Introduction
The Sony ECM-CS3 is a compact and versatile clip-on microphone designed for crystal-clear audio recording during interviews, lectures, and presentations.
Design and Build
- Compact Clip-on Design: Easily attaches to clothing for hands-free recording.
- Lightweight and Portable: Convenient to carry around for on-the-go use.
- Durable Build: Ensures longevity for regular usage.
Performance
- High-Quality Sound: Captures clear and crisp audio, ideal for various recording scenarios.
- Omni-directional Microphone: Picks up sound from all directions, reducing background noise.
- Adjustable Microphone Angle: Enables optimal sound capture based on the recording environment.
Compatibility and Connectivity
- Universal Compatibility: Works well with a wide range of devices such as cameras, smartphones, and voice recorders.
- Simple Plug-and-Play Setup: No complex installation required, making it user-friendly.
- Long Cable Length: Provides flexibility for recording from a distance.
Pros
- Compact and portable design
- Excellent sound quality
- Versatile compatibility with various devices
- Easy to set up and use
- Durable build for long-term use
Cons
- May pick up slight handling noise
- Cable tangling can be an issue in some situations
Conclusion
The Sony ECM-CS3 stands out as an exceptional clip-on microphone, offering remarkable sound quality, ease of use, and compatibility with different devices. While it may have minor issues like handling noise and cable tangling, its overall performance makes it a reliable choice for recording needs.
Paul M. –
I bought this for commentary on VR videos on my youtube channel. Moving around meant my desk mounted Blue Yeti wasn’t exactly ideal, so I bought this to use as a lavalier mic connected to a voice recorder so I’d be able to move around.
I have to say I was very impressed. Clipped to my shirt at chest level it picked up my voice perfectly clearly, hiss free, with good frequency response from the low to high end. The only downside is that as an omnidirectional mic, it picks up a slight bit of background noise, but I can’t mark it down for that as a directional lavalier would be pretty pointless…and having said that, it’s a 2 second fix to get rid of the background noise in Audacity, which is free software.
I only have 2 slight complaints: The first is the clip which, while perfectly functional, isn’t great. If you’re weating a button down shirt or can clip it to a collar, it’s fine, but if you want to clip it to the middle of a t-shirt, it can work loose after a while.
The other thing is the colour. For me, this isn’t an issue, but if you wanted to use this for video, it’s quite large for a lavalier mic, and the bright silver colour makes it a little conspicuous.
Other than that, it’s a great little mic that’s well worth its asking price.
BlackSun –
Micro de qualité – certes, vu la proximité des deux micros, et selon la source, la stéréo n’est pas toujours optimale, mais c’est un peu la contrainte du format.
Il faut évidemment le brancher dans un appareil avec prise stéréo adaptée, sinon un seul des micros fonctionnera, et le son ne parviendra que d’un côté.
Rien à redire sinon.
Freddie Osborne-Fardon –
The Sony ECM-CS3: In short, this is a great product and, if it’s all you’re looking for, then, yes, I do recommend this for anyone wanting to improve the quality of their videos by upgrading their audio gear.
Sony have positioned it at just the right price point (around £20) which just about suits the budget of anyone with a YouTube channel or website and trying to improve the quality of their videos. It can plug straight into the 3.5mm microphone jack of your camera or audio recorder and I have not tested for a laptop and I do know I will not record straight into a phone – you will need some sort of adaptor from TRS-TRRS.
Another feature of this microphone is that it has an excellent frequency range from 50-15000 Hz. This is excellent for recording a wide range of sources and is especially useful for those wanting to record vocals of a song, for example.
The ECM-CS3 is a truly omni-directional microphone which is what all lapels should be. This means it is excellent for interviews. A downside of this though is that omni-directional polar patterns are usually associated with high self-noise and this is definitely present in the ECM-CS3. This does not bother me though because it is very simple to correct this in most editing software.
It clips easily onto shirt or jumper and records great vocal tones.
One of the downsides to this microphone is the short 1 metre cable. It would definitely have been a nicer touch to have a cable of maybe 2 metres but it can be easily extended.
