Does anybody have experience connecting external microphones to the iPad Pro over USB-C? Any devices you specifically recommend?
Not over USB-C, but yes.
For the longest time I used various studio mics running into an external Apogee audio interface for my podcasting and screencasting recordings, but it’s a pain to travel with and isn’t especially elegant.
In seeking a cleaner solution, I found the Sennheiser MK4 Digital, which I’ve been using on iOS and my desktop Mac ever since.
It’s essentially the same mic capsule from Sennheiser’s excellent studio condenser, the MK4, but they’ve built an Apogee audio interface into it and made it connect over USB instead of XLR. Mine came in the box with both USB-A and Lightning cables (which is what I use with my first-gen iPad Pro).
Before buying it, I tested it alongside the XLR version of the MK4 running into my high end external Apogee interface and the MK4 Digital sounded better. The fact that the audio chain is entirely self-contained keeps the signal cleaner.
It’s cheap as far as good microphones go, but not cheap overall. To connect it to a USB-C iPad Pro you’d just need a USB-A to USB-C dongle, which is a very small sacrifice to make for the kind of sound you get out of the setup.
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I have been searching specifically for a reasonably priced microphone that can be used with the iPad pro. I have been seeing the MV88 as a choice, but that is really NO choice. My ipadPro has a USB_C and the MV88 sports the old lightning connector. I seem to be up in a creek without a paddle!
I’ve been using a Shure MV5 with a USB B (or is it A?) to C adapter on my MacBook Pro - same setup should work for iPad with USB C. This mic ships with USB and Lightning cables BTW.
No idea. I have a CA Rainier mic that I have plugged into my MBP. It also worked fine with iPad 2 and iPad Air. I was excited to get my iPad Pro 2020 and ordered an Anker 6-in-1 hub for the USB C. The Rainer doesn’t work on it. If I use headphones on the 3.5 jack, they work, until I plug in the mic, then they do not work either.
Yesterday I went and bought the $70 Apple brand USB/HDMI to USB C dongle. The Rainier still doesn’t work with the iPad Pro. The common element in all these faults is the iPad Pro. I’m really hesitant about buying a mic while the iPad Pro seems (to me) to be the villain in USB mics.