BOYA BY-M1 Review: Low-Cost Lavalier Omni-directional Condenser Microphone
I wanted an inexpensive microphone to try podcasting, something easy to use and portable. We also wanted to record some video tutorials and needed a mic that could move effortlessly with the speaker.
The recommendations from podcasting and video editing pros were to spend as much as we could afford. However, we are very risk averse ladies, and we went with this clip-on mic instead.
We are so glad we did! The BOYA omni-directional condenser microphone gives us decent quality sound with low handling noise while we learn how to do podcasting and video and audio editing, and it definitely didn’t break the bank.
Where Would you use it?
Almost anywhere. The mic is very light and the cable that plugs into your recording equipment is 6 meters long, which is plenty of space to move about if you need the mic to be plugged into a laptop or a camera/camcorder some distance away.
You could also use it as an interview mic, like we did in our podcasts, by placing it on the table between the speakers – it picks up sound equally from all directions. The sound quality is surprisingly good, but as it has narrow range and isn’t directionally adjustable, there will be some noise.
What type of set-up does it suit?
This mic can be used with smartphones, DSLR cameras (both Nikon and Canon) camcorders, audio recorders, PC/laptops etc. BY-M1 is an omni-directional condenser microphone with 6m cable, standard 1/8 inch 4-pole gold plug and includes ¼ inch adapter so it can be plugged into most equipment with audio input option.
It is ideal for presentations and will easily record nice, clean, single-person audio straight into any recording device. For multiple speakers, you will ideally need each person to have their own mic, and a mixer to handle the multiple inputs.
However, it is not impossible to get decent audio quality from multiple speakers recording to a single mic, as long as they are sitting fairly close together and there isn’t any ambient noise.
What are the pros and cons?
Pros:
Small, portable, cheap, convenient, easy to use, simple set up.
Cons:
Requires LR44 battery, the cable can be a trip hazard. Not ideal for multi-person recording, sound quality is not on par with higher end podcasting microphones.
What are the Vital Statistics of the kit?
BOYA BY-M1 is an electret condenser lavalier/clip on microphone. It records in omni-directional pattern, which means it picks up sound equally well from all around the microphone. The mic weighs 2.5g and includes the foam windscreen and a lapel clip. There is about meter of cable between the mic and the power module which weighs 18g and houses the LR44 battery and the camera/smartphone switch. The power module also has a clip, so it can be easily attached to clothing.
How does it sound?
It sounds pretty clean when recording a single person in a quiet room. There will be some noise if you are moving around, especially if you don’t take care to clip the microphone clear of fabric.
Below is a link to the two podcasts we made using the BY-M1. We processed both through the Audacity’s noise reduction effect. In the first podcast we had put the microphone about the same distance between us and the sound was pretty good, although there was ambient noise. In the second podcast, we had clipped the mic to one speaker, and this resulted in an uneven sound quality.
Summary: who Might Want to buy this?
The BOYA omni-directional condenser is such a versatile little microphone. It’s easy to set up and use, and records pretty decent quality audio. It is really useful for recording single person podcasts, as well as additional audio to go with video content, but it also stretches to multi-speaker input and is an excellent starter kit for beginner podcasters with a limited budget. You can buy it here.
