MIC

Zalman ZM-MIC 1 Review / Test

Today I am testing out the Zalman ZM-Mic 1. This is a sort of lavalier microphone that is meant to be clipped to your headphones cable. 

What's In the Box 

  1. Microphone with ~10-foot cable.

Performance / Features

The build quality on this microphone is exactly what you would expect on a $7 microphone; cheap. The cable is a cheap rubber that feels flimsy, and the plastic portion that clips to your headphone cable feels relatively cheap as well. Unfortunately the portion that clips to your headphones is not adjustable. This leads to concerns with headphone cables being too thin or too thick. On top of this, it does not allow you to clip this microphone to your shirt.

This is an omni-directional microphone, so if you are concerned with picking up room noise or background noise, you will not like this microphone. When typing on my keyboard, I found that a lot of keyboard noise was picked up (note: I do not use a mechanical keyboard, so if you are using a mechanical keyboard, the sound would be significantly worse). I want to point out that the majority of Lav Mics are omni-directional because this provides the best pick up pattern to pick up your voice while clipped to your shirt. 

The audio from this microphone sounded best when being held closer to the sound source (just like any microphone). However, when clipped to the headphone cable or loosely clipped to my shirt, the audio sounded dampened. 

Pros

  • Sounds Decent
  • Only costs $7

Cons

  • Cheap Build Quality
  • Lack of Functionality
  • Not versatile

Conclusion

This is a decent sounding microphone for the cost. However, I would not recommend this microphone unless this is your only option. This is because you can buy a 3-pack of Neewer Lav Mics for between $5-$7. Sure the build quality is slightly lower, but it will allow you clip the microphone to your shirt and provide a little bit more versatility. 

If you have any additional questions about this headset, leave them in the comments on this site or on the youtube channel, and I will try to reply ASAP. 

Zalman ZM-Mic 1: http://amzn.to/1R0Ri0Q
Neewer Lav Mics: http://amzn.to/1R0Rj4O

Pyle-Pro PDMIC78 Review / Test

I'm starting to think that I'm making too many reviews...but that's irrelevant. Today I'm testing out the Pyle-Pro PDMIC78. This is a direct rip off of the Shure SM57 which is one of the most popular mics on the market because it so durable and reliable. So this mic has some pretty high standards to live up to, and later in the video we do a short comparison of the two microphones. And the largest selling point of this microphone is the price...it's only $10 right now on Amazon.

What's In the Box 

  1. Dynamic Microphone
  2. 15-foot XLR to 1/4" Microphone Cable
  3. Warranty / Spec Sheet

Performance / Features

The build quality of this mic feels pretty good and seems comparable to the Shure SM57. However, I'm assuming that the internal components are of lesser quality, and that's how they are able to sell it for $10 instead of the $100 that the Shure SM57 costs. This means that if you are rough with this mic, it will crap out before the shure, and you will likely have to replace it more. But if you're just using it recreationally at home and you treat it with care, it will hopefully have a nice long life.

The frequency response on this is not listed, but the unreliable graph on the specs sheet looks like it's approximately 30Hz - 10kHz. But that seems a bit too narrow, so I'm going to say that I don't know the frequency response (Because it wasn't provided). 

The polar pattern is fairly narrow. It isolates audio really well and picks up mainly what's right in front of it. That's what I was hoping for, and that's why this style mic is so popular as a live instrument mic. It doesn't pick up all the instruments that are playing around it. It just picks up what you want it to pick up.

This means that it did really well at isolating my voice from the background noise going around. However, as I backed away from the mic, the volume dropped dramatically. So you will need to make sure the mic stays close to the sound source. I'm sure you could also tell that the pops on this mic are pretty bad. That's because this is not really a vocal mic, it's more of an instrument mic. If you do use this for voice, PLEASE get a pop filter.

Pros

  • SUPER CHEAP!!!
  • Good Sound Quality
  • Good Build Quality
  • Good at Isolating Sound

Cons

  • Bad with Plosives (need to Invest in pop filter)
  • Poor Documentation

Conclusion

I had to struggle to find anything bad about this microphone. It performs really well, and it seems to be built nicely. I do have my reservations about the internal components, but that is just my paranoia caused by the $10 price tag. I would absolutely recommend this microphone to anyone looking for a super cheap microphone to record instruments. It can also be used for vocals, but you will need to invest in a pop filter because this mic does not do well with Plosives. 

Overall, I'm really impressed with this microphone and I cannot wait to test out another Pyle-Pro mic to see if it matches this mics quality. If you have any additional questions about this headset, leave them in the comments on this site or on the youtube channel, and I will try to reply ASAP. 

Buy it on Amazon: http://amzn.to/1RLR4e1
Pop Filter: http://amzn.to/1OQQqWm