Hollyland v RØDE v Sennheiser – Wireless Mic Comparison

With the launch of the RØDE Wireless Micro, the battle lines are somewhat drawn between the main protagonists in this area of the market.

That’s what I’d like to suggest is the case, but the reality is so much different in the real world.

I don’t have a DJI Mic sadly so I cannot include that in this comparison of different makes and models, but I do have a Sennheiser Profile Wireless and a Lark C1 system, so a meaningful comparison is possible as both Sennheiser and Hollyland are major players in this game.

Compare

Both of these models and the RØDE Wireless Micro share a common trait; they all come in a charging case with a pair of small microphones and a receiver, and they are all designed to be used with smartphones – which is where I’ll concentrate this comparison.

But from that point, they vary in a number of key areas. Let’s take price first. The Hollyland Lark C1 is available for around $129 making it easily the least expensive of the three, followed by the RØDE Wireless Micro at $199 and the Sennheiser at $549.

Both the RØDE and Lark C1 have two versions – one for iOS and one for Android, so if you are running a mix of smartphones (for whatever reason) you’ll need both variations. The Sennheiser comes with adaptors for both however, so you can use one mic on an iOS unit and the second on an Android device.

There is also quite a discrepancy on the range of the mics from the receiver. Hollyland says the Lark C1 is good for 200 metres, the Sennheiser for up to 245 metres and the RØDE is stated at “over 100 metres”.

Next take battery life. All three as mentioned come with a charging case / power bank that is recharged via a supplied USB-C cable. Allowing for a complete recharge from the power bank after exhausting the inbuilt battery, the RØDE is said to be good for 21 hours as is the Sennheiser, and Hollyland claim 32 hours.

The Lark C1 can also be charged whilst actually recording.

Both the Sennheiser and Lark C1 have sampling rates of 48kHz / 16 bit, but the spec sheet for RØDE doesn’t actually say what rates they are using, and I couldn’t find any reference to that. This may be important to you, but I suspect for most potential users it’s a moot point as long as the recorded audio sounds good.

Having a backup recording in case something goes wrong can be a lifesaver; I had this very issue just a few weeks back and the 16GB memory in the Sennheiser clip on mic saved me. That is roughly equivalent to 30 hours’ worth of recording by the way and kicks in automatically if the signal to the receiver is lost, but can also be turned on manually.

Neither the Hollyland nor the RØDE have this feature.

The RØDE unit is devoid of any external controls; simply take the clip on / magnetic mic out of the case and it starts recording. There is no way of muting for example, whereas the Hollyland has a noise cancellation button in addition to an on /off switch. The Sennheiser also has an on/off as well as the record button.

Additionally the Hollyland has the LarkSound app allowing further control including real time playback. There is a RØDE app for the RØDE Wireless Micro called RØDE Capturethat works on iOS, and RØDE suggest the RØDE Reporter app for Android.

The Sennheiser has no specific app, instead relying on 3^rd party apps for recording / playback such as Voice Recorder.

Conclusion

I guess it all comes down to one of four things which might sway you to purchase either of the three – price, range, feature set / flexibility and of course audio quality.

If buying purely on price due to budget constraints, the Hollyland Lark C1 wins hands down. For ease of use, the RØDE Wireless Micro bolts it in, as it just works out of the box and if you require the absolute flexibility that the Sennheiser gives, it being actually 4 mics in one due to the configuration possibilities, then that is the way to go. The Sennheiser also has the biggest range followed by the Lark C1.

Then again, for many, the audio backup feature of the Sennheiser could be the deal breaker.

As for audio quality, that is very subjective. I have recorded on all three (below) so you can hear any differences yourself.

 

In short, a case could be made for any pf the three mic systems depending on the usage needed at the time.