Good audio is probably the single most important thing you can provide for your video creations, and the Hollyland LARK M2S does this, with little effort. Before Hollyland sent this unit along for review, I used a RØDE lava mic for recording my unboxing videos for YouTube. That worked well, but being tethered to my camera was a pain in the butt. While I was researching wireless lav systems, Hollyland reached out to me and offered up the LARK M2S, so I agreed to give it a run.
Estimated reading time: 12 minutes
Along with my RØDE lava mic, I used the 512 Audio Tempest. Both of those products produce excellent audio, but they’re both wired and awkward to use in some applications. The key features of the Hollyland LARK M2S are that it is wireless, small, and self-contained, allowing for a versatile range of use cases. Let’s get into the full review of this fantastic little audio setup.
The Quick Take
The Hollyland LARK M2S is a lifesaver. This wireless system is affordable and provides excellent sound quality with noise cancellation that works great. You may have to tweak some settings in post-production, but that’s going to be subjective and individual taste. For the money, you cannot beat the Hollyland LARK M2S in terms of performance, quality, convenience, and price. This has to be on your short list.
Score and Bottom Line
Hollyland LARK M2S
$159
Nailed it
- Excellent design that is barely noticeable and has no logos that are visible in camera
- Easy to use and setup, nearly plug and play, only a few settings in the app need tweaking
- Amazing feature set and simple app
- Excellent sound quality
- USB-C receiver has a passthrough connector
- Excellent battery life and recharges quickly
Needs work
- Some users have complained that there is no magnetic option
- The charging case lid feels a bit cheaply made.
- You cannot fit the windsock in the charge case with the mic
The bottom line is this. It took a few runs in DaVinci Resolve to tweak the sound because I was very used to the sound produced from my RØDE lav mic. But after some time and practice, I was able to dial in the settings in my video editor as I wanted. Here is a simple bullet point list of why I think this is an excellent value.
- The sound quality of the Hollyland LARK M2S is excellent.
- It is so small it’s nearly unnoticeable.
- No branding on the mic itself, great for a clean logo free video.
- Great features
- The battery life is insane and it recharges quickly.
- Passthrough charging on the USB-C connector.
- Simple app, simple to set up and use.
Overall, the Hollyland LARK M2S is my new recording mic for my YouTube videos. It is a fantastic value and well worth the small investment if you’re serious about your video creation.
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Hollyland LARK M2S Specifications
There are different packages available, these specs are for the Combo version:
- Mic Sensitivity: -37 dBV ± 2dB @1 kHz, 94dB SPL
- Wireless Modulation Mode: GFSK 2 Mbps
- Wireless Transmission: 2.4 GHz Adaptive Frequency Hopping (AFH)
- Transmission Range
- Mobile Version: Up to 300m (1,000ft) for LOS / 60m (200ft) for NLOS
- Camera Version: Up to 300m (1,000ft) for LOS / 40m (130ft) for NLOS
- Mic Polar Pattern: Omnidirectional
- Frequency Response: 20 Hz – 20 kHz
- Signal-to-Noise Ratio: 70dB
- Max Sound Pressure Level: 116dB SPL
- Sample Rate and Bit Depth: 48 kHz, 24-bit
- Battery Voltage
- TX: 3.87V
- Camera Version RX: 3.87V
- Mobile Version Charging Case: 3.8V
- Combo Version Charging Case: 3.8V
- Battery Capacity
- TX: 85 mAh
- Camera Version RX: 145 mAh
- Mobile Version Charging Case: 680 mAh
- Combo Version Charging Case: 1300 mAh
- Operating Time
- TX: Approx. 9 hours
- Camera Version RX: Approx. 8.5 hours
- Mobile Version Charging Case: > 2 times charging for 2 TX at the same time
- Combo Version Charging Case: > 2.5 times charging for all TX and RX at the same time
- Charging Time
- TX: Approx. 1 hour
- Camera Version RX: Approx. 1 hour
- Mobile Version Charging Case: < 1.5 hours
- Combo Version Charging Case: < 1.5 hours
- Charging Temperature: 0 ~ 45° C
- Operating Temperature: –10 ~ 45° C
- Dimensions
- TX: (Main Body – Front) 13 x 6.3mm (0.5″ x 0.2″) (Main Body – Rear) 24 x 9mm (0.9″ x 0.4″)
- Mobile Version RX: Approx. 40 x 16.7 x 9mm (1.6″ x 0.7″ x 0.4″)
- Camera Version RX: Approx. 40.5 x 25.5 x 13mm (1.6″ x 1.0″ x 0.5″) (excluding cold shoe)
- Mobile Version Charging Case: Approx. 55.2 x 75 x 36.5mm (2.2″ x 3.0″ x 1.4″)
- Combo Version Charging Case: Approx. 86 x 39 x 60.5mm (3.4″ x 1.5″ x 2.4″)
- Weight
- TX: Approx. 7g (0.25oz)
- Mobile Version RX: Approx. 6g (0.21oz)
- Camera Version RX: Approx. 12g (0.42oz)
- Mobile Version Charging Case: Approx. 80g (2.82oz)
- Combo Version Charging Case: Approx. 110g (3.88oz)
What’s In The Box
- Hollyland LARK M2S Transmitter x 2
- Receiver (Camera)
- Receiver (USB-C)
- Combo Version Charging Case
- Furry Windshield x 2
- 3.5mm TRS to 3.5mm TRS Cable
- USB-C to Lightning Cable
- USB-A to USB-C Cable
- Manuals and Documentation
Design/Comfort
The design of the Hollyland LARK M2S is one of its key features. Let me start with the case, mostly because, while I like the case, I do think the lid of the case is a bit cheaply made. The base of the case is great, and it is sturdy, but the lid just doesn’t feel premium. Hollyland branding is on the top of the lid, that could be more subtle. The USB-C charging port is on the back of the case, but I do wish they would add wireless charging to the case like some earbuds have now.
Opening the case up, you find two transmitters, one for a smartphone and one for a camera. There are two lav mics here as well. The transmitters look like what you would expect. But the mics are slightly different. These are, clip on to the collar type mics. Some reviewers have complained that there are no magnet options, and I can agree with this. Sometimes, you don’t have a collar or a place to clip the mic on and a magnet is a better option, I’d like to see this added.
The key design feature here, though, is how small these are. Once clipped on, the visible part of the mic is minimal and there is no branding on it. This is really the best design feature on the Hollyland LARK M2S and is going to make for better-looking videos where you don’t see a giant lav mic or wireless mic with branding all over it.
Overall, the design of the mics and the transmitters is spectacular, top-notch, and premium. The overall package is portable and easy to take with you. The versatility and flexibility the set-up offers is of high value. My only real complaint is the cheaply made lid, and maybe we need an option for magnets. Oh, and I’d love to see wireless charging.
Ease of Use
The Hollyland LARK M2S is simple to use. First, be sure you remove the stickers on both mics and transmitter so they can charge in the case. There are stickers covering the pogo pins, so remove them. Then, charge the devices and the case together via the USB-C port on the back of the case. Once charged fully, you can use them. I always suggest you charge to full before first use on any battery operated device.
Once you are charged, download the app, remove the transmitter, plug it into your phone, remove the mics and place them on your shirt. Open the app, and it will prompt you to allow Lark to connect using the mic. Select allow and then jump into the app to tweak the sensitivity and noise cancellation. That is it, simple plug and play operation, and you’re ready to go.
I used my vivo X200 Pro to do my videos, and every camera app will be different. But I just go into the audio to make sure the camera is using the Hollyland LARK M2S as the audio capture device. Once I confirm that, I just hit record and make my content.
Feature Set/App
The feature set on the Hollyland LARK M2S is pretty robust, here are just some of them.
- Transmitter weighs only 7g, the lightest wireless microphone in the industry
- 48 kHz / 24-bit Sample Rate and Depth, High-Fidelity Audio
- 300m (1000ft) Range, Superior Anti-interference
- Powerful Noise Cancellation, Always Stay Clear
- Discreet Hidden Mic Design
- 30 Hours Battery Life
- Easy to Use and Universally Compatible
- Titanium clip will ensure it never breaks
The app itself is elementary. There are only a few options here, which can also be toggled on the transmitter and the mics. Noise cancellation is one of them. In the app, you can also designate how loud you want the mics to be. So the less loud, the less hot the mic will be, the louder, or more hot it will be. It’s a simple app and there’s really nothing to it. Overall, a great, simple experience.
Sound Quality
What can I say about the sound quality? Other than, I think it is excellent. The Hollyland LARK M2S is on par with my wired RØDE lav mic, and that’s saying something! I have had the chance to review other wireless systems in the past, but always passed because I figured wireless audio just wouldn’t be as good. But the LARK M2S changed my mind.
Of course, sound quality is probably subjective and the way I mix my audio may not be to your liking. But I am sure that if you use the Hollyland LARK M2S and find your mix in your editing software, that you will get the excellent sound this unit is capable of.
Overall, the Hollyland LARK M2S is an excellent unit for sound production in my YouTube videos, and this is now my go-to system for all my videos. In my podcasts, I still use the 512 Audio Tempest, but I may try this one time.
Battery Life
The battery life on the Hollyland LARK M2S is quoted as 9-hours, and then you get 2 more charges out of the charging case. This is just about spot on. I’ve had this setup for a few weeks now, and I haven’t had to charge it at all, since the initial first charge. I usually do 1 to 2 videos a week and capture about an hour and a half of footage and audio per video. Which I then edit down to 10 to 20 minutes. I am still using the Hollyland LARK M2S with the original charge and don’t suspect I will need to recharge for a while longer. This has excellent battery life, and of course, your mileage will vary depending on how you use it.
Price/Value
There are a few different options for the Hollyland LARK M2S, so be sure you choose wisely. The one sent to me is the Lark M2S Combo-Mini-Gray (2RX), which costs $139. All options are below.
The value is here, at least for me, it is. This really frees me up to do much more and not be tethered to my camera. It allows for more creativity, and it produces excellent sound, which is important for good videos.
Wrap Up
The bottom line is this. It took a few runs in DaVinci Resolve to tweak the sound because I was very used to the sound produced from my RØDE lav mic. But after some time and practice, I was able to dial in the settings in my video editor as I wanted. Here is a simple bullet point list of why I think this is an excellent value.
- The sound quality of the Hollyland LARK M2S is excellent.
- It is so small it’s nearly unnoticeable.
- No branding on the mic itself, great for a clean logo free video.
- Great features
- The battery life is insane and it recharges quickly.
- Passthrough charging on the USB-C connector.
- Simple app, simple to set up and use.
Overall, the Hollyland LARK M2S is my new recording mic for my YouTube videos. It is a fantastic value and well worth the small investment if you’re serious about your video creation.
Examples
These videos were recorded using the Hollyland LARK M2S. Post-editing was done in DaVinci Resolve. Some results may sound different because it did take me several runs to dial in the sound to my liking. I am still working on that even now.
