External USB-C microphone with iPhone / iPad

[airwhale]

As I’m finally getting into video production, in large part using the iPhone as the main capture device, I recently got a lavalier microphone for better sound. I got the Sennheiser XS Lav USB-C, but probably the main point is that it’s USB-C with no additional audio interface involved. Very small and portable, with great sound for my needs, Affordable too.

My challenge is this: when using it with either Voice Memos or the Camera in video mode, the audio track is captured at a very low level. I have not found any gain-controls for these apps either. Luckily, I do have Ferrite, and here the audio level is way closer to what I’m expecting and needing. This is a fine replacement for Voice Memos, but still an issue for audio captured with video I shoot.

I guess I could boost the voice track it in post, but the result will be noisier than just getting the capture correct from the get-go.

Anyone else experienced this and have a plausible explanation and/or a solution for this?

Thanks gang!

[SpivR]

There are many different solutions for audio in this scenario.

There is no “right” way, here’s why I do, but more importantly, why.

I use a wireless lavalier mic because I want a good mic for audio quality, but I want the freedom to walk around or simply not be tangled up with wires while recording.

I tried some wired boom mics, but found needing a boom arm or a stand and the wiring simply too much setup and limitations for not enough of an audio improvement.

Given I record in a non-treated home office, for me, the properties of a lav mic (omnidirectional, and less pick-up of background noise) to be better.

I also prefer the visual look of not seeing the mic in the video, so I place the microphone under my shirt using appropriate mounting techniques that avoids clothing rustle and further reduces extraneous noise pickup.

I also wanted a “foolproof” way to have a backup recording so I use a wireless transmitter/receiver setup with built-in recording.

For a few years I used the Rode Wireless GO II, but switched about. months ago to the DJI 2 wireless mic. (Mainly because I also started using the DJI Osmo Pocket 3 camera which directly supports the DJI mics).

Use DJI, Rode, or other high quality wireless setup, the receiver plugs directly into most gear using either USB-C, Lightning, or analog and most product include all the cables too.

These receivers have gain control so you can boost the levels going into the final device, iphone, computer, etc. easily.

If you aren’t recording live/streaming, and can use the backup audio recorded internal to the mic, the DJI, Rode, and others now have 32-bit float so you can bump up the gain easily during editing without any noise problems or clipping.

FWIW, synchronizing audio and video in “post production” is not something to be afraid of. In my workflow it is a single click operation and works flawlessly.

I just use the internal mic on the device (ipad, iphone, camera) as the “scratch audio” track and the audio sync in post is never an issue.

[JEMIII]

I removed my post as I misread your request. I wonder if the phone is recognizing the mic. The post I deleted talked about a different mic, Hollyland Lark M2. It is very clear and consistent in the videos and voice memo app. At first, I forgot to activate the clip and sync it with the adapter plugged into the phone. Once I figured that this was the problem, all was good. I was set to split the audio track and boost the volume. I ended up re-recording the segments and made sure the adapter and mic were active and synced. Best wishes on the fix.

[airwhale]

Yes, I have verified that the mic is active by gently scratching on the top of it with the iPhone lying 2m away, at the other end of the cord. No way the iPhone mic would be able to hear that. My mic doesn’t have ANY controls though, but I should check the AppStore for a Sennheiser companion app.

What puzzles me is how the mic is behaving differently between the Apple apps (Voice Memos and Camera) and the Ferrite app. Signal in SHOULD be the same for both, but for Apple, it’s way lower than recommended for an audio track.

Thanks for the tip and I’ll keep at it

[airwhale]

Thanks Spiv, this is useful!

I have a Zoom H5 field recorder that I can connect as an audio interface, and here I have much better control over input levels. It’s a dial, right there on top of the mic capsule.

As I won’t be doing live streaming, recording the audio separately isn’t a lot of extra work, and for many voice-overs, it’s the preferred workflow too. Adding it later in a quiet and controlled environment.

I will be getting the Röde Wireless Pro soon, but the ease of just plugging in a USB-C cable and hit record is appealing (and super lightweight).

As mentioned, I’m mostly puzzled at how software on my phone is interpreting the signal produced by the lav mic differently from each other. I even tried to plug it into a Windows laptop, and there the sound was just horribly muffled. Same mic, same position, wildly differing results.