New normal in sound & options

The Rode Wi-fi Professional microphone system is a compact, highly effective system with very good audio.

The Wi-fi Go II and the unique Wi-fi Go mic and receiver programs are among the hottest instruments with YouTubers and Excessive-end creators a like. The Wi-fi Go lineup has impressed dozens of copycat merchandise, all of which promise one of the best sound and finest efficiency.

The Rode Wi-fi Professional is a large improve over the Go II. Because the title implies, it brings many pro-level options to its compact, inexpensive bundle. It really works with quite a few Rode wi-fi mics and presents better-quality sound and extra options than both Rode’s or opponents’ merchandise.

I examined the Rode Wi-fi Professional and the Interview Professional stick mic collectively. The Wi-fi Professional is a command unit for any of Rode’s Sequence IV mics, which incorporates the Interview Professional.

The wi-fi Interview Professional works with the Wi-fi Professional system.

I paired these with the Rode Cellphone Cage, a body with a magnetic adapter that wraps round a smartphone for a cinema-camera-style grip. The cage can be designed to mount equipment like video lights and the Wi-fi Professional receiver unit.

The result’s a secure platform for creators capturing with smartphones, however the Wi-fi Professional is simply as comfy in a digital camera’s sizzling shoe.

The 2 transmitters have inner storage and might transmit audio to the receiver. The Wi-fi Go II that I take advantage of additionally shops audio within the transmitters, and it is saved many shoots the place I forgot to activate the receiver or had the digital camera’s audio recording set improperly.

The Wi-fi Professional system has many glorious options, however the standout is the flexibility to report 32-bit floating-point audio. I am going to clarify the advantages of this, however the TLDR is that it is the highest-quality audio out there in a wi-fi mic.

The Rode Wi-fi Professional setup features a receiver unit and two transmitters. Every is a small rectangle concerning the dimension of an AirPod case. The transmitters can report from built-in microphones or lavalier mics with the built-in mic jack.

The case doubles as a charging answer for all three units.

Only a few folks use the built-in mics. Lavalere (lav) mics are tiny microphones typically clipped to clothes. For those who’ve ever observed a small mic hooked up to somebody’s lapel on TV, you’ve got seen a lav.

The one cause I’ve ever used the built-in mics with my Go II is after I neglect to convey my lav mics.

The standard of a microphone is the largest consider audio high quality. The lavs with the Wi-fi Professional are glorious, and the system accepts any mic with an ordinary mic jack connector.

Since any mic will connect with the Wi-fi Professional transmitters, creators with higher-quality lav mics can use these as a substitute. Only a few customers might want to improve with such good lav mics offered.

The system has a headphone jack on the receiver so digital camera operators can monitor the audio and make crucial changes. The identical port can be utilized so as to add a microphone. This permits scene narration or permits the operator so as to add spoken notes about post-production steps.

The Rode Wi-fi Professional receiver has each microphone and USB-C outputs. The microphone out port connects to plain mic jacks, whereas the USB-C connection permits any iPhone or iPad for use for audio recording. The USB-C connector additionally transfers audio information from the transmitter’s inner storage to a Mac or Home windows machine.

Rode’s wi-fi programs have at all times been surprisingly small and lightweight, particularly contemplating the audio high quality they seize. The Wi-fi Professional system is barely larger in all dimensions than the Wi-fi Go II. The transmitters are sufficiently small to slide right into a pocket with out noticing the scale or heft.

The Wi-fi Professional (learn) and the older Wi-fi Go II system (entrance).

The system is available in a zipper case with charging slots for every element and a USB-C port to cost all units concurrently. The case is comparatively cumbersome, only a bit smaller than a HomePod.

The case is one in every of my favourite issues concerning the system, as it could possibly cost all three units concurrently. Every element needed to be recharged individually with the older programs, so the case is welcome even when it provides bulk.

Regardless of its dimension, somebody already packing a digital camera, lenses, tripod, and equipment is not going to be bothered by it.

The system comes with a second zippered pouch for the included equipment, which have loads of equipment. The system has microphones and magnetic clips to attach the transmitters to steel surfaces. The package comes with every part wanted for audio recording.

As I am going to clarify beneath, the Wi-fi Professional system works with different Rode microphones. It may be used with the included two transmitter modules and units like stick mics and different Rode wi-fi merchandise.

The receiver unit has audio degree bars that point out which mics are transmitting to the receiver.

The Wi-fi Professional’s most essential function is not the design of the mics or the case. The Wi-fi Professional information audio in what’s known as 32-bit float audio.

Typically simply known as 32-bit float, this recording format could possibly be an article, however the concept behind the advantage of 32-bit floating-point audio is pretty easy.

Instances maintain each the mics (left) and equipment (proper).

Think about making an attempt to attract a practical sundown over a inexperienced subject utilizing crayons. Utilizing the eight-color field will make your paintings look nearly nothing like the actual world. The sundown will solely be yellow or orange, and the grass can be one or two shades of inexperienced.

Swap to the 128-color field of crayons, and you may make a way more life like piece of artwork. The grass can have a spread of shades, and the sky across the solar can have a clean gradient of blues to reds.

As with colours, audio has a posh vary as effectively. Recording 32-bit floating-point audio is greater than utilizing a 128-color field of crayons— it is the audio equal of a crayon field with 1000’s of colours.

32-bit audio recording is carried out with two completely different converters, one in every of which captures comfortable sounds and the opposite of which captures loud sounds.

Most audio recorders at this degree seize solely a center vary of tones. They can not report the loudest or the softest audio, so whispers are inaudible, and louder sounds are likely to “clip,” which is the time period for audio that’s so loud it distorts.

