Rode SmartLav+ Omnidirectional Lavalier Microphone for iPhone and Smartphones REVIEW

About Rode Brand

Rode is a relatively young brand, which was started in 1990. It quickly emerged as a clear competitor to the leading brands of microphones. It was born with the purpose of offering products for professional use but at a lower price. For example, other professional brand microphones with the same features can cost up to 30% higher. For this reason, I decided to buy the Rode Smartlav plus microphone.

Below you will find my in-depth review about one of their products – Rode SmartLav+ Omnidirectional Lavalier Microphone for iPhone and Smartphones.

1. Why did I choose Rode SmartLav+ microphone?

Besides the previously mentioned reason, the Rode Smartlav plus microphone is quite small, and it goes unnoticed when recording a video. Its omnidirectional head allows us to move it as needed based on our position when speaking.

And finally, it has an incredible sound quality. I record podcasts, interviews and I edit videos for Youtube. I have a desktop microphone that I use when I'm at home, but I can't really take it to certain places, and it has no connection with my cell phone.

That's why I chose a lavalier microphone, and I was surprised to see that this microphone had even better sound quality than my desktop microphone that costs 110 euros.

2. How do I plan to use Rode SmarLav+ Omnidirectional Lavalier Microphone?

I am an online Spanish teacher and educational content creator. I use this microphone in different situations.

• Its small size makes it very easy to carry around when I have to record videos outside.
• When recording interviews, I use two lavalier microphones, one for me and one for the person I'm interview
• When recording podcasts at home, I regularly use the desktop microphone, but if I record them outside, I take this microphone with me.

3. How to use the microphone and description about the main features

Features:

Professional-quality portable microphone designed to be used in a wide range of environments, even for movies, broadcasts, and television

Compatible with any audio application that accepts input from a headphone connection

A foam windscreen minimizes wind noise and occlusives ('b,' 't,' and 'p' sounds)

A durable mounting clip with integrated cable management is also included

Acoustic principle: Pressure gradient

Active electronics: JFET

Cartridge: 0.10”

Polar pattern: Omnidirectional

Frequency range: 60 - 18000Hz

Sensitivity: -35.0dB - 1 Volt/Pascal (17.80mV @ 94 dB SPL) +/- 2 dB @ 1kHz

Weight: 6g

Dimensions: 1180 x 4.50 x 4.5mm

TRRS output

Includes clip and a windscreen

4. To whom is this product suitable?

It is perfect for different professions. It is designed for artists or musicians, YouTubers, podcast hosts, and professionals such as teachers or instructors who have had to adapt to remote work.

It is also very useful for doing interviews because we can connect it to any cell phone.

For everyone who wants to record sound with high quality, this is the microphone for you.

5. Product contents and specification

The product contains:

• Microphone and cable with a 3.5mm mini-jack.
• Clamp: Remove the microphone foam windscreen and insert the microphone into the clamp hole. Once inserted, put the foam windscreen back on. Then attach it to the preferred body part.
• Instructions: Includes instruction manual.
• Carrying bag: Convenient and simple, with a top closure.
• Velcro: contains a Velcro that can be used to adjust the cable.

6. Main benefits

I will start with the one that is most important to me - the sound quality will blow your mind, I assure you.

The second most important point is its ease of transport. I work online, so I have the freedom to work from anywhere I want. I always take the lavalier microphones instead of the desktop microphones during these trips.

Therefore I have a professional microphone at a very affordable price, easy to carry, and with exceptional sound quality.

Another benefit I have found is that it is very easy to do interviews with it, because it has a smartphone connection. The interviewer and the interviewee can connect the microphone to their respective phones, record the audio, and edit it.

7. Features I like about Rode SmartLav+ microphone

The smartLav + is supported by any audio app accepting input from the headphone connection. In addition, it has been designed to sync seamlessly with the RODE Rec app from RODE for Apple iOS devices. RØDE Rec turns the user's iOS device into a field recorder with all the features, which has a wide range of equalization presets to adapt to various recording situations, plus professional editing features and the ability to post to SoundCloud and Dropbox directly from the app.

In my case, I have an iPhone. This microphone syncs with the RODE app, which has a lot of equalization settings.

I wanted to record interviews with different people, and not all of them had an iPhone, but the microphone is compatible with any audio app.

As of result, if the phone has a voice recorder (and all phones do), we already have everything we need.

Where to buy Rode SmartLav+ Omnidirectional Lavalier Microphone for iPhone and Smartphones?

I hope that my detailed review was helpful. This product is really outstanding and it has hundreds of positive reviews also on Amazon.

If you like this product, you can find the best offer here on Amazon: