Saramonic has made wireless microphones for every type of creator, from casual vloggers to legitimate filmmakers. Their latest mic kit, just released today, makes some upgrades to one of their most popular kits. The brand new Saramonic Blink500 B2+ looks to be a big leap for content creators with wider compatibility and more improvements on their great sound.
You get the complete Saramonic Blink500 B2+ mic kit in the box, including 2 transmitters, 1 receiver, 1 USB-C adapter, 1 Lightning adapter and the charging case that stores it all. In addition, you get a storage bag, TRS to TRS cable, TRS to TRRS cable, 2 windsocks and a USB-A to USB-C Cable.
At first glance, the Saramonic Blink500 B2+ kit does not look so dissimilar to many kits that I have tried, including the DJI Mic and Ankerwork M650 Wireless Mic Kit. Feeling it for the first time, however, was a much different story. It was so light that it felt incredibly cheap. The charging case, in particular, felt really flimsy around the lid. It was a bad first impression for someone who has used almost every mic kit released to the market in the past several years.
The transmitters for the Saramonic Blink500 B2+ also feel light but have a much more sturdy feeling than the case did. The omnidirectional mic can be covered with the easy-to-attach windscreen, and each transmitter has its own USB-C port for external charging when needed. The clips can be used to attach the mic to your shirt, jacket, backpack or whatever you want. There is also an incredibly powerful magnet to connect it through your shirt to the mic. The LED ring indicates what mode it is in, whether it is in standard mode, Noise Reduction or muted (which can be configured in the Receiver’s menu).
“The brand new Saramonic Blink500 B2+ looks to be a big leap for content creators with wider compatibility and more improvements on their great sound.”
The receiver for the Saramonic Blink500 B2+ was the same in terms of feeling light yet well-built, but the screen on the Blink500 B2+’s receiver is by far the least impressive of any receiver I have tried. The bright-coloured LED receivers seen on devices like the RØDE Wireless Pro or even Saramonic’s BlinkMe B2 are nowhere to be found.
Instead, we have a monochromatic screen that is so small that it is tough to read and resembles something found on a Game Boy more than it does a mic kit built in this decade. The decision to make such a small screen and take from it the touchscreen controls that make navigating the functionality of the mic kit so easy is baffling to me.
The receiver does have one interesting feature that you don’t find in most kits; the ability to connect to two devices simultaneously. You can connect to a phone using the provided adapters and then plug into another device via the Line Out. So, theoretically, you could capture video with the audio and then record the audio separately, perhaps for a podcast or just an extra safety record. It’s not an ideal setup in that you need a place to have both devices close together and safe, plus the fact that most phones don’t have a trrs jack anymore means that your choice of what your second device is becomes limited.
The setup for the Saramonic Blink500 B2+ is simple enough on any device. On your phone, attach the appropriate adapter and plug it into your phone. For your Mirrorless/DSLR Camera, you connect the Blink500 B2+ to the camera via the provided TRS to TRS cable. However, there are several annoyances in the way you capture your audio. First, this mic kit cannot record on the transmitters themselves, a common function in wireless mic kits. It is also incapable of being used as a microphone on your computer.
Most, if not all, of the other mic kits that I have tried, will connect the receiver directly to your computer and appear as its own microphone in programs like OBS and Audacity. The Saramonic Blink500 B2+ can’t do this. The only way to get around that is to connect it to your Mirrorless/DSLR camera and use the camera’s audio in your streaming program of choice.
You can mount your receiver on your camera using the clip since it is sized to fit into a camera shoe, but it only fits in one way, and that way makes it so the screen faces away from you. If you have a camera operator, you are fine. If, however, you are blogging, you won’t be able to see any of the stats that make the screen even the slightest bit useful, and there is nothing more stressful to me than not knowing if my audio is going to be good until it’s too late.
The transmitters for the Saramonic Blink500 B2+ have an on-board noise reduction function that is actually quite impressive. You can change the strength of the noise reduction on the receiver between weak and strong. Since noise reduction typically impacts the quality of your vocals, I wouldn’t go right for the strong if you don’t need to. Getting rid of a little ambience works just fine with the weak setting.
“At $129 USD, it is, by far, more affordable than its biggest competitors.”
Speaking of vocal quality, the quality of the Saramonic Blink500 B2+ is much better than my first impressions would have led me to believe. The clarity is nice, and the -6dB to +9dB gain range gives you a lot of control, as does the on-board low-cut filter. It is not particularly forgiving when it comes to clipping, so ride that gain accordingly. Its 20Hz to 20kHz frequency range, 48K/24-bit sampling rate and 80dB signal-to-noise ratio leave this mic on par with most of its competition.
The battery life is improved with up to 40 hours of life when including the in-case charging, without the need to plug it in, meaning that it will be ready for you whenever you need it. The range is also good at 150 metres. It may be the shortest range of its biggest rivals, but it is more than enough to cover nearly any shooting scenario.
I will tell you that I did have some issues with actually capturing audio on my phone. I recorded an indoor test, and it turned out fine. Then, I went outside to perform outdoor tests (without changing anything), and no audio was found. I confirmed that the phone was recognizing the mic upon recording, which it was, and confirmed that the receiver was receiving audio, which it was. I made changes to the output and eventually got it working, but that level of finickiness in a mic kit is not what I want when I am trying to shoot on location. Content creators don’t have the time for the mic to be ready.
At $129 USD, the Saramonic Blink500 B2+ is, by far, more affordable than its biggest competitors. Given that price point, its quality is really good and justifies a little bit of what you are losing. The question, however, becomes, “Is what you are losing worth the money you are saving?” I’d argue that the extra money is more than worth the ability to connect to OBS, record to your transmitters (if for nothing else than an extra layer of insurance that you get the best audio on your field shoot) and better control over the whole setup via the receiver are all more than worth it to me.
The Saramonic Blink500 B2+ launches today and is available for purchase. I would only recommend this for someone who really needs a mic kit but doesn’t have the budget to get something better. If you want to stay with Saramonic, I recommend the Saramonic BlinkMe B2, as it feels like a more complete kit for you.