32-bit float recorders can seize a spread of audio ranges far larger than the human ear can hear, so quiet sounds aren’t misplaced, and loud sounds will not clip.

As somebody who information studio and subject recordings for a YouTube channel, I’ve to set and take a look at my audio each time I sit right down to report to make sure it will not clip. I’ve to regulate my audio in order that it may be heard clearly when recording outdoors.

32-bit float eliminates almost the entire guesswork with audio recording. In case your mic achieve is ready too excessive or too low, 32-bit float lets you repair it in postproduction with out worrying about distorted audio.

The system has a number of different audio options, together with GainAssist. GainAssist permits the system to fluctuate the amplification of sounds to match the audio ranges in manufacturing.

The Rode Wi-fi Professional can recode timecode, often present in high-end audio programs. Timecode seamlessly syncs footage from timecode-capable cameras with timecode-based recordings from an audio recorder.

The result’s audio that completely syncs with the footage from a number of timecode-aware cameras. It’s spectacular {that a} sound recording system with a 32-bit float and a timecode might be had for beneath $400.

The Rode Wi-fi Go launched high-quality wi-fi transmission protocols for sound transmission from the transmitter to the receiver. A system with poor wi-fi transmission is sort of ineffective. If you cannot report audio with out distorting it, it does not matter how good the mic or the transmitter is.

The Interview Professional makes use of the Sequence IV audio system.

The Wi-fi Professional makes use of the corporate’s proprietary Sequence IV transmission and claims to have almost zero latency. Latency is the delay between audio and the second it is recorded and is the largest reason behind audio tracks not syncing with video.

The wi-fi transmission is encrypted, so it is unattainable to snoop on its wi-fi alerts. Rode says their audio is secure as much as 260 meters, round 800 ft. Whereas I did not take a look at the mic at these lengthy distances, I did take a look at it greater than 100 ft away, and the audio recording was excellent.

In my system testing, the audio high quality was pristine, and efficiency was on par with the corporate’s guarantees. Whereas I’m not an audio engineer, I do have to regulate the audio for the movies I create, and even with my high-end studio mic, this is not at all times doable as a result of my digital camera solely information 24-bit audio.

The Rode system can report audio at a better high quality than my $500 microphone and $4000 digital camera mixed. I am going to seemingly use this method for a second audio stream to make sure I get one of the best sound doable.

I additionally examined the Rode Interview Professional on wi-fi transmission, which works with the Rode Wi-fi Professional due to its use of the identical Sequence IV transmission system. Organising this stick mic to work with the wi-fi receiver took just some button presses. The Wi-fi Go II additionally has Sequence IV capabilities, so customers of the older programs can use this mic, too.

The Rode Interview Professional can be utilized with the older Wi-fi Go II receivers.

As I anticipated, the audio high quality is excellent. The audio information have a lot vary that modifying is radically simplified in comparison with the Wi-fi Go II.

I captured audio in each loud environments and with very quiet talking, and in all instances, recovering vocal high quality was easy.

The Interview Professional and the Wi-fi Professional have an inner recording of their 32-bit float audio seize. Greater than as soon as, I forgot to show off the receiver on the Wi-fi Go II, which had depleted its battery by the point I went to shoot.

Having the ability to report audio internally saved the shoots. I recorded audio with the in-camera mic because the observe to sync the higher-quality Rode mic and my footage.

Transferring audio from the Rode Wi-fi Professional transmitters and the Interview Professional to a Mac is easy. Plug the units in by way of USB-C and launch Rode’s app. Any recording on the gadget might be downloaded. Rode’s app offers quite a few adjustment instruments, however I usually modify audio in my editor.

I examined the Wi-fi Professional with the corporate’s Cellphone Cage, a $120 all-metal grip that wraps round a cellphone. Cages are widespread equipment for mirrorless and cinema cameras used for video manufacturing. They will act as grips and supply locations to mount equipment such because the Wi-fi Professional.

The Cellphone Cage is an adjunct for in-field content material creators.

The Cellphone Cage comes with a steel disc the scale of the iPhone MagSafe that may be hooked up to the central bar of the cage. An extra mount can be offered for Android customers and iPhone customers with telephones that do not have MagSafe.

There are hotshoe mounts on each the highest and backside corners of the cage, onto which the Wi-fi Professional receiver might be mounted, in addition to lights and different equipment with a hotshoe-style connector.

One of many advantages of a cage is its stability when handholding a digital camera. The bigger grips enable for extra steadiness than simply wrapping your fingers round a cellphone.

The cage additionally makes it simpler to carry out clean motions, because the cellphone might be held in a extra comfy place than merely held.

Whereas the accent grip is not a must have buy, particularly should you’re capturing with a digital camera as a substitute of a cellphone, it exhibits the Wi-fi Professional’s flexibility. I might mount the gadget on my digital camera for studio work after which put it on the cage for movies shot outdoors.

The Rode Wi-fi Professional builds on the legacy of Rode’s well-regarded Wi-fi Go line. This new system will undoubtedly turn out to be the go-to alternative for YouTube creators, documentarians, reporters, and extra.

The Wi-fi Go II was an incremental improve over the unique Wi-fi Go. This new system presents a a lot larger leap in expertise and audio high quality and not using a a lot larger leap in worth.

The package has every part wanted to get began. The offered mics are glorious, eliminating the necessity to improve for higher sound.

• Main leap in audio high quality over the earlier system.
• Modern case expenses all three units without delay
• All the pieces a creator wants in a single bundle
• System-based design can use a number of mic sorts
• Constructed-in recording offers peace-of-mind
• Timecode help permits excellent audio sync

• Case is cumbersome in comparison with different programs

The Rode Wi-fi Professional, which is $399, is obtainable at Amazon.