SmallRig Audio | Simorr Wave U1, Forevala S20, and VK-50

We review a series of audio and vlogging products from SmallRig; The Simorr Wave U1, Forevala S20, and VK-50 Vlogging Kit.
Learn more about the Simorr Wave U1: bit.ly/SimorrWaveU1
Learn more about the Forevala S20: bit.ly/ForevalaS20
Learn more about the VK-50 Vlogging Kit: bit.ly/VK-50
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Intro - 0:00
Simorr Wave U1 - 0:29
Forevala S20 - 2:56
VK-50 Vlogging Kit - 5:09
Summary - 6:20
Today we’re looking at a range of inexpensive audio and vlogging products from SmallRig.
We’ll start with the Simorr Wave U1 mic, which is a desktop condenser microphone. This is an easy-to-use mic that you could use for streaming, for videos, or even just for Zoom or conference calls. The mic has a standard ⅝ thread, which attached to the desktop stand, or you could alternatively attach it to a standard mic stand. The base has a ball socket so you can adjust the angle of the mic. The mic has a cardoid pickup pattern, which means it will pick up noise in front of it, and reject noise behind it. The included USB cable has both a USB-C and USB-A option. That cable also has a headphone jack built in so you can monitor your audio directly from the mic if you like. There’s no software or batteries needed, the mic is totally plug and play. There’s a volume knob at the front of the mic to adjust levels, and tapping this button will mute the mic, which is visually indicated by the red LEDs. All in all the Simorr Wave U1 is a very simple yet effective mic. It’s easy to use, and sounds good.
The Forevala s20 is an on-camera shotgun mic that also comes with a lav mic. The shotgun mic is a directional mic that will pick up what it’s pointing at. It comes with a shock absorbent hotshoe mount to mount it on your camera. There’s a cable to plug the mic into your camera, as well as one to plug it into your phone. It also comes with this deadcat, which will reduce wind noise when you’re outside. Where it gets a bit more interesting is the inclusion of the lav mic. To use this, plug it into the shotgun mic and set the mic to S, for stereo. Now it’s going to record a stereo track with the lav mic on one channel and the shotgun mic on the other channel. This is useful for getting two sound sources in one. In particular, it lends itself very well to capturing your own dialog with the lav mic, maybe while you’re behind the camera, while simultaneously using the shotgun mic to capture what’s in front of the camera. Then in your video editor, you just separate the left and right stereo tracks, which will already be synced up with each other and with the video, and you can independently adjust the levels of each. This is a unique element of the Forevala s20, that most products can't replicate. And of course you can always use the shotgun and lav mics separately as well, so even if you’re not combining them, you’re getting two mics in one at a very inexpensive price.
The VK-50 vlogging kit is a kit full of everything you need to turn your mobile phone into a vlogging kit. It all comes in this really nice zippered hard case. There’s a tabletop tripod stand with ball head, which can also double as a handgrip. You’ll mount your phone in the included phone clamp. That clamp includes a coldshoe mount, which is where you can mount the included shotgun mount on it’s shockmount. Note the shockmount also has a quarter 20 thread if you wanted to mount it somewhere else. There’s a deadcat for that mic to reduce wind noise when outdoors, and cables to connect the mic to your phone, or also to a camera, so you could use this mic with your camera kit too. There’s an LED light with built-in diffuser. The light charges via USB, with an included charging cable. That light is also hotshoe mounted, again also with an alternate quarter 20 thread as well. If you want both the mic and the light at the same time, use the included Magic Arm which screws into the phone clamp and gives you two coldshoe mounts so you can use them together. It’s a great little kit - as long as you have a phone, this has everything else you need. It comes in a really nice case with foam cutouts for each component, and the mic and light could also be used in a more traditional camera setup.

[@smileyracs415]

Very helpful I just bought mind but I don’t know to setup! It says For iPhone but I don’t think I can use it unless I buy deferent Adopter for iPhone

[@bobbtopgun]

Shawn, good review of several value-priced options.
I'd be curious how the Simorr Wave U1 compares to the Deity V-Mic D4 Mini which also has an additional 3.5mm input for connecting another audio source such as a lavalier mic or perhaps a wireless audio receiver. I believe one difference is that the Deity automatically senses when the second input is being used and switches to stereo mode with the internal shotgun mic on one channel and the second audio source on the other channel.

[@tanqer2388]

👍👍