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My RODE Wireless ME Microphone (8-Month Review)
3K views
Jul 22, 2024
The RODE Wireless ME is the microphone that I have stayed with after trying out far too many bad microphones. In this video, I'm going to be discussing everything you need to know about these microphones: what I do like, what I don't like, and exactly who it is for! Upgrade your audio game with the RODE Wireless Me here (Paid Link): https://amzn.to/3VAFWY7 Read the written review here (I regularly update these articles as I test products): https://gear43.com/rode-wireless-me-review
View Video Transcript
0:00
So it is finally time to review the unsung hero of my YouTube channel and that would actually be this right here
0:09
This is my Rode Wireless ME Microphones. Now, I've been through a couple different sets of microphones for this channel
0:16
because I've been really wanting a really good quality audio experience and it's really important for me to have really good audio for you guys so you can hear me really well
0:25
you don't have crackling in the background, you don't have echoes, you don't have all of those kind of things
0:29
So it took me quite a while to figure out exactly what microphone was best for me and my channel
0:34
So I've been through quite a few different microphones. I've used the external microphone on my iPhone
0:39
Originally, it was an iPhone 12 mini and now it's my 15 Pro. I then started using kind of a cheapo wireless microphone setup that you buy off Amazon
0:47
And then after getting really annoyed by that set of microphones, I switched over to my first Rode product, which was the VideoMic M-E-L
0:55
which is a very different setup. It's actually a boom style microphone. It's a really great setup
0:59
However, I found sometimes I do film farther away from my phone as I realized I needed a lapel mic
1:05
So I actually returned those and purchased the wireless M-E's that we're talking about today
1:10
And I have never been happier. So in this video, I'm going to be telling you guys everything that you need to know about this microphone
1:16
what I do like, and of course what I don't like, so you can decide if it's right for you and your creator setup
1:22
Now, unlike a lot of products I review on here, this actually was purchased directly by me
1:26
I was not sent out this by the brand, so it makes it a little bit different to review
1:30
I have also been using these microphones for around eight months pretty regularly
1:34
so I have really put them through their paces. So let's get right into this review by talking about what the wireless M-E microphones really are
1:41
So it is a two-piece setup. So there is the first piece, which is what you see right here on my shirt
1:47
and that is the actual microphone. So there are a couple different things that you can do with it
1:50
One, you can clip it onto you like this, or you can actually hardwire another microphone into it if you want it a little bit more hidden
1:57
I just have never really gotten around to trying that out, and I really like the quality of the audio that I'm getting from it in this existing setup
2:03
The second piece is actually the transmitter, which plugs directly into your phone
2:07
It can plug into a DSLR or really any device that you want to plug into
2:11
and it comes with all of those accessories directly in the package, including the older iPhones that have the lightning connector
2:16
Both the transceiver and the microphone itself are rechargeable batteries, and I reliably get a really good battery life
2:23
I can't say for sure they are rated for around, I think, 7 to 9 hours, but I've never really run into issues as long as I make sure to turn the microphones off before I put them away
2:32
You can get a couple different applications on your phone with some kind of basic setup things
2:36
as well as to be able to update your firmware, but honestly, I don't spend a ton of time in those apps once you kind of get them set up from the beginning
2:42
I do also want to mention that while the lapel mic is a microphone, so is the transceiver
2:47
so you can actually utilize the transceiver as a boom mic and not even use the lapel mic if that's better for the setup that you have
2:53
or it's great for, like, vlogging. If you're having kind of a vlog-style interview with somebody
2:59
they can wear the lapel mic and you can have the microphone on the device that you're holding
3:02
So there's a bunch of different things that you can do. And with the application, you can turn one mic on, one mic off, have them both on
3:08
and really set it up exactly the way you want. And so that is the Wireless ME
3:13
So let's go ahead and get into what I do like and what I don't like about these microphones
3:17
The number one thing that I really, really like about these microphones is their quality of audio
3:22
As you can hear right now, I am actually currently using the microphones, and you can see there's no crackling, it's really, really clear
3:29
and it's a very consistent audio, especially with the lapel mic, which is really nice
3:32
because I don't have to worry about how far away from the device I am. Because no matter where I'm standing or where I'm sitting
3:38
the microphone is the same distance from my mouth to the microphone, so I just don't have to worry about those levels
3:43
And so it just sounds really, really nice. And before we move on from this, I do want to show you the difference between my onboard audio from my iPhone
3:51
to the audio that you have here. So this is testing the microphones as they are plugged in and as they're on
3:57
And then this is using the onboard microphone from the iPhone 15 Pro
4:01
You can see quite the difference. And before we move on from that, I do want to say there is such a huge difference in audio quality
4:08
between these and less expensive microphones. While these microphones are not exactly the most expensive ones in the world
4:14
I consider them kind of a mid-range option. If you go really any cheaper than this, I have found that the audio quality generally is actually worse
4:22
than the onboard quality of just using your iPhone for the audio. So if you're not willing to invest the amount in something like this
4:28
I probably would just go with the microphone in your iPhone or your Android phone
4:32
It's probably going to be better than pretty much any other microphone that you're going to buy
4:36
And that's coming from somebody who has created hundreds of videos by just using the onboard microphone on their iPhone
4:41
So that moves us on to the number two thing that I really like about these microphones, and it's just the ease of use
4:46
Once you have it all set up, once you've got all the settings done by using the onboard application and that kind of stuff
4:51
the actual setup of putting the microphones into the phone is really, really easy
4:55
All it is, you just turn both microphones on and then plug it into your phone
4:59
I have USB-C to USB-C, and it just works. I generally do one quick test video and I just kind of tap the microphones really quick
