Hollyland LARK M3: This Mic Is Only $100?!

0:00This is the brand new Holland Lark M3, an update to one [music] of my favorite microphones of all time, the Lark M2. But with it, we get a ton of new features and kit variations that makes this one of the best wireless mic options on the market. Let's first take a look at what comes in this kit. And I'm reviewing the four transmitter and two receiver version. And I'll explain the other few versions that actually are available with this unit. But if you purchase this kit that I have right here, you're going to get four wireless

0:28microphones. So, these are the LARK M3s. And then on top of that, you actually get four windcreens for every microphone as well. And you can actually keep the windscreens on and close the case shut, which I love. Additionally, you'll get two audio receivers. There's a 3.5 mm receiver that you can use for plugging into camera devices. And then you also have a USBC receiver for smartphones, tablets, and computers. At the very top of the case, you'll see nestled up there is a 3.5 mm cable that you can use for attaching the receiver to cameras. And then it actually comes with an additional 3.5 mm backup cable if you

1:03need that. You also get a USBC data cable as well as the charging case. That's a hard shell charging case that charges the unit, but also houses a lot of the accessories. And then a soft carrying pouch as well that houses any additional accessories you want to bring along. Now, this is just one of the kits. There are some different variations like you could go for a more standard two transmitter and two receiver variant and I have that variant as well and this is probably the one that most people will go for. It's more traditional to only need two microphones in your wireless mic kit. And there's

1:35also a two transmitter with four receiver kit which is really interesting if you need to maybe live stream to multiple destinations and you want those four receivers to four different smartphone devices or computer devices you can leverage those four different transmitters. And then additionally, the most barebones kit would be two transmitters with just one receiver. And that's going to either be the 3.5 millimeter receiver for cameras or the USB receiver for smartphones and tablets and computers. So, I know those are a lot of different variations, but that's great depending on what your specific use case is. If you're just a kind of content creator making content on your

2:08own, you might just choose the most baseline kit, but if you're working in more professional production environments or live stream environments, there's some different options depending on your specific use case. In terms of price for these kits, pricing is not locked at the time of recording this video, but I'll be sure to give that information down in the description below so you can check it out. From what I hear, the baseline LARK M3 kit should be around $100 or just over $100 to get that baseline kit. Now, let's focus in on some of the features that are new with the M3 over the LAR M2. And the first thing you'll notice

2:39right away is the design and color of everything from the case to the mics themselves are actually updated. So now we have this updated space gray color which is more of a sleek design and it's more in line with what the Lark M2s and the A1 and the Lark Max 2 had. So they're kind of shifting toward this more minimal space gray feel which I really enjoy. Now another update are these microphones now have 32-bit float capabilities but it is kind of limited depending on what devices you have. So currently Android devices cap out at 24-bit audio. But if you do have an Apple device, there are some third-party

3:12recording apps on Apple that support 32-bit float if you want to record to your smartphone that way. Now, one of the biggest updates to the M3 system overall is just the variations of receivers and transmitters that are available. So, of course, we now have options to have up to four transmitters or four receivers, however you want. And there's different ways that you can pair these as well. Like, if you wanted to just pair one transmitter with four different receivers all at the same time, you can do that. There's a lot of flexible routing across all of these kits. And maybe if you're a solo creator, you don't have a need for all

3:44of these different variations, but it is really nice to have the flexibility if you need it. Now, inside of their app, you'll also see some new features like custom voice tuning. If you want to just click one tap, you can add a DSER for some cleaner distortion-free audio. There's also eight built-in vocal presets, and you can adjust these according to your specific needs. And a cool detail here is that each of the four transmitters can actually run a different preset at the same time. So if you are working with multiple voices and people sound different, you can tune your custom EQs and settings inside of the app based on individual microphones,

4:19not just a blanket adjustment across all four microphones. The noise cancellation is now AI enhanced, and there are three adjustable levels. There's also a new feature called auto limit clip protection. So, it's not just a limiter. It actually dynamically balances volume to make sure that your audio is stable across your shoot. And so, it's going to adjust dynamically if somebody starts talking super loud. It's going to lower that volume to make sure you don't ever clip. That's kind of a nice feature because this microphone does not have built-in audio recording. So, I can't hit record and have like 32-bit float backup audio. But, this auto limit clip

4:52protection is really nice to have access to in case anybody starts to peak. It will lower that volume. Battery performance has also been improved. You get 8 hours of battery life per transmitter. And then the case also gives two extra recharges for a total of 48 hours of total runtime across the four transmitter units. Now, I want to give you a few baseline audio tests so you can hear how this microphone sounds in a variety of environments. The first is kind of just this baseline test where I'm using it in a not really super sound treated studio, but it's a pretty controlled sound environment. And the

5:24microphone is just clipped right onto my shirt. So this is how it would sound like if it was kind of center chest optimal placement. This is how the audio sounds in a baseline control setting. Now for the second test, I've just put the microphone inside of this little wireless mic handle. And to me, this is one of the best ways to get better sounding audio with these tiny little wireless microphones because it puts the microphone in a more optimal position for getting the best sound quality. It's a lot closer to my mouth now and I can put it right where it needs to be to get

5:51the best sound. So this is what it sounds like inside of a wireless mic handle. Now, I'm going to show you a series of noise cancellation tests with the Lark M3, so you can see how the noise cancellation performs at its different levels. But what I'm going to do first is start this noise maker app in the background that's super obnoxious to just get a baseline for what it would sound like if there was like a massive fan or road noise happening in the

6:12background. So, let's start that up. So, this is noise cancellation off. Super obnoxious. So, we're going to turn on the baseline lowle noise cancellation right now. That is lowle noise cancellation. You can hear what that sounds like. Now we're going to bump it up to medium.

6:38Okay, this is medium noise cancellation. Sounds pretty good. And then we're going to turn on high. Okay, this is high noise cancellation with a really loud noise maker app like a foot in front of me. Super loud. So, let me know how that sounds. Is the audio still usable? And then I'll go ahead and turn it off so you can hear

6:58that baseline once more. So, that's what the baseline sounds like. Now, we're going to do a series of sound comparisons with other microphones that are in similar price ranges or even a little bit more expensive. So, the first one though is what the former version of this mic was. So, right now you're hearing the Lark M2. So, this is the Holland Lark M2. This is the previous microphone generation. And now you're going to hear the Lark M3. So, you can hear a sideby-side comparison between the Lark M2, which is the mic you're hearing now, and the Lark M3. I think honestly, both sound really good, but there are a lot of feature

7:31improvements to the Lark M3. Now, this next microphone is the original DJI Mic Mini. Now, I know they're on the Mic Mini 2 and have like a 2S now out as well, but those aren't available in the United States currently. So, still the Mic Mini is the one that you'd be able to purchase right now. This is how it compares to the Lark M3. And here's a sideby-side sound comparison. Now, this next mic is the Small Rig S70. So, this

7:54is a pretty popular microphone lately. I've seen a lot of people pick up the S70 and have enjoyed their experience using it. So, this is how the S70 compares versus the Lark M3. So, now you're hearing the Lark M3's audio. Now, back over to the Small Rig S70 to see how they compare. And the last mic we'll

8:10compare it to is the Holland Lark Max 2. So, that's their top-of-the-line wireless mic system. So, it costs like over two times the cost for this microphone versus the Lark M3. And you can hear the sound differences in sound quality and richness. I'm actually really impressed with how good the M3 sounds. I feel like it's a little bit brighter straight out of the box. And you might want to do some more EQing to the Lark Max 2, but overall the Lark Max 2 has more depth and quality to the sound, but both honestly sound really good. Now, if I had to choose one big improvement I would like to see out of

8:40the Lark M3, it would be the option to have internal audio recording on these tiny little units. I know it's hard to add built-in memory for these tiny little devices, but we're actually seeing other companies create versions of their products that are even really consumer level that have built-in recording features. And this is just really nice to have that peace of mind if I don't want to have to rig up my microphone to a camera or a smartphone to get audio. I can just click record right onto that system and get instant recorded audio without having to rely on another device. They of course have other options like the Lark Max 2, which

9:14is a system that I love and it does have 32-bit float internal audio recording, but I would be fine even if the Lark M3 had built-in 24-bit audio recording. But if I could record for four or five hours of a little backup, that would be super helpful. So, if they could add that to a Lark M4 down the road, I think that would be a welcome addition. So, who is the Lark M3 for? I think it's really for anybody who just wants highquality audio from content creators, YouTubers, podcasters, and people who do live streaming. Especially if you're somebody who wants to leverage the different variations and kits that the M3 system

9:47has. Maybe you want four microphones or four receivers to pair multiple smartphones for live streaming to multiple destinations. You have a lot of flexibility with this M3 system. If you want to check out the Lark M3, we'll be sure to link it down in the description below, as well as all of the different kit variations. And if you want to see my review of Hollland's top-of-the-line microphone system, which is their Lark Max 2, it's probably like my favorite wireless mic of all time. You can click or tap the screen right here to watch that video. And I'll see you in the next