The Hollyland Lark M1 was released about a month back and we were lucky to get our hands on one for review. This comes as sort of a competitor to the DJI Mic, but a simpler version of it. It’s a TWS-style wireless microphone system, with a ton of features that makes it a must-have for when you’re outdoors or on-the-go. Of course, you could use it indoors too for your YouTube videos or podcast sessions. Let’s take a look at some of the features the Hollyland Lark M1 offers.
Hollyland Lark M1 – Features
- Omnidirectional Audio
- Noise Cancellation
- 3-level Volume Preset, High/Mid/Low
- Sample Rate of up to 48 kHz and 16-bit
- Up to 8 hours of recording time on a full charge
- Up to 20 hours of operating time
- 200 Meters line-of-sight range
- Wireless Charging and storage case with a USB-C port (1.5 hours to recharge)
What’s In The Box?
- Hollyland Lark M1 Receiver x 1
- Hollyland Lark M1 Transmitter x 2
- Charging Case
- 3.5mm TRS to TRS patch cable (For cameras)
- 3.5mm TRS to TRRS patch cable (For laptops, PCs)
- 3.5mm to USB-C cable (For Android smartphones/anything with a USB-C port)
- 3.5mm to Lightning cable (For iPhones
- Furry Windshield x 2
- Storage Hard Case
- User Manual
Setting Up
There’s really not much to set up with the Hollyland Lark M1, really. Just unbox everything, take the receiver and transmitters out, and peel off the protective film to allow them to charge. Pop them back into the charging case to activate them, take them out again and you’re ready to start recording. That’s pretty much it, you just need to identify which cable you’re going to need to use to connect to your recording device.
Design
This wireless microphone system combines TWS earbuds with a Cyberpunk 2077 sort of feel, especially with the contrast yellow on the interior of the charging case. The Hollyland logo and wordings on the product also gives it a nice touch, making it look more edgy.
The charging case holds and charges the receiver along with the two transmitters, keeping them all juiced up for when you need to use them next. It’s small and lightweight, doesn’t add much weight to your backpack or recording gear bag. Even the receiver and transmitters themselves are super lightweight, you can barely feel they’re there clipped onto you.
Each of the transmitter comes with a built-in mic, so there’s no output jack for third-party lav mics. Remove them from the charging case and they automatically turn on. They have two buttons on them, which are the power button and the pairing/noise cancellation button. Just single press to toggle noise cancellation, and hold to re-pair your transmitters to the receiver (in case the connection gets lost). When the LED is blue, noise cancellation is off. When it’s green, that means noise cancellation is active.
Just like the transmitters, the receiver is also lightweight, has minimal buttons, and turns on automatically when removed from the charging case. It has two LED status lights, to indicate which mics are turned on and active. The two buttons on the left side are the volume control, as well as stereo/mono toggle button. On the right, there’s the power button, with a 3.5mm jack that will be connected to your recording device.
Build Quality
Build quality I must say, is outstanding for the Hollyland Lark M1. The charging case feels solid and has a nice dense, heft to it, which is very reassuring. As for the transmitters and receiver, despite how lightweight they are, they don’t feel cheap or plasticky. Each component feels well built, and has a nice touch in the hands.
User Experience
Using the Hollyland Lark M1 for a couple of videos by now, it’s proven to be of great convenience to use. Setting up takes less than a minute, and I’m ready to start recording (as long as the other gears are all setup). It’s mostly been a plug and play experience for me, where I just plug it in and just know it will work.
Well, initially, I needed to make sure that audio really was picked up with the Lark M1 transmitters. But after that, I just needed to get the right connection cable, and recording audio has never been a worry for me.
Bringing it with me to events, they really did not add any noticeable weight to my backpack. It felt like I was carrying any other TWS earbuds with me. On-the-go, I can just pop it in and out of the bag easily, and it just works. That’s what I love most about it, really – the convenience and simplicity.
Performance
The Hollyland Lark M1 operates using 2.4GHz wireless frequency. The preset volume levels are already quite balanced for general usage, so they work immediately right out of the box. As for noise cancellation, when it’s turned off, audio was already pretty good to begin with. But once it’s turned on, it cuts out a significant amount of ambient room noise, but keeps your voice crisp and clear in 48KHz and 16-bit audio, which is good.
Hollyland has also taken the initiative to provide a hard carrying case to carry the Lark M1 and its accompanying accessories all in one bag. There are also two mini deadcats that fit perfectly on the transmitter, perfect for those windy outdoor scenarios.
As for audio quality, it emphasizes more on the highs, which can make it a little exhausting. The mids are decent, and the lows kind of lack substance. However, clarity is what you want, and the Lark M1 certainly provides that. If you’re coming from a smartphone microphone, this will be an instant upgrade, an upgrade that is instantly audible.
Distance Coverage
A whopping 200m. Yes, we tested it and it really does work. The caveat is, you need to make sure it’s within visible line of sight. This also means there should be no walls or other objects blocking the path between the transmitter and the receiver.
Battery Life
On a single charge, each transmitter can be used for up to 8 hours, and that’s awesome for long shoots. Even if you’re low on battery, you can always pop it back into the charging case and it would recharge while you take a break from filming.
Charging the Hollyland Lark M1 uses USB-C. You just need to have the transmitters and receiver in the charging case, and it will charge all together. But if for some reason, the charging case isn’t with you, the transmitters and receiver has its own USB-C port for you to charge them individually too. Convenient right?
Conclusion
The Hollyland Lark M1 is an awesome entry-level wireless microphone for any budding content creator out there. It’s small, lightweight, and has a bunch of connectivity options for you to choose. Sure, it doesn’t have a 3.5mm jack for third-party lav mics, but that’s not much of a dealbreaker considering the feature set you’re getting for the price. If a LAV mic is important to you, then you’re better off going for the more advanced Hollyland Lark 150.
I’d definitely recommend the Hollyland Lark M1 for anyone who’s just starting their content creation journey, or maybe even someone who’s already experienced and wants to upgrade their gear to something better. For the price and features it offers, you really can’t go wrong with the Hollyland Lark M1.
