When you’re working with video, one thing that can make or break the production is sound. In my opinion, if you have bad sound, you have a bad video. Good sound can take a middling video and elevate it to good. Solid sound has never chased anyone away from watching a video.
Please note: Hollyland sent me the Lark Max 2 Person Wireless Microphone for review but all comments are my own.
I’ve put the Lark Max through some paces and am extremely happy with the outcome. See the video review for additional in-depth info.
Pros
- Solid build quality
- Sound quality
- Matte black finish
- Charging case
- Built in noise canceling
Cons
- Hollyland logo on front of transmitters (would have been better aesthetically on the side or without the white paint)
Hollyland Lark Max 2 Person Wireless Microphone System — Technical Specs
All technical specification details were taken from the Hollyland Lark Max webpage.
Transmitter
- Dimensions Approx. 48.5mm x 30.3mm x 19.37mm (1.9″ x 1.2″ x 0.76″)
- Weight Approx. 33g (1.16oz)
- Transmission Range Up to 820ft (250m) for LOS/197ft (60m) for NLOS
- Modulation Mode GFSK
- EIRP <20dBm
- Operating Frequency 2400MHz — 2483.5MHz
- Battery Type RoHS-compliant LiPo
- Battery Capacity 300mAh
- Battery Voltage 3.87V
- Battery Energy 1.161Wh
- Charging Temperature 0° C to 45° C
- Operating Temperature — 20° C to 45° C
- Charging Time <2 hours
- Operating Time Approx. 7.5 hours
- Recording Time Approx. 14 hours
- Recorded Audio Format 48 kHz/24-bit WAV
- Mic Polar Pattern Omnidirectional
- Mic Sensitivity — 36dBFS±1dB@1 kHz, 94dB SPL
- Input Dynamic Range 98dB (Default)/106dB (Max)
- Frequency Response 20 Hz — 20 kHz (Low Cut disabled)
- Signal-to-Noise Ratio 70dB
- Sound Pressure Level 120dB SPL (Default)/128dB SPL (Max)
- Equivalent Noise 24dBA
- Note: The transmission range is measured in an unobstructed outdoor environment free of interference.
Receiver
- Dimensions Approx. 58mm x 40.83mm x 23.17mm (2.3″ x 1.6″ x 0.9″)
- Weight Approx. 60g (2.1oz)
- Touch screen 1.1″ AMOLED
- Touch screen Resolution 126 x 294 pixels
- EIRP <20dBm
- Operating Frequency 2400MHz — 2483.5MHz
- Battery Type RoHS-compliant LiPo
- Battery Capacity 490mAh
- Battery Voltage 3.87V
- Modulation Mode GFSK
- Battery Energy 1.896Wh
- Charging Temperature 0° C to 45° C
- Operating Temperature — 20° C to 45° C
- Charging Time <2 hours
- Operating Time Approx. 9 hours
Charging case
- Dimensions Approx. 115mm x 46mm x 63mm (4.5″ x 1.8″ x 2.5″)
- Weight Approx. 193.5g (6.8oz)
- Battery Type RoHS-compliant LiPo
- Battery Capacity 2800mAh
- Battery Voltage 3.85V
- Battery Energy 10.78Wh
- Charging Time <2 hours
- Operating Temperature — 20° C to 45° C
- Charging Temperature 0° C to 45° C
- Max Charging Times Approx. two times of charging for 2 TX and 1 RX
- Note: The data provided above is based on laboratory testing results.
Hollyland Lark Max 2 Person Wireless Microphone System — In use
MaxTimber Technology High Fi general, Low Cut in studio with ac or fan noise, Vocal Boost in a busy environment.
I recommend checking out this tutorial once you have your unit. It was taking me a while to follow what settings were available where on the transmitters and receiver. Once I viewed this video with the hardware in hand the system became much clearer for me. Whenever you have a device that does a lot it pays to get some solid instruction. It would take me a long time to show you all the features, touch screen and buttons where it’s already been done. This video from Hollyland was helpful and did it for me.
The controls are easy to set and see indoors. In full sun, the LED screen is a bit harder to use. I didn’t find a way to make the screen brighter, but I do most settings before I leave the studio and ducking into the shade makes it possible to see even when working outside so no big deal. Power and noise reduction controls are small on the devices which is perfect, you just need to memorize where they are for ease of use.
A great feature is the carrying case/docking station which acts as a charger. You can get a couple extra charges for the gear without having the unit plugged in. Very handy for location shooting. If you are only using one microphone the other can be staying fully charged. When you switch you have a freshly charged units ready to go.
Hollyland Lark Max 2 Person Wireless Microphone System — Testing, testing
My in studio testing was clean and worked well. Where I was really impressed was in my ‘walkabout’ to see how the microphones and receiver worked in the environment. I was able to get over 350 feet using the microphone with my body between the transceiver and receiver. Here’s the beauty. Because the microphone has the built in recorder I never missed a moment of voice. Built in recorder/transmitter for the microphones can hold about 14 hours which should be plenty of back up.
Surprising to me was the lack of ambient noise being recorded. As I worked outside there were planes flying by along with a vehicle passing and it was hardly noticeable in the recording.
As a tip when you get started recording, use a slap stick to create a sharp noise it makes syncing your sound much easier. I was using a camera, iPhone and the in microphone recorder and everything matched perfectly with little effort. If I hadn’t had the sharp sound that job would have been much harder.
