Budget Microphone For YouTube Videos (Boya BY-MM1)
Looking for a budget microphone to start making videos? Perhaps the microphone I mention in this video below might be just for you.
tldw – too long, didn’t watch.
The microphone is
- cardiod i.e. directional, with adequate side and rear noise rejection
- can be plugged in to smartphone, dslr, and audio recorder
- doesn’t require any battery
I tested the microphone in windy conditions in the video below.
Side by side comparison test audio recorded into smartphone. I’ll keep this a blind test. Listen to the audio and decide which sounds better to you. It is best to use headphones to hear the difference.
The sound clips are 40 seconds long.
Original unedited wav files from smartphone
Recording #1 (Download Recording #1)
Recording #2 (Download Recording #2)
Audio after editing
Recording #1A (Download Recording #1A)
Recording #2A (Download Recording #2A)
Let me know which recording sounds better to you, in the comments below.
Update 2018 Oct
From the comment below, Dave mentioned that the Rode Videomic is better value to him. This depends on where you live.
Where I live, the Rode Videomic is more than double the price of the Boya. However both mics are at price points, where there will be variation in different units in terms of quality. I might have gotten the Rode if they were at similar price points.
The Boya still work well 9 months from the day I got it. I hope this has been helpful for you if you are looking for a budget microphone.
Although I don’t consider myself an expert, after testing and making videos and audio for a few years, I have this much to say. Assuming the microphone isn’t faulty, whatever microphone you use, you need to know how to use it.
The next thing is tweaking the audio or processing it. After I processed my audio, it usually sounds a whole lot better. You can check out my course on using Audacity to improve you audio.
Can’t play any of the audio files. Error: Unsupported audio type or invalid file path
Hello Dave, thanks for leaving a comment. I added links so that you can download the wav file to your computer.
1 and 1A have far better sound. 2 and 2A have significant room echo which makes them unpleasant to listen to. I noticed that the Rode VideoMicro Compact is listed at only $19 more than the Boya on Amazon. The Rhode has a two year warranty if you register it. It is made in Australia by a well respected company. The frequency range of the Rhode is from 100Hz to 20KHz which may help to reduce low frequency rumble when compared to the Boya 35Hz to 18KHz. It also appears that the Rhode has better sensitivity and signal to noise ratio. My opinion is that I would probably spend the extra $19 for the Rhode, knowing I would get a quality product from well known manufacturer with a two year warranty. If the budget is tight, I can understand going with a less expensive mic. Always remember, “When you buy quality you only cry once”. Thank you for the video review and comparison. The Boya sounds much better than the iPhone mic.
Thanks for your comment Dave. Where I live, the Rode is a whole lot more expensive (almost 2 to 2.5x). If it were a $19 difference, I may spring for the Rode, but some say that the Boya has higher signal to noise ratio.