In conclusion this mic is great for the money with some great tones, nice frequency range and omni-directional pick up pattern. There should be a sound test, unboxing and comparison coming up shortly on my YouTube channel so for that the link will be at the bottom. Thanks for reading my review, now go out and improve your sound quality!
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Victor M. –
bom
Taylor S Mefford –
I’ve been in search of a decently priced Lavaliere that also has decent quality to it for use in interviews as well as the occasional use in film. My first try was the atrocious Audio-Technica ATR-3350. This was a nice step-up, but still has pretty major issues.
Pros:
-Good sound quality and has plenty of volume. The biggest disadvantage with the ATR-3350 was it’s insanely low volume, which was so low that I had to boost it up about 40+dB. This has a very nice volume. Still require a boost, but only in single digit decibels.
-The sound quality was pretty impressive for the price. Due to it’s very nice volume, there is an acceptable noise level. It’s there, but not too loud.
-The plug-in power is convenient in that I don’t have to worry about battery changes, however it appears to have some cons as well.
-The stereo abilities are a nice added bonus, but doesn’t really bring anything significantly better than mono,
Cons:
-The plug-in power, part of the downside about this is that it appears to not work with some devices that offer it. It won’t work on my TASCAM DR-40 and I couldn’t get it get to work with the ZOOM H4N either, but it might work with a bit more tinkering. Not a BIG deal though. (Minus half a star)
-Here’s the big one, the cord. The cord for this mic is RIDICULOUSLY short for a lav mic. I for one, will definitely need an extension cable (if that will still work with the plug-in power feature). The only way to use this properly on-camera in it’s out of the box state is to plug it into a digital recorder and keep in it the performer’s pocket. It is EXTREMELY inconvenient for a lav-style mic to be made with a cord that is THIS short. I’m docking an entire star and a half just for that.
Overall: It captures nice sound and it’s loud, and despite the convenience of not having to replace batteries, it’s plug-in power being incompatible with devices that support it is annoying and last, but not least, the very very short cord makes the device very hard to use properly.
EDIT: I tried again with my H4N and it successfully works, which means I can get much more use out of it than I initially expected. I added a star back on, however the cord is still VERY short. If the cord was longer then it would be a far more valuable product for the price.
Rob –
I purchased this to work with a zoom h1 recorder “on talent” during interviews at an expo a few weekends ago.
It did the job at a good price point for me. The place was very noisy and the on camera mic was mostly picking up crowd noise from my shooting angle. Without this lav mic I would have had nothing for usable audio.
The cord length was fine for me. I just had talent feed cord down the shirt and hooked it up to the zoom hi which when leveled and locked, they just stuffed into a pocket and forgot about. At that point it acted like a wireless audio feed I could sync up later.
Worked great in fnal edit and clients were impressed.
Did 3 quick interviews this way and was pleased with the results. Setups were very quick, get levels , lock the buttons and stuff the zoom h1 in talent’s front pocket. This combo really works for me and the clients were happy with how quick I was able to set up from person to person.
Now granted, the audio still needed some sweetening in post but it gave me the isolation I needed from the crowd.
I am sure there are higher quality mics out there for the job, but I wanted something stereo and this delivered well.
Another thing that made me choose this was that it didn’t have a super long cord as well as it didn’t have a built in battery to contend with.
I bought the zoom h1 with this mic because it provided the “plug in power” for the mic.
These two work well together for compactness and getting the job done.
You can spend more or less money depending on your budget. This was the first and only lav mic I have tried and was not disappointed. I liked it!
I found nothing horrible about this mic in post audio editing, was able to get a good s/n ratio and with slight manipulations to certain frequencies, it sounded just fine to me. What was most important was the fact that the clients enjoyed it.
**Don’t make the same mistake I did and order it last minute before the gig. the two day shipping effectively doubled the price, ha!
You know what? Still worth it….
Hope this review helps you – I spent a while watching / listening to youtube reviews before settling and I would suggest you do the same.
martin denis sarkissian –
Product came as advertised. Quality and works perfect. Would buy from again