Saramonic Air review - "A complete mic set you can plug and play on your phone"

• The Saramonic Air wireless microphone comes in a complete set with an easy plug-and-play nature
• Quality-of-life features include a windowed charging case and a display on the receiver
• The "retro" blocky design might be a hit or a miss

Simply asking my nephews and nieces what they want to be when they enter the wonderful world of adulting already tells me that streaming, it seems, is THE path to take in the big, scary future. I can't claim to understand all the intricacies that go on behind the scenes with streamers, but that's all the young'uns are watching these days, and all they ever want to be when they grow up.

While I'm pretty sure it's not as simple as my wide-eyed budding YouTubers think it is, there's no escaping the truth - that streaming and vlogging are the future, and all I can do to support their dreams and help them on their epic quest is to try and find the most painless way they can get there in one piece.

I suppose that's where the Saramonic Air wireless microphone comes in - and because of its idiot-proof plug-and-play operation that's perfect for mobile, I might just be one step closer to being the Best Aunt Ever.

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Table of contents:

• Saramonic Air design

• Connectivity and performance

• What's the verdict?

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Saramonic Air design

Now, while I'm not going to give away my Saramonic Air to my too-young nephews and nieces just yet, I do think it's a great indication of how far technology has come. The mic system - because it really is an all-in-one thing - includes two magnetic transmitters, one receiver, a USB-C adapter and a Lightning adapter, two dead cat windshields, and a clip for the receiver, all fitting in nicely into a lovely charging case.

Separately, there's a 3.5 mm TRS to TRS cable, a USB-C to USB-A cable, two external lavs, two clips for them, and two wind foams for them as well, all within a handy drawstring pouch. Now, the two external lavs have their own connectors that don't use a USB-C port, so it's really just for the Saramonic Air and no other device.

What I like about the charging case is that it's got a window for you to see what's actually inside, not to mention an indicator of how much battery you've got left. It's a nice quality-of-life touch for when you want to make sure you've packed everything and haven't left any bits and bobs behind, which, given clumsy ol' me, is very likely to happen at one point or another.

Connectivity And Performance

Connectivity is absolutely painless, as simply turning on the receiver and the transmitter will automatically pair them and let you start recording. What's interesting here is that there's a slot in the back of the receiver where you can lock your adapters in place, which was incredibly easy to use on my Android phone.

There's also the nifty display screen on the receiver that lets you monitor all the pertinent details of your recording, as well as toggle the Noise Cancellation feature (more on this later). There's a menu that you can cycle through as well - most notably, it has its own limiter that you can turn on and off should you so wish.  

You can adjust the output modes as well, but what stood out to me was actually the adjustment on the transmitter indicator, which you can set from 25% to 100%, or even turn off entirely.

That might sound trivial, but it's actually a big deal for when you don't want the transmitter to attract too much attention, which is precisely what lapel mics are for. 

What's The Verdict?

Speaking of being discreet, however, the Saramonic Air comes in a rectangular shape that's a little too bulky for my taste though, and the same is true for the receiver. It just looks a tad odd attached to my phone, and while I can understand the bigger size given its LCD display, it's still chonkier than, say, the Maono Wave T5. 

The Noise Cancellation feature tested really well both indoors with my annoying fan whirring along in the background and outdoors with all the dogs barking and chickens clucking in the neighbourhood. I would have appreciated it more if the actual transmitter had a button to toggle the NC too though, especially since it's pretty chunky and definitely has plenty of free real estate to insert an NC button. 

Still, it holds up well even when I'm moving around or purposely trying to shake my collar, while the dead cat wind covers do a fantastic job of muffling the tiny fan I have targeted right at my face on my desk.

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I did feel like it made my voice a little nasally at times during our podcast, but I suppose I can't compare it to an actual boom mic (check out our editor-in-chief's Wavo POD Streamer Set review too if you're in the market for one).

Here's the thing, though - while the transmitter's battery life is fantastic at nine hours, the app is handy for tweaking and recording, and its plug-and-play functionality is perfect for mobile, I just can't seem to find myself falling head over heels in love with it simply because of how it looks.

The tricky thing is that it's entirely a personal preference - I'm not a fan of its blockiness, and would much rather prefer the look of the aforementioned Maono T5.

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Of course, your mileage may vary, and if you're reading this wondering if you should get the Saramonic Air based on its audio quality and extra features, then by all means, you should. But ultimately, you should buy the mic (or any gadget, for that matter) that looks and feels good to you, especially if it's something like this that you're meant to tag along with you while you're out and about.

In the end, it's hard to find much fault in the Saramonic Air based on its features alone, so if you've got the $139 to spare ($159 with the two lav mics), this all-in-one package should do the trick.