Saramonic Ultra Wireless Microphone System Review

With the Saramonic Ultra, the company isn’t messing around. Boasting a comprehensive set of features that help it go toe to toe with big names like Rode and DJI, this new microphone system sure has a lot of promise, especially with the aggressive price tag. On paper, the specs sure look great, but how does this product fare in the real world? Here is my review.

Float on

Feature highlights of the Saramonic Ultra include the 32-bit float recording, providing headroom that is especially helpful when shooting in unpredictable environments, or when you don’t have time to perfectly fine-tune the gain during a shoot.

The external antenna allows the transmission of audio across a 300m range. That is quite excessive for any of my applications, but for those who need that level of flexibility for creative shots, then the Ultra can be the mic for the job.

Timecode makes it easy

Timecode sync is another big win, enabling easier synchronization with the microphone and cameras. This avoids those sync headaches that can often crop up during the edit.

As for the sound quality, I’ve found it very comparable to the DJI Mic 2, a mic system that is almost $100 more expensive. Saramonic has really hit it out of the park with this product.

Testing, testing

I took the Ultra mic system out on a lightly rainy evening for a final test – it’s IPX5 rated and so can handle the wet – and came away seriously impressed. I personally made use of the stock sound, which I can then tweak in Adobe Audition later, but other users can take advantage of the NC, AGC, Vocal Boost, and Low-Cut modes to help reduce noise and boost desired frequencies.

My only complaints

When it comes to noise cancelation, which I briefly tested, I wasn’t massively impressed. Again, I’d recommend recording in the normal mode and then doing a more thorough job of cutting noise during the edit.

The built-in storage is great to see and can come in very handy for quick and dirty recordings. However, with only 8 GB available, power users will be offloading files regularly, especially when using the 32-bit mode.

Disclosure: Review sample provided by Saramonic.