Reviews
How Does this Compare to a World Class Lav Mic by Sennheiser?
As a photographer and filmmaker, I’ve used a good deal of high end audio equipment. I also edit audio and have a scientific training in the phonetics of speech, so I think I’m in a good position to comment on this K&F wallet-friendly lavalier microphone. If you’re in the market for a microphone for video shooting and aren’t really sure what you need, there are other solutions which might be more suited to your particular needs. For example, if you’re shooting home movies, you might well prefer an on-camera microphone like the Rode VideoMic Pro.I should start by saying that my benchmark lavalier microphone is from the Sennheiser EW series. This is because it delivers outstanding wireless capability and crystalline audio. Having already access to the Sennheiser and their formidable HD800 headphones for audio monitoring in the studio, you might be wondering why on earth I bought this budget lav mic?Well, a number of reasons. First, this K&F was for a project being run by my wife who is a keen filmmaker but doesn’t need world class audio to satisfy clients. Second, the Sennheiser is not cheap but this K&F is, so I was curious. Third, I’ve had good experience with a beautifully constructed camera backpack made by K&F and wanted to know if their other stuff was any good.So how does this K&F mic fare? Well, my wife and I agree that it does a very good job and is fantastic value for money. The sound I’ve managed to get out of it has been, I must say, surprisingly good. Although it does not compare to the stellar quality of the Sennheiser, knowing what I know about how our brains process sound, I doubt that most people would notice the difference in recording quality for ordinary home filmmaking.I edited my files in Logic Pro (and other apps) and the K&F was able to deliver files which cleaned up an absolute treat. Outside, as with most microphones, be sure to use a furry windshield, which will reduce wind noise. One recording I took was in a room with excellent acoustic damping and in this sort of situation when you might be talking to camera in your office space, the mic produced sparkling results. My wife (who has especially good hearing) listened to the K&F files in a blind non-scientific AB test with the Sennheiser and knew the difference immediately but also argued that most people would be thrilled with how good the K&F audio files are, especially after they are polished in editing software.If you need a lav mic for broadcast use, you won’t be shopping for this anyway but I would still encourage you to take a look at it as a solid backup for other creative projects. But if you need a budget friendly lavalier microphone which records very good audio files, this is highly recommended.One final note: the build quality is good. I've attached pictures showing the product close up.
09.02.2018