Audio Technica has long established itself as a reliable manufacturer of headphones, microphones and other audio equipment. A distinctive feature of this manufacturer is the high quality products that cost the appropriate money. Especially popular with the brand are headphones and microphones. It is about one of these devices that I would like to make today's review. This is the Audio Technica ATR3350 lavalier microphone.
Description
For the first time this microphone appeared in stores back in 2009. Since that time, it continues to be sold, and quite successfully. The microphone type is condenser, but there is no need for phantom power supplies, which is a plus. The microphone works from one disk, or as it is also called a round battery type LR44. The main direction in use is recording sound or vocals, although it is hardly suitable for the second.
What else can be said about this model? Probably the fact that at the time of release she received a lot of negative reviews due to the quality of the recording. There are frustrated users today, but there are not so many of them as they were in 2009. Of course, there are disadvantages to the device, and as part of the Audio Technica ATR3350 review, we will definitely talk about them. But something else is interesting here: has anything changed from the moment it was released today or not? Let's get it right.
Equipment
Audio Technica ATR3350 is sold in a small cardboard box with a transparent window through which you can see almost all the contents. The packaging design is not particularly noticeable and is made in the corporate identity of the company. The back side shows the main characteristics of the microphone, its advantages and features.
So, here is what the user will find inside the package: instructions, microphone with cable, preamplifier, mounting clip, wind protection, battery and warranty card.
Appearance
Now for the look of the Audio Technica ATR3350 lavalier microphone. The first thing that catches your eye is an unrealistically long cable. This is probably the case when the manufacturer did not lie about the length of the cord. According to an official statement, it is 6 meters, and in fact this is fully confirmed.
What can be said about the microphone itself - it is small. But, despite the size, it has a special wind protection made of foam rubber and a separate place on the case for installing clips. Actually, it’s worth saying separately about the clip. A lot of people write about the fact that the clothespin is made in bad faith and quickly breaks.
The first question may arise: how can it break if it is made of metal? Yes, everything is simple. The so-called crescent, which is just attached to the base of the microphone, is made of plastic. So, when you try to install the clip on the microphone, you need to make a little effort, and sometimes this is enough to make one half of the fastener break off. In any case, the clip must be handled very carefully, otherwise you will have to look for a replacement.
Let's move on to the preamp. It also has its own separate clip, which is attached to the body with a small screw. The case itself is made of two parts - a screw cap and a base. Reminds all this a certain capsule. By unscrewing the top cover, you can access the battery compartment, where one LR44 tablet is inserted. Perhaps the use of this type of battery can most likely be attributed to the minuses, since a full charge lasts about 6-7 hours of recording.
In addition, on the body of the preamplifier there is a small switch with which the microphone starts to work. Unfortunately, there is no indication in the form of an LED here, and you can find out if the microphone is working or not, only during the recording process. Of course, it is understandable why they decided not to install the diode, since it would eat up the battery charge. But on the other hand, if the battery runs out, the user will still not be able to visually check the microphone’s performance.
And the last thing left to consider here is a plug for connecting a microphone to any sound recording device, for example, a voice recorder or a smartphone in voice recorder mode. It has a standard size of 3.5 mm, but there are three contacts, that is 3-pin. Usually, three-pin jacks can be found where there is stereo support, for example, on headphones. Some microphones also have two elements each that capture sounds and record them in stereo, but the Audio Technica ATR3350 is not the case. The sound is written in mono, and the 3-pin plug is most likely a marketing move.
And in conclusion, a few words about the materials. Almost everything, except for fasteners on the preamplifier and clips, is made of plastic with a nice coating. There are no complaints about the build quality, everything is connected very soundly.
Specifications
Audio Technica ATR3350 has the following specifications:
- Type - capacitor.
- The focus is omnidirectional.
- Scope - video communication, voice recording, vocals.
- Type of fastening - clip.
- Case material - plastic.
- Microphone sensitivity - 54 dB.
- The minimum frequency is 50 Hz.
- The maximum frequency is 18000 Hz.
- Microphone impedance - 1 kOhm.
- The connection method is wired.
- Cable length - 6m.
- Connector for connection - 3.5 mm.
- Power - LR44 battery.
- Weight - 6 grams.
In general, the characteristics of the microphone are more than standard (as for most loops). However, some competitors boast a more powerful indicator of sensitivity.
Connection and setup
Connecting an Audio Technica ATR3350 microphone is quite simple. All you need to do is insert the battery into a special compartment, set the switch on the preamp to on and then connect it to any recording device, such as a computer, smartphone, voice recorder or camera.
After the microphone is connected, you can proceed to configure it. And here everything will already be significantly different. If the microphone is connected to the smartphone, then, probably, there will be no microphone settings in the standard or third-party recording application. As for voice recorders and cameras, then a lot depends on the manufacturer - on some models, sensitivity and reverb adjustment will be present, but on some not.
The last option where you can adjust the microphone settings is a computer. In order to get to the settings menu, you need to right-click on the speaker icon, which is located next to the clock in the lower right corner. After that, select the recording devices from the menu that appears. In the window that appears, the connected microphone will be displayed - it is marked with a green tick. You need to hover over it and right-click, and then select the property item. Another window will appear with several tabs on which you can set the sensitivity level of the microphone, increase its signal level, volume, etc.
In fairness, it is worth noting that in most cases, tuning is not required, only if recording is carried out in bad weather, in a noisy or large room, etc.
Testing
Audio Technica ATR3350 test results are not very pleased, and at some points a little upset. Given the price of the microphone, it should record at a fairly high level, producing a clear sound with a minimum of noise. In fact, it turns out that the microphone works better than the standard one, but the final quality is not very good.
If you look at the reviews on Audio Technica ATR3350, then users note a roughly similar situation, especially with noise levels. Extraneous sounds are really recorded clearly, and you can get rid of them only in some kind of audio editor.
Cost
To date, the cost of the Audio Technica ATR3350 microphone is from 1800 to 2400 rubles. This is not the highest price tag for the tabs. There are models much more expensive. But in this case, for such a price and quality it should be at a high level, and not slightly better than models for 400-800 rubles.
Reviews
As reviews of the Audio Technica ATR3350 microphone show, the model has several major drawbacks:
- The lack of a power indicator on the preamplifier.
- High noise in the recording. When connected to a PC motherboard, the maximum microphone volume is reduced by about 50%, and the sound is quiet.
- The problem is eliminated by any sound card of a budget level from, for example, Asus or Creative.
- Bad mount (clip).
- You have to change the batteries often.
Conclusion
The Audio Technica ATR3350 buttonhole is, of course, a good option as a replacement for a standard microphone on the camera or a cheaper model. You can even come to terms with all the minuses that are here. But it’s impossible to close your eyes at the price. For almost 2000 rubles, the user hopes to get an incredibly high-quality device that will record clear sound, but in reality everything turns out differently. To buy or not to buy this microphone - let everyone decide for themselves.