REVIEW – Some of the reviews here on The Gadgeteer include videos, and one of the harder parts of creating a good video is capturing clear sound. To improve the sound quality in my own videos, I’m testing out the Fulaim X5M, a new wireless microphone system.
What is it?
The Fulaim X5M is a wireless microphone system that includes a pair of Lavalier lapel transmitters, a receiver, and a charging case.
What’s included?
- USB-A to USB-C charging cable
- 3.5mm audio cable
- 3.5 mm audio to USB-C cable
- Cold shoe mount for a camera
- 2 windscreens
- Manual
- Charging case
Inside the charging case are the following:
- 2 transmitters with microphones
- Receiver
- USB-C adapter
- Lightning adapter
- 3.5 mm audio adapter
Tech specs
- Wireless Frequency: 2.4 GHz
- Bit depth: 16 bit
- Interface Ports: USB-C, Lightning, and 3.5mm audio
- Transmission Range: 656 feet
- Mic directionality: omni
- Transmitter size: 1.8 x 1.0 x 0.51 inches
- Receiver size: 1.8 x 1.1 x 0.55 inches
- Battery: 9 hours of recording on one charge
Design and features
The transmitters look like small, black matchboxes with a clip on the back for attaching to a shirt. There’s a mic on top, LEDs on front, and a couple buttons on the side. It’s a compact little device. The receiver is slightly narrower, and its front is dominated by a sharp LED panel that clearly displays the status of both transmitters and the receiver itself. There a couple of bright yellow buttons to one side and a place to clip one of the adapters to the back. (The USB-C adapter is attached in the picture above.)
The transmitters, receiver, and adapters fit snugly into the charging case, a matte black box with bright yellow trim. It has LEDs on the front and a USB-C charging port on the back. Overall, this system has a lot of utilitarian practicality, but it’s mixed with understated elegance. I really like the design.
Assembly, installation, and setup
The Fulaim X5M arrived in a sturdy little box with magnetic closures on the front. Everything was well-protected inside, so I removed the packaging. I read through the manual, and without a doubt this is one of the worst manuals I have ever read for a gadget. Here are five examples of the problems that I found:
- In the English section, one of the section titles is in Italian.
- Some of the pictures are reduced to such a small size that I cannot read them.
- Some of the information written makes no sense to me. In describing one of the ports for the transmitter, it says “plug in the lavalier microphone.” What? This is a lavalier microphone; the microphone is literally right next to this port. Why would I plug a lavalier microphone into a lavalier microphone?
- Some of the information is simply wrong. In describing the power button of the receiver, it says that I should “press and hold for 1 second to turn on or off.” While I can turn it off by pressing for a second, I have to hold it for five seconds to turn it on.
- At times, the English is very poor. In section 3, it says, “When TX and RX cannot be connected, follow the steps below to re-matching.” I think it’s trying to tell me the steps to follow if the transmitter and receiver ever need to be paired again, but I’m not sure.
Fulaim needs to throw this manual in the trash and start over, and this time they should hire good editors to proofread them. The silver lining to this horrendous cloud is that the basic steps necessary to use this system are pretty simple and don’t really require a manual. Here’s what I did:
First, I put the transmitters and receiver into the charging case and plugged in the USB-C charging cable, which I then connected to my Soundcore Wakey. The cable will charge the case, which in turn will charge the transmitters and receiver. This works the same way that wireless headphones work. The manual doesn’t say how long this should take, but you can check the battery status by looking at the LED display of the receiver, which is convenient. The transmitters and receiver each have their own USB-C port, so I could charge them individually; I think charging them in the case is a lot more convenient.
Second, I removed one of the transmitters and clipped it onto the lapel of my shirt. There’s a small magnet on the clip, so I could stick it on something metallic instead.
Third, I selected the adapter that works with my camera and connected it to the receiver. I have an iPhone 16 Pro Max, so I used the USB-C adapter.
Fourth, I plugged the receiver into the USB-C port on the bottom of my iPhone. The adapter is very short, and it wouldn’t connect to my phone, since I was using an Otterbox case to protect it. I had to replace that case with a thinner one. I also ordered an adapter so I will have the option to use the Otterbox in the future.
Fifth, I started the Camera app, switched to video, and pressed the red circle. When I play it back, the sound is close, crisp, and clear. It just works! Here’s an example using of the sound quality on a review I made for a SPERAS EST Plus flashlight:
If my sound is not ideal, there are a few things that I can do to improve it.
If I’m videoing outside, especially when windy, I can add the windscreen to the transmitter. If I’m in a noisy environment, I can press and hold the yellow button on the transmitter for two seconds to activate noise canceling. If the audio volume is too high or low, I can repeatedly tap the “