5:06
to make sure that the microphones are active and working correctly. But it reliably doesn't cause any issues and literally takes me probably 30 seconds
5:14
to get the microphones going when I'm ready to shoot like we're doing right here
5:18
The number three thing I really like about these microphones, it is considering how small they are
5:22
I mean, they are a decent size microphone. However, considering how small they are, relatively speaking to other devices
5:28
they actually have pretty good battery life. I never really run out of battery life as long as I remember to turn them off every time I use them
5:36
If you don't turn them off, you are going to find next time you go to record, they're probably going to be dead and you're going to have to charge them
5:42
However, as long as you turn them off, you can use them for days at a time when you're recording video
5:47
As I talked about earlier, I think that it has seven to nine hours of battery life of continuous usage
5:52
So as long as you turn them off, you should be good. The number four thing I really like about these microphones is how durable they are
5:58
I think right when I opened the package on these things, I was dropping them all over the place
6:02
I've had my phone fall over with them and all that kind of stuff. And there really is no wear and tear to speak of
6:07
I have not exactly been nice to these microphones and they have been dropped a ton
6:12
and they've been holding up really well and I've had no durability issues whatsoever
6:17
The number five thing I really like is the fact that even though this is kind of your main microphone
6:22
the other one acts as a microphone as well. I talked about this a little bit earlier, but it is really nice feature
6:28
They didn't have to make it so the transceiver itself can be a microphone as well
6:31
It just adds a lot of flexibility to how you can film
6:35
And then the number six thing I really like is just how many accessories it comes with. It really comes with every single wire you can think of to be able to plug into pretty much any device
6:43
So let's move on to what I don't like. So these are the things you want to pay attention to to decide if they're deal breakers for you
6:49
So the number one thing is that the audio tends to be a little bit quiet
6:53
Now as you're listening here, I have adjusted the audio to be a little bit higher
6:57
However, the stock audio from it generally is quieter than like if you get onto YouTube
7:02
and you listen to a YouTube video. The audio you're going to be putting in is going to be quieter than the standard audio from a standard YouTube video
7:10
So if somebody switches from one YouTube video to yours, your audio is generally going to be lower and you have to raise that audio in the editing process
7:17
And I've actually in the settings turned it up to be as sensitive as possible to pick up as much audio
7:22
and it still just isn't quite as loud as what you would want it to be
7:26
which is kind of annoying. I think especially for beginners that haven't spent much time in editing
7:31
It's going to be a learning process for them and you may not notice and it may take a while of refining to get your audio at the same level as everybody else
7:39
I will say I think one culprit of it is these little furry things that are in the end of the microphones
7:44
However, I never like to take those off because you just don't know when somebody is going to make a puff of air
7:50
You're going to step outside and there's going to be wind and that kind of stuff. So I leave those on all the time, but I do think those make them a little bit quieter
7:56
but I'll be honest. It's kind of something that I have to deal with
8:00
The number two thing that I regret about these microphones is not getting a second lapel mic
8:04
If you have any intentions on doing an interview or anything like that
8:08
it actually makes it a little bit more difficult only having one lapel style mic
8:12
I do recommend getting the upgraded version to having two lapel mics and then one transceiver
8:16
because again, it gives you a little bit more flexibility. So if down the road you decide to do like an interview style video
8:22
it's just going to make it easier for you in the long run and is well worth the price. I think it's like an extra 50 bucks
8:27
And then the number three thing that I don't like about these microphones is they have a tendency
8:30
every once in a while for some reason to just unpair like they are brand new out of the box
8:36
So I have to then go into my application, repair them, remake them, work together, and having only one button is actually a little bit of a difficult process
8:44
So it could take a couple minutes to be able to get it going. If you're out filming and that kind of stuff, it can take some time
8:49
It is annoying and I don't really know a way of fixing it
8:53
but it is something that I've lived with and hasn't been a big issue
8:57
but is something that's come up multiple times since I've owned it over the past eight months
9:01
And that really is the only things I don't like about these microphones. They are by no means deal-breakers for me and these have been really
9:07
really good microphones for the price. Which leads me to who should be getting these microphones
9:12
and it's really anyone that wants to take content creation like what you're watching now here seriously
9:17
because audio matters so much in retention and being able to make it so that your audience really enjoys your videos
9:25
They need to be able to hear you and they need to be able to hear that audio consistently
9:28
especially across your videos. Some people like to watch multiple videos at once
9:32
and you want to make sure that your audio is the same throughout every single video
9:36
And the only way to do that is have a consistent microphone, whether that be the onboard microphone on your iPhone or using something like this
9:43
But this right here, these microphones are going to make it so much better
9:47
It's really taking it to the next level. Now if you're a hobbyist that's not wanting to spend a ton of money
9:52
honestly, your microphones on your phone are probably going to do just fine. They are going to pick up more kind of around the phone audio and not more direct audio
10:01
and it's not going to be quite as crisp as this, but it does still work. These microphones are $150-$200
10:06
So it definitely is an investment, but it is an investment that's going to last no matter what phone you get
10:10
because it's going to come with all the connectors, even if you switch out of like if I upgrade my iPhone 15 Pro
10:15
and I switch over to a Samsung, it's going to have connectors for each of those. And so those are my experiences on the Rode Wireless ME microphones
10:22
I hope you guys enjoyed this video. If it has been helpful whatsoever, make sure to subscribe
10:26
because I do have a lot of videos like this coming out and make sure to like this video as it helps me in the algorithm
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