Wired Lavaliere Head-to-Head: Can a $20 Audio Technica ATR-3350 Compete with a $200 Sony ECM-44B?

The Test

I wanted to hear exactly how the Audio-Technica sounded compared to my normal lav microphone. My kit is not filled with expensive and exotic mics designed to deliver the utmost in amazing clarity and presence. For the corporate work I do, getting clean, consistent audio at a decent price point is the goal. I needed the Audio-Technica to sound as good as--or very close t--what I have, so the results could be used interspersed with other clips and not sound dramatically different.

I plugged both my Sony and the Audio-Technica into a Beachtek MCC-2, 2-channel passive mixer specifically designed for DSLR use. There's no EQ. It features two mono imputs, two volume trims, and one stereo output that goes to my DSLR. There's also no amplification. The only thing the MCC-2 does is let me adjust the audio level of the two microphones to match by bringing down whichever one is louder. Look for a review of the Beachtek mixer and accessories soon.

In the test, and in the video below, the DSLR was set to minimum internal amplification to reduce any noise that might be added by the camera trying to amplify the input levels. DSLR mic preamps are notoriously bad. So keeping the camera set as low as it can go is the best way to get the cleanest audio in a DSLR.

The second part of good DSLR audio is to feed the camera as hot a signal as you can- without clipping the camera's preamps. I previously reviewed the Juiced Link RA333 which does just that, by amplifying the microphone inputs and feeding a good strong signal to the camera. But, as I wanted to hear solely what the microphone provided in a field setup, I chose to not use the amplification here.

Then I dropped the .mts files from my camera directly into the timeline. I raised both audio channels the same dB, and then switched between them in the timeline. There's no post EQ or other processing at all. Just gain.

The Results

Spoiler alert: I came away surprised. I fully expected my Sony "professional" microphone to sound better than the cheap little Audio-Technica. Maybe not 10x better, but distinctly better. But it didn't. Actually, in certain instances, I found the audio from the Audio-Technica to be crisper than the Sony. The Sony did sound a bit warmer (a little more bass) but not distinctly so.

If I were given only one audio file to listen to and not told which mic recorded it, I think I would have a hard time knowing for sure which mic it was. This is exactly what I was hoping for, but didn't actually expect to be true. So I feel confident in using my $20 Audio-Technica in situations where I wouldn't want my $200 Sony to get messed up. In other cases, I'll use the Sony instead. I have other ones with the windscreens and I feel they are built better than the Audio-Technica's screen and may provide better protection.

Also, if I have to run the cable any length, the Sony has a standard balanced 3-pin XLR jack. The balanced cable will help eliminate noise and hum in those situations. This is what I use when I'm filming a panel of people speaking about a topic. Each person gets a mic, each mic runs back to me, and I mix them live. I would not feel comfortable running the Audio-Technica's unbalanced audio from the stage to the back of the house.

Plus, in freelance corporate situations, there's something to be said for opening a nice case and pulling out a microphone for the client. It makes them feel like they're getting special treatment, even though I know from actual testing that there'd be little difference in the sound. But we all know that sometimes, putting on a show for the client is part of the job (albeit a small one). So get a nice little zippered case for the microphones and everyone will be happy.

Watch the video below. Take a listen and let me know if your ears hear something mine didn't. If you're doing any sort of production and do not have a set of lavaliere microphones that you use all the time, this test will show you there's no reason for you to not get a set of these microphones. And beyond the question of one mic or the other, it doesn't matter if you're recording to your DSLR, or even your cell phone. Using a lavaliere microphone to record better audio makes a world of difference in your final product.