It may be best known for its Gorillapod tripods, but Joby has boosted its audio lineup in a big way with the launch of five new microphones for video creators.
Collectively known as the Wavo range, the new mics sit across a range of price points and look like promising alternatives to the rival offerings we’ve seen from the likes of Rode, Sennheiser and Shure.
Its flagship microphone is the Wavo Pro ($299 / £258 / around AU$495), a shotgun mic that’s been designed for vloggers who use mirrorless cameras. It comes with active noise reduction that’s designed to filter out background distractions, a companion app for iOS and Android to help you monitor sound levels, and handy LEDS on the front and back for visual feedback about your recordings.
If that model’s slightly out of your budget, there’s also the Wave Pro DS ($249 / £228.95 / around AU$440, available from March). This model doesn’t have mobile app control, a secondary mic input or active noise reduction, so is better-suited to those who mostly record indoors. But you do get a high-pass filter to help clean the lower frequencies and, like the Wavo Pro, it also has an onboard ‘safe track’ that’s helpful if you’ve accidentally clipped your recording.
Joby is clearly going after every kind of YouTuber and vlogger with its new range because there are also wireless, condenser and lavalier mics in the Wavo lineup. If you like to roam around while talking to camera, the Wavo Air ($249 / £215, around $410) is a handy new wireless option for smartphones and mirrorless cameras. Like the Rode Wireless Go II, it includes two clip-on lavalier mics plus a transmitter. The 2.4GHz wireless mic system promises a 50m range and six-hour battery life, both of which are slightly less than its Rode rival (although it’s slightly cheaper, too).
If you’re looking for something slightly more discreet and don’t need wireless connectivity, the Wavo Lav Pro ($79 / £69 AU$135) is a 3.5mm mic with a 2.5m-long cable. The apparently ‘pro-grade’ capsule comes with a foam windshield and weighs only 12g. And lastly, for desk-based creators and podcasters, there’s the Wavo Pod ($99 / £86 / AU$165), which is a USB condenser microphone with 24bit/48kHz sampling rates and a colorful pop filter to reduce voice plosives (bursts of air that hit the mic and create a ‘pop’ sound).
With the exception of the Wavo Pro DS, which will be available from March, all of Joby’s new microphones are available to buy now. We’re looking forward to seeing how they compare to similar offerings from the likes of Rode, Sennheiser, Shure and, in the case of the Wavo Pod, the popular Blue Yeti.
Analysis: Boom time for home creators
The so-called ‘creator economy’ was already growing before the pandemic, but a combination of stay-at-home orders and increasingly affordable tech has seen it explode in the past couple of years. That’s why we’re seeing so many new accessories for video and audio recording, including this new Wavo range from Joby.
These aren’t the first microphones we’ve seen from Joby, which also makes Gorillapod tripods, mobile lighting and other accessories. But they are its biggest attempt yet to steal some attention away from rivals like Rode and Sennheiser.
Given the rest of Joby’s range, it certainly makes sense for it to try and become a one-stop shop for fledgling YouTubers and other creators. After all, according to data analysts SignalFire, there are now over 50 million people (and counting) in the ‘creator economy’, who are classed as independent content creators and community builders.
We’ll have to see how its Wavo range performs in reality, but Joby is a part of the same Vitec Group as Lowepro, Gitzo and Manfrotto, so has some considerable might behind it. And on paper, the Wavo microphones look like promising new options for most styles of video and audio recording.
The Wavo Pro is an obvious rival to the Rode VideoMic Pro+, another shotgun mic with a similar price tag. And the Wavo Air is part of the increasingly competitive field of wireless, clip-on mics that includes the Rode Wireless Go II (our current favorite) and the DJI Mic, which we’re in the process of testing.
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