OM SYSTEM Olympus ME-52 3.5 mm Monaural Wired Microphone

Not particularly cheap but provided effective noise cancelling when used with a Chinese Android car headunit.

Bought this to fix in the end of a Sony ICD-UX512, a small 1x4x10cm digital recorder, because the built in stereo mics pick up too much surrounding 'clatter'. This Olympus ME 52 slots neatly in the end of the recorder and no messy trailing wires or clips. it rotates and swivels so you can place the recorder flat ant the mic will be generally in the direction you want. Or hand holding the recorder you can point the mike where you want and hold the recorder so its screen is visible and controls are easy to operate. The mic picks up its power from the recorder ok. the sound is a major improvement, which is a relief. pointing at wife and daughter on computer chatting about 20ft away they cam out clear and keyboard 'tapping' was appropriate level and no sudden intrusion of background clatter or noise. when i spoke [from behind] the voice was clearly louder but not a lot or excessively so. I like this as it balances sound reasonably well. Note recording is mono using left channel.

Good product. The sound quality is very good for one-to-one interviews done in a large room. It arrived quickly and I am very pleased.

A few things in the product leaflet not clear from the description: 'not suitable for conference recording' 'Do not use this microphone with any recorder that cannot supply power to an external microphone' Most small microphones need no power supply, and will at least work to some extent with a wide range of devices. Not so this one. It works with my Olympus DS-330 - and presumably with other Olympus recorders, assuming that all their products supply the necessary voltage. It does not work at all (even though the 3.5mm jack is a perfect fit) with anything else I have of other brands such as PC, laptop, mp3 players, cassette-type walkman, PA/Karakoke machine, etc.

Received this item within 24 hrs of ordering and used it in a lecture within an hour of opening it. Well made, robust but neat and discreet this microphone is a must for anyone looking to use a modestly priced digital voice recorder for longer distance recordings without or without high ambient noise. My recorder is the VN-6800PC. Typically in a busy lecture theatre up to 10-20m from the speaker with papers rustling, packets being opened and secondary conversations underway this little beauty does a great job of enhancing the primary subject and filtering out some of the unwanted rubbish. Not used the extension lead or tie clip yet but those look useful additions to the package as well.

Don't get me wrong - it's probably a great microphone. I can't tell. I purchased it to go with my Sony PX312 and it just doesn't work. I have tried everything, but to no avail. The build quality looks good and having an extension lead and tie clip, along with a wind baffle is a great plus. Perhaps one day I will buy another recorder, which is compatible and be able to update this. :(

I have to admit that the first one sent to me was faulty and did not work on my Olympus voice recorder so I had to return it. This I did and the replacement IS FANTASTIC. It works WELL above my expectations. The only point that needs to be made is that this mic does not allow the recorder to be used in "Conference Mode" - not a problem to me, but it might be important to some people. This mic is VERY sensitive and works well in the "voice activated mode" on my Olympus voice recorder. In this mode my Olympus VN-713PC recorder runs for just over 48 Hours Non-Stop - In a domestic situation - on one fully charged set (2) of 950 mAh NiMh Batteries. I am VERY impressed with this microphone. Mr. B.S. Kent.

This product worked but was not ideal for me for two reasons. 1. I knew it was a mono microphone but I expected that this would mean it gave the same signal on both channels of a stereo voice recorder. In fact it gives a signal on just one channel and the other is blank. Hence, I have to manipulate the recording afterwards on a computer to copy the one live channel over to the blank channel, or convert it to a mono track. 2. I thought I might be able to use the microphone whilst walking about with it clipped on to a lapel. In fact the recordings like this were more or less unusable for something like a video voice-over due a loud background rustling noise of clothing against the clip and the microphone. In other words, it is not particularly well shielded against movement noise. This may a characteristic of all such microphones but I thought it useful to point out this limitation here in case others may think it suitable for that sort of application.

I tested this an Olympus WS-823 voice recorder , which does supply the excitation voltage required by this mic. For some reason, Olympus doesn't promote this unit with pictures of all its included accessories which make it an even better value than it appears to be. The ME-52W package includes not only the microphone (which has an adjustabl;e head which is often not explained in advertising, but a 3 foot cable and lapel kit. In other words you have everything you need for very versatile usage. I tried it as a lapel mic first with the microphone between 6 and 10 inches from my mouth and the head pointed toward my lips.I used an AM talk show as a source of background noise. I recorded with the radio on and off. The ME-52W is very directional with excellent noise reduction. Obviously, it doesn't completely eliminate background noise, but it does very definitely reduce it. By the way, I did not tinker with the WS-823's own recording environment toggles which I suspect would have increased the background noise rejection. I then tried it literally as a hand mic, holding it 2 - 3 inches from my mouth as the Olympus instructions suggest. My background noise source, that AM talk show,was directly to the rear of the microphone. Again excellent rejection characteristics. Next I tried it as a hand-held directional microphone. Using the normal record mode on the WS-823, the recorded audio was listenable, but on the weak side. setting the WS-823 to "lecture" mode, intended for lecture situations in large rooms and auditoriums, the audio was excellent. In all, a very good microphone especially if you take the time to optimize your recorder's settings. Two minor negatives. The lapel clip Olympus supplies is ridiculous. It has a bright chrome plating which makes the ME-52W unsuitable for video recording since the clip could be used an an aircraft landing system with the way it reflects light. Some judiciously applied black tape takes care of the problem and another as well. Whether it is the chrome plating or something else, the clip is so slippery that opening the jaws and keeping them open until you want to close them is a hassle. The clip constantly wants to launch itself into orbit. Next, the supplied windscreen - a welcome provision, by the way, is a shade too big for the barrel. You can use either a tie to secure it or double-sided adhesive tape on the barrel. If you use tape, be sure not to cover up the two slits toward the rear of the barrel: t7hey are needed for effective noise cancellation. Overall an excellent, very versatile microphone at a very attractive price.And, yes, the audio quality was very good to excellent in all instances of my testing. Jerry

Je possède déjà un micro de ce type, j'en suis toujours très satisfait : exemple enregistrement de conférencier ( le mono suffit ) sans trop accrocher les bruits de l'assistance ( attention, si en fin de conférence ils y a des questions posées par l'assistance, on ne les entend pratiquement pas et il faut prévoir une deuxième source d'enregistrement ). Petit détail : la bonette qui faisait partie du lot il y a 2 ans n'est plus fournie ( elle était de piètre qualité il est vrai ). ATTENTION : n' achetez pas les bonettes mousses Rycote 105501 qui sont beucoup trop petites pour ce micro, ( je viens d'en faire les frais ).

Bought this mic for my working van Android head unit. Before the feedback was a very muffled audio but now my mates all saying that sounds like I’m talking from my iPhone. The other positive is that the mic head can be removed and attached to my DLSR camera. It is a bit pricey but worth it.

I installed third party chinese car android, for bluetooth hands free calls, i tried many mics but no use, after so much searching i found this mic, moment of truth the noise cancelling mic worked, it tried eliminating thee car background noise, my phone calls are much better. High price, but the noise cancelling worked.

Awsome mic use it wiht my aftermarket car screen as a phone mic, no road noise in my phone calls!