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Historically, I have only ever been a blogger. However, with the advent and growth of video, creating video has become an important part of my business here on Gear43. With that comes equipment like better video equipment and, even more importantly, audio.
That is where the Rode Wireless ME comes into play! Before owning these, I had purchased a cheapo wireless mic set (which was terrible) and then promptly upgraded to the Rode VideoMic Me-L (which I returned), and then finally, the Wireless ME. Finally, I felt at home with this mic as my go-to, whether I’m reviewing outside at a distance or creating short-form videos in my office.
Now, what are my thoughts after months of using this mic setup? Well, that’s what I’m going to be sharing in this article.
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What is the RODE Wireless ME?
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- The quality of the sound is fantastic.
- Easy to set up at a moment's notice.
- Fantastic battery life.
- It has great build quality and is quite durable.
- The camera-based portion is also a microphone.
- Accessories are included to make it work for anyone.
- The sound is a bit too quiet, regardless of the settings used.
- I wish I had upgraded to having two lapel mics.
- The mics like to unpair, and repairing the devices can be a pain.
The Rode Wireless ME is a wireless mic system that has a single lapel-style microphone that can attach to your shirt via clip (or you can plug in an auxiliary lapel mic and clip it elsewhere) and then another functioning microphone that physically plugs into a device (I use it with an iPhone, but it can plug into other camera setups as well). These microphones are fully plug-and-play, but you can update them and make basic adjustments by utilizing some applications on your phone provided by the brand.
What do I like about this wireless mic set?
1. The quality of the sound is fantastic.
Before I owned this Wireless ME mic (as mentioned), I had tested out an inexpensive style of iPhone mic, thinking it could be an easy and cheap solution to my problem of the bad sound quality coming from my iPhone 12 Mini of the time. However, I quickly found that was not the case. The cheap mics sounded terrible (worse than just using the external mic on my phone), were low quality, and were terrible to work with.
That is when I was willing to spend a bit more to get better quality, and after testing the boom-style Rode VideoMic Me-L (Paid Link) and realizing I needed a lapel-style mic, I landed on the Wireless ME, and I’m glad I did.
The sound quality on these is fantastic! You get a consistent sound that doesn’t have any white noise in the background. It does a great job with sound cancellation and is one of the best solutions I have found yet if you are looking for a good sound on a budget (even if it’s a bit higher a budget than when I started).
2. Easy to set up at a moment’s notice.
Setup of the Wireless ME is a simple process! You plug the stationary portion of the two-mic setup into your device (I do this with an iPhone 15 Pro via the provided USB-C connector), turn both units on, and you are good to go.
Now, I do make sure to test both microphones in a test video to make sure that the microphone is functioning (by tapping the mic) and the unit on the phone is not functioning (because I don’t want it to be, but is easy to turn back on in the app), and then you are good to go.
3. Fantastic battery life.
This microphone setup is rated for seven hours of continuous use. While I haven’t personally tested that to a “T,” I have never had the microphones die on me when I have been purposeful about having them charged. I can be filming on set for hours, and I keep the microphones on at all times, just for ease of usage.
That said, I do have a habit of leaving the microphones on after I finish shooting. So, I do often find the microphones dead and have to rush to charge them. So make sure not to be like me, and turn them off and charge them whenever you are done. Thankfully, these are USB-C, so most people should have a cable around to add some juice.
4. It has great build quality and is quite durable.
These microphones are definitely high quality. They aren’t by any means the highest quality, aluminum-bodied product, but their plastic is high quality; they feel great in hand and feel like something in the $150 range.
They also are impressively durable. I have dropped these so many times, I can’t even count. Whether it be yanking them off my collar, my tripod tipping over, or just dropping them out of my hand. Even after all of that, there isn’t any real damage to speak of on the microphones, which is nice.
5. The camera-based portion is also a microphone.
As I’ve mentioned previously, I owned the Rode VideoMic Me-L for a short period. While it was an amazing microphone, I realized I could be twenty feet or more away from the boom mic, and it struggled to keep up. Instead, this Wireless ME setup allowed me to be away from the device without an issue or change in quality.
However, the fact that they allowed the unit that plugs into the phone to be a microphone of its own, makes it so I have the best of both worlds. That unit can act as a boom mic, while my lapel acts as a close up mic. Alternatively, you can use just the device mice, and leave the lapel mice at home.
6. Accessories are included to make it work for anyone.
The flexibility of the Wireless ME is fantastic! That is never more evident than in the accessories that are available with the purchase. It has lighting cables for older iphones, USB-C for Android phones and iPhone 15’s as well as standard cables to plug directly into DSLR cameras. No matter what you want to use this microphone set for, it likely will plug into it.
I also heavily appreciate that they included two furry accessories, which help a ton with wind noise. I normally keep them on my microphones 100% of the time, just for the ease of it.
What do I not like about it?
1. The sound is a bit too quiet, regardless of the settings used.
I have played around quite a bit with the settings on these mics; however, no matter what I do, the sound is quieter than I need. I always have to turn the audio up in Premier Pro to get it to the same level that most other people utilize. Now, the reason could be because I use furry accessories. However, I would expect to get good quality no matter what accessories I use, especially if they come with the unit.
Just know, you likely will have to adjust your audio every time you use these. It’s not a big deal, but a bit annoying, especially for someone that may not know how to make those adjustment.
2. I wish I had upgraded to having two lapel mics.
The Wireless ME can set you back a bit if you aren’t careful. I have, quite a few times, wished I had multiple lapel microphones, primarily when I’m looking to do interview-style videos. It would be fantastic for each participant to have their own mic, making it a more fluid video. However, because I went with the lower-end version (you can buy one with two lapel mics here (Paid Link)), I only have one. This is something to think about if you ever plan on expanding your video types.
3. The mics like to unpair, and repairing the devices can be a pain.
For some reason, the Wireless ME likes to randomly unpair itself from each other. These aren’t the mics from the device but rather the lapel mic from the transmitter. For some reason, unexpectedly, I’ll have to go through the process of re-setting the mics up to each other, as if they were brand new. I’m not sure why, but it has happened a handful of times.
Who should get it?
The Wireless ME from RODE is a fantastic microphone set for people looking to up their video quality game. While a set this nice may not be necessary for anyone creating videos for social as a hobby, its incredibly important for those that are hoping to take video content to the next level, and hopefully become a full time video creator.
Keep in mind, these aren’t cheap microphones but are well worth it if you can come up with the budget. Audio is by far one of the most important parts of creating good video.
Where can you get it?
Amazon is a fantastic place to purchase the RODE Wireless ME (Paid Link)! Their pricing is the same as the manufacturer’s website, and you get them quickly.
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