A $2,490 wireless podcasting kit is absurd, but at least Nomono’s sounds great | Engadget

“A $3,000 podcasting package, on this economic system?” That was my first thought after I realized about Nomono’s transportable recording setup final 12 months. Since then, the value has dropped barely to $2,490. However my fundamental concern stays: Who wants this factor when you may get a small audio recorder and lavalier mics for a lot much less? Nonetheless, I used to be intrigued.

Nomono’s package consists of 4 wi-fi lav mics, in addition to an area recorder for room tone and spatial information, all of which cost in a transportable carrying case. Your recordings are mechanically uploaded to Nomono’s cloud service, the place you possibly can optimize their audio high quality (and finally edit them in your browser). As somebody who’s been podcasting commonly since 2008, the notion of an all-in-one package that may simply sort out native recordings seems like an absolute dream. Nomono’s package has the potential to be one thing the podcasting trade has wanted for years, however can the corporate justify its extremely excessive worth?

Clearly, this is not a product aimed toward everybody — it is actually not for learners, and I would argue it is past the scope of what most podcasters really want. However after testing Nomono’s package for a number of weeks, I can see the way it may very well be useful for recording studios and firms that want versatile podcasting options. It would not require a lot coaching to make use of, it delivers prime quality recordings, and it may be deployed nearly anyplace. For these of us, spending $2,490 on Nomono’s package could make extra sense than having an engineer dedicate time to each single recording. Add in a cloud subscription, which might value as a lot as $29 a month, and it positively would not look like one thing for mere podcasting mortals.

You possibly can inform Nomono is striving for Apple-level design just by its {hardware}. Despite the fact that every thing is manufactured from plastic, nothing feels low-cost. The egg-like charging case has a fabric deal with on the prime in addition to a USB-C port. Its two halves snap along with safe clasps — flip these open, take off the highest and also you’re introduced with 4 lavalier microphones across the area recorder. It is like an cute podcasting chook nest.

The area recorder serves because the hub for the complete Nomono expertise: It is a rectangular machine that includes omnidirectional microphones for capturing room tone with spatial data (it could inform the place everyone seems to be situated throughout a dialog). There is a small display on the prime displaying the battery ranges of all of the related lavs, in addition to distinguished recording and directional buttons. On the facet, it incorporates a USB-C port and a 3.5 millimeter headphone jack. As you are capturing audio, the area recorder takes in information from the lav mics and uploads it to Nomono’s cloud as soon as your session is finished.

The lavaliers aren’t practically as distinctive: They’re small, indiscrete sq. pucks that includes 4 LED colours (useful for distinguishing every observe). They grip onto your garments with small magnets — making them simple to placed on, however doubtlessly simply as simple to slide off. The lavs by no means fell off throughout my testing, however I consistently nervous about knocking one off and shedding the tiny magnet. (Nomono consists of some extra magnets in its bundled accent package, which additionally has windscreen sleeves for the lavs and area recorder.)

Establishing Nomono’s {hardware} was comparatively simple: After charging the case, I downloaded the Nomono Companion app, created an account, and paired the package to my cellphone. The app reveals battery ranges for the lav mics and area recorder. To seize audio, you simply have to take away the area recorder and at the least one lav, then hit file. That course of was surprisingly quick and dependable — I used to be usually in a position to get recordings began in underneath 30 seconds.

Wrapping up a session is generally dependent in your web connection. It took underneath 60 seconds for a 90-minute recording to get uploaded, after which I needed to wait a number of extra minutes for Nomono’s cloud to course of the add. It was far quicker for brief recording exams, simply be ready to attend a bit when you’re planning to push a number of audio. Nomono’s {hardware} delivers 16-bit 48kHz WAV recordsdata for every lavalier, in addition to an ambisonic WAV file (with as much as 4 tracks) from the area recorder.

The standard of these recordings are crisp and detailed even in barely noisy out of doors areas. The lavs do not sound practically as wealthy or nuanced as a premium dynamic or condenser microphone, however I did not actually count on them to. I would contemplate them on-par with different wi-fi lavaliers I’ve used throughout video manufacturing (our podcast editor, Ben Ellman, described the sound as being ultimate for video shoots). A dialog with my spouse additionally sounded surprisingly clear, with not one of the crosstalk points or echoes I’ve encountered with cheaper multi-mic options.

To provide your recordings a bit extra polish, Nomono additionally gives three ranges of enhancement via its cloud platform: on the sunshine finish, it incorporates a high-pass filter, cross-talk discount, notch EQ filter, de-noising and de-essing (for eradicating harsh “S” sounds and different sibilants). Medium enhancement provides loudness normalization, a tone-shaping EQ and adaptive degree, whereas full enhancement goes even heavier on the latter two options. Whilst you can nonetheless obtain pure, unfiltered tracks, these enhancements are helpful for the much less audio savvy.

Finally, you possibly can select to spatialize your recording via Nomono’s on-line platform, which makes every audio observe sound like they’re coming from totally different instructions (relying on the place the area recorder was positioned throughout the session). That characteristic wasn’t obtainable whereas I used to be testing the package, and to be sincere, it is also not one thing I would ever think about using in a podcast. 

Nomono’s full audio enhancement did an honest job of slicing down freeway sounds and different avenue noise whereas I used to be recording in entrance of my native Starbucks (see above), nevertheless it additionally made my voice sound a bit tinny and compressed. Mainly, do not count on any miracles. Whereas It is helpful to have easy methods to chop down background noise, you may nonetheless have to discover a comparatively quiet recording area to seize one of the best audio. (In any other case, why even purchase such an costly podcasting package?!)

The corporate plans to launch its on-line editor by the tip of 2023, which might additionally doubtlessly embrace the flexibility to edit spatial recordings. Since this isn’t precisely a shopper answer, I’d guess that most individuals shopping for Nomono’s {hardware} have already got extra refined methods to edit audio.

Here is a comparability of Nomono’s lavalier versus the Rode Procaster XLR microphone: 

Whereas Nomono’s {hardware} principally impressed me, its on-line platform made it robust to cope with bigger recordsdata. It took over 5 minutes for it to organize a 90 minute observe for obtain (together with its bundled spatial audio file). And that didn’t embrace the time it took to really seize the file, which might be dependent in your web connection. I perceive the enchantment of a seamless on-line audio answer, nevertheless it’s annoying after I know it could be quicker to simply seize a file from a tool sitting proper on my desk. 

The area recorder didn’t present up on my Mac or PC after I related to it, sadly. Nomono representatives say the corporate is planning to make offline options obtainable subsequent 12 months, however for now, it is targeted on a cloud-based workflow as a result of they imagine it is the “most handy and time-efficient” answer for customers. That additionally means livestreaming is out of the query with this package, although it might present up in a future Nomono product, the corporate tells me.

I’d have a a lot simpler time justifying Nomono’s excessive worth if I knew I might use its {hardware} with out counting on an internet site. This isn’t my first time on the gadget startup rodeo: What good is that this $2,490 recording package if the corporate goes out of enterprise in a 12 months or two?

It’s clear that Nomono has developed one thing particular, nevertheless it’s exhausting to think about this recording package being the one answer for an audio-savvy firm. You’ll nonetheless have to have a devoted podcasting area with hard-wired microphones. What Nomono gives is flexibility: What if that you must file in one other room, in another person’s workplace, or at a resort? In these conditions, a self-contained $2,490 podcasting package won’t appear so wild.