging, journalism and podcasting while on the go. IK Multimedia’s new iRig Mic Lav ($50) is designed with these users in mind, providing a high quality condenser lavalier microphone that can be quickly setup and plugged into your iOS device to record high quality audio for on-the-spot interviews or podcasts.
The iRig Mic Lav package includes the microphone itself, along with an optional foam windshield, mounting clip, and carrying case. The mic itself sports a generous 5’ of cord length, providing you with flexibility to take video recordings of subjects in front of your iPhone camera.
A small box near the connector provides a 3.5mm jack for connecting standard headphones or earphones to monitor the audio while recording.
However, this 3.5mm port serves a dual purpose. One of the more interesting features of the iRig Mic Lav is that you can actually chain two iRig Mic Lav units to the same device. A toggle switch on the side of the connector box allows you to choose between “monitor” mode for use with headphones, or “input” mode for use with a second iRig Mic Lav.
When you’re using two mics, the 3.5mm jack on the second mic can also still be used to connect headphones for monitoring (you can’t chain a third mic). This ability to chain two mics makes iRig Mic Lav particularly useful for two-person applications such as interviews, and in fact IK Multimedia sells the iRig Mic Lav in a two-pack for $80 for users who know that they’ll need two mics right off the bat.
We’ve come to expect a lot from IK Multimedia when it comes to recording quality, and iRig Mic Lav doesn’t disappoint in this regard. Spoken audio recorded with the mic clipped to a shirt came out very clear and free or any distortion or echo. Compared to the built-in mic on an iPhone 6 Plus, the audio was noticeably cleaner with a focus on the spoken voice and much less echo or background noise.
