Audigo assessment: What’s it?
At its core, Audigo is a pocket-sized stereo condenser microphone that wirelessly connects to a devoted iOS app, reworking your iPhone into a transportable recording studio. The app homes each a video and audio recorder, guaranteeing each work in excellent concord, that means you possibly can feasibly arrange a mic near your sound supply – your acoustic guitar’s soundhole, for instance – after which find your telephone additional away to get the proper shot.
At a look
Sort: Condenser
Pattern fee: 48kHz
Bit depth: 24-bit
Frequency vary: 20Hz to 20kHz
Polar sample: Cardioid
Purchase from Audigo
The microphone itself, which is roughly the dimensions of a few matchboxes, is provided with two mid-side high-sensitivity condenser capsules. These seize audio alerts and retailer them immediately onto its inner reminiscence. As soon as the recording is full, the microphone wirelessly transfers the audio information to the Audigo iOS app, the place you possibly can entry, edit, and share your creations.
This performance is then taken a step additional throughout the app, the place you possibly can alter the sound with EQ and reverb controls. In case you’re utilizing a couple of mic – as much as 4 is feasible – you possibly can even then combine the quantity and panning of the recorded sounds to hurry up the method of exporting a completed, polished video. The purpose is to make it simpler to file properly framed, great-sounding clips utilizing simply your iPhone and the Audigo mic. It’s a novel premise, in contrast to just about the rest in the marketplace, however does it dwell as much as its promise?
Audigo assessment: Efficiency & verdict
The wi-fi Audigo microphone – the bodily half of the worth proposition – is a small cuboid unit. It appears to be like fairly sturdy, and has a pleasant weight to it, with a small rubber foot on the bottom guaranteeing it gained’t slide off a tabletop simply. The mic will be related to an everyday mic stand due to an included magnetic attachment, which suggests the mic will be positioned in a extra typical approach for recording sure devices. A 6-hour battery life and 32GB inner storage facility additionally means there’s loads of time out there for capturing recordings.
Connectivity between the mic and the app is seamless, that includes each Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.2, and we by no means had any issues with sign drop-outs in our testing interval. What’s spectacular with Audigo, nevertheless, is that even when there have been issues and the app and mic misplaced connection, the audio recordings are saved immediately onto the mic itself. Because of this if you join it up bodily utilizing the USB-C port, you’ll nonetheless be capable of switch the completed audio information over to your pc.
One level to say is which you can solely file video utilizing the app’s built-in video performance, and are restricted considerably to the settings it affords. And whereas 24/30fps footage in 4K shall be sufficient for most individuals, it does imply you possibly can’t entry a few of the completely different choices native to your iPhone’s digicam, like bokeh backgrounds and better body charges. This may not be a dealbreaker nevertheless it’s value preserving in thoughts.
On a extra optimistic word, the flexibility to make use of as much as 4 Audigo mics concurrently is fairly spectacular and an actual ‘wow’ characteristic. You might, hypothetically, place mics in entrance of a drum equipment, bass ampacoustic guitar and singer, after which arrange your iPhone on the opposite aspect of the room with everybody in body. From there, the app will file 4 separate streams of audio, which might then be blended, panned and have sprucing results added to them in real-time, all of the whereas remaining completely synced to the video itself. Really spectacular stuff, and fairly in contrast to the rest that’s in the marketplace in the meanwhile with out resorting to higher-spec devoted video gear.
As somebody who’s carried out quite a lot of videography, each professionally and within the capability of being the one band member with a functioning digicam, I’ve bought a lot of expertise recording rehearsal classes. Normally this entails establishing a devoted digicam, after which a separate devoted audio recorder – in my case a trusty Zoom H6 – with a number of mics and the seemingly unending mess of XLR cables that goes together with that.
Add to that the setup time, checking a number of mic ranges, after which the (generally) irritating job of syncing up the varied audio sources – after which naturally having to pack all the things up afterwards – and you’ll see why the Audigo bundle excites me. You merely activate the mics, open the app and all the things connects collectively itself. Press file and also you’re good to go.
In solo testing, the method largely lived as much as the premise. Positive sufficient, I used to be in a position to arrange a few Audigo mics – one on the soundhole of an acoustic guitar after which one other set round 12” again. The telephone itself was set on a tripod, round three metres away, giving me an enormous quantity of freedom over the framing and scene-setting that you simply wouldn’t essentially get when you have been counting on the telephone’s mic.
From there, I merely hit file on the Audigo app and started enjoying. The outcomes (of the video, not my enjoying…) have been excellent. Inside seconds of stopping recording, the app confirmed each audio streams from the mics, in excellent sync with the video recording. This, in itself, would have been sufficient however the Audigo app goes a step or two additional by permitting you to alter the quantity ranges, panning, stereo width and different settings like including reverb utilizing a properly visible, tactile grid system. Any modifications you make are immediately mirrored within the recording, making it straightforward to check out completely different choices till you discover one thing you want. Crucially, you don’t must be an skilled videographer or sound engineer to make any of this occur. It’s so easy.
Once I’d completed mixing, I used to be given the choice to export both the video in full, with audio, prepared for add to YouTube and the standard social channels, or simply the audio, or a multitrack zip file containing every particular person factor so I might drag them to an Adobe Premiere Professional venture for additional modifying and polish. Very slick and problem-free.
As is the norm today, Audigo does supply up a subscription tier which unlocks cloud storage and a compression impact, though it’s eager to level out that the core performance of the app and mic can be found to anybody, no matter subscription standing. There’s additionally unhealthy information for Android customers, as Audigo is licensed to be used with Apple gadgets solely.
So who’s Audigo for, and what downside does it resolve? Basically, the mix of Audigo, its app and your iPhone come collectively to offer a straightforward to make use of, massively moveable and genuinely helpful videography bundle. We favored the best way the product is being aimed particularly at musicians, quite than streamers or players, and may simply see bands, solo artists and different performers discovering a spot for Audigo of their common recording line-ups. Capturing rehearsals and dwell performances is an important device for any artist, and with Audigo it simply bought an entire lot simpler.
Audigo assessment: Arms-on demos
Sunday Mornings HQ
Patrick Breen
EllenPlaysBass
Audigo assessment: Specification
- Sort: Condenser
- Pattern fee: 48kHz
- Bit depth: 24-bit
- Frequency vary: 20Hz to 20kHz
- Polar sample: Cardioid
- Connectivity: USB-C & headphone out
- Contact: Listening to
