Hollyland’s new Lark C1 wireless mic for smartphones lets you keep charging your phone while it’s in use
We got to see a sneak peek of it at IBC 2022 in Amsterdam last month but now Hollyland has officially announced their new tiny wireless microphone system for iPhones. It’s the Hollyland Lark C1 and it’s essentially an update to the Lark M1 that doesn’t require a headphone jack or adapter cable. It’s available with a Lightning connector for iPhones or a USB-C connector for Android devices.
The Lightning version is fully Apple MFi-certified and both versions are fully plug-and-play, automatically detecting when the receiver is plugged into your smartphone. They’re dual-channel receivers, allowing for two microphones on two transmitters. There is also a Lightning or USB-C socket on each receiver allowing you to continue charging your mobile device while you’re recording.
Ditching the cables and letting you plug the receiver straight into the bottom of your smartphone is a great move. The Lark M1 is a good microphone, but having to deal with TRS cables and having things dangling can be a pain. This takes the cables out of the equation and the plugs on both the iPhone and Android versions look long enough that they should be able to deal with most cases your phone might find itself in.
Both versions of the Lark C1 come in a duo kit containing a receiver and a pair of transmitters inside a charging case. The case contains a battery of its own, allowing you to continue charging when away from power. Each transmitter holds about 8 hours of charge, but you can get up to 32 hours of total record time from a fully charged case. And, as mentioned above, the receivers also contain a socket allowing you to continue charging your phone while the system’s in use.
The Hollyland LarkSound app – available on iOS or Android – provides control over your microphones. You’re able to view transmitter battery levels or adjust the active noise cancellation and input volume levels. You can also enable real-time playback through the phone or Bluetooth speaker devices. The Lightning version of the Lark C1 has also been officially approved by Apple with MFi certification to be safe and compatible with iOS devices.
As well as the LarkSound app, you can also get one-button active noise cancellation on the transmitters themselves. These help to block out unwanted ambient sound for clearer sound of the subject you actually want to hear. The transmitters are of the clip-on variety with built-in microphones.
The transmitters offer a range of up to 200 metres – or around 650ft – with a super low 20ms (0.02s) of latency. The transmitters and receiver feature various indicator LED lights to let you know what’s going on with them. Different colour combinations and states inform you of connectivity, battery power and active noise cancellation status.
The Hollyland Lark C1 USB-C version is available to buy now for $179 as a dual microphone kit in black. The Lightning version is also available to buy now for $179 as a dual mic kit in black but it also comes as a dual kit in white for $179, or a solo single mic kit for $119. The Hollyland LarkSound app can be downloaded for both iOS and Android from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store respectively.
