A good video is able to captivate the heart to watch it to the end not only lies in the visual display in the video alone but the clear audio also plays an important role. Just imagine if you watch a video with poor audio clarity and a lot of noise it will definitely be frustrating, even making it no longer interesting to watch.
Therefore, the ability of a good microphone is very important in order to perfect the production of a video. We have received a new microphone from AnkerWork to evaluate and test its capabilities. When this microphone arrived at the our lab, we immediately used it for some video recordings to evaluate its quality.
SPECIFICATION AND DESIGN
AnkerWork M650
Microphone Set Type
Microphone/Transmitter 2x Microphone
Receiver 1x Receiver
Microphone Weight – 30g
Receiver – 37g
Storage pod – 184g
Microphone Battery – 560 mAh (6 hours)
Receiver – 350 mAh (6 hours)
Storage pod – 2600 mAh (15 hours)
USB-C charging
Waterproof ability None
Sale Price RM 1699
DESIGN
The design of the AnkerWork M650 set looks a little different from most of the microphones that have been tested in the our lab before. This AnkerWork M650 comes with a round shape where both are transmitters together with an oval-shaped storage container. Both microphones come in black with several cover options included. On the back there are clips and magnets to allow it to be attached to clothing.
The magnetic clip built into the back of the microphone can be easily removed and at the same time can be firmly attached to clothing without worrying about it being pulled off. The touch part for charging is located at the bottom of the microphone.
In many cases, magnetic clips are our preferred use in recording because they are easier to place on a shirt. For its size we feel this microphone is quite large with its round shape which makes it look very clear in the recorded video. Completely different from the DJI Mic 2 microphone design which is smaller and compact.
On the side of the microphone there is a power button as well as a connection button and it works well without any issues. The top part houses the grille for the speaker along with the 3.5mm audio jack hole so that a levier type microphone can be connected if desired. In addition, the same hole also serves as a jack to poke the two feathered wind deflectors that come with the purchase.
The weight of the microphone is 30g which is a little heavier when compared to the DJI Mic 2 (28g) but in our opinion there is no issue about it because it does not cause any problems throughout the period of use.
The LCD screen on the receiver unit is 1.47" with a touch screen that can detect touch well and is also responsive. The display also feels large enough and shows all the elements in the display clearly. This can also avoid the problem of accidentally pressing the menu on the screen during use.
Therefore, the relatively large size of the receiver is acceptable for larger screen setups. The receiver screen can show a lot of information such as battery status, amount of noise cancellation, signal strength and many more.
The "shoe" on the bottom of the receiver's body can also be changed to two types of connections, namely to the camera, USB-C and Lightning. The conversion process is easy without having to unplug or convert it back if you want to put it in the storage pod. There is a 3.5mm audio jack hole on the side of the receiver for wire connection to the camera's audio jack. Next to it there is also a hole for a USB-C cable connection that allows a direct connection to a smartphone to be made.
The design of the storage container with curves on both the left and right sides is slightly different from most of the storage containers that have been tested in the our laboratory before where most of them are rectangular. However, there are no issues with it and the storage container looks neat and stylish.
The body of this storage container uses metal material which makes it look sturdy. However, there is no denying that the size of the storage container is quite large and not suitable to be placed in a pocket. According to AnkerWork, the entire M650 microphone can be used for 15 hours with a storage case and 6 hours on a single charge.
The cover of the storage case is also strong and tight as it guarantees that the microphone placed in the storage case will remain safe and not easily fall out of the storage case even if it is turned upside down. There are also three LED lights on the front to show the battery level and on the back there is a hole for USB-C for the purpose of charging and connection to any device such as a phone or computer.
USE
During the period of use, we found that the AnkerWork M650 can produce excellent audio with a stylish round shape. Using it for video recording on our , the recorded audio is clear with easy connection without any issues.
Due to its round design, it looks like a pin on a shirt and hood. The built-in magnetic clip is also strong with it not being easily detached during use. Interestingly, an application to set the microphone settings is also built and can be easily downloaded through the official website of AnkerWork or Google Playstore and Appstore.
Some of the settings available in this software can also be set on the receiver's screen. However, the settings provided on the application are more diverse with many features available for receiver settings such as the Equalizer feature, Backlight Duration and settings for language. Furthermore not many competitors provide this feature.
There is also a Safe mode function setup that will limit the audio recording to a setting of 6dB and if the recording sound becomes unexpectedly loud. The settings for the microphone can be changed by setting up some useful simple features.
The setup of this application we feel is possible to provide the ability to change settings with a larger screen display, easy and diverse.
AUDIO QUALITY
Commenting on the audio quality using this microphone, overall it is very good with excellent clarity. As videographers and also video editors , we tested this microphone several times for content production purposes. While recording was conducted in a studio with air conditioning on, the audio still sounded very clear and crisp. Although after transferring the recording results to the computer for editing, we didn't need to do much audio editing because the audio results were already good enough.
However, its noise canceling mode or called as VoiceShield has a little error with it producing a rather strange audio sound. Its noise cancellation mode can be set to low or high. Even using the mode at a low level, the main sound of the audio sounds so drowned that it changes the actual sound of the audio during recording.
But we feel this function is still useful if the recording is done in an outdoor area with a noisy atmosphere but for recording in the studio it is not suitable. For better audio clarity, use with levalier is better.
IN THE BOX
2X M650 Microphones
1X M650 receiver unit
1X M650 charging pod
2X Replaceable microphone covers
1X AUX Cable
1X USB-A to USB-C Charger Cable
1X USB-C Cable
1X Lightning Adapter
1X USB-C Adapter
1X Shoe for digital camera
2X Feather windbreak
2X Magnetic Clips
1X Leather storage bag
CONCLUSION
The price for this AnkerWork M650 microphone set is RM1699 which feels quite expensive when compared to the average competitor in the market. DJI Mic 2 for example is sold at a price of RM1649 but has bluetooth support unlike the M650. However, overall, the AnkerWork M650 is a microphone with excellent audio quality as it provides good enough audio recording results for the production of more perfect video content.
PRO
A complete audio recording system.
Excellent build quality.
Long lasting battery life.
Quite excellent audio quality.
Good clip and magnet connection system.
CONS
The price is quite expensive.
The microphone design is quite large.
Large and heavy storage container design.
Noise cancellation mode produces poor sound.
No Bluetooth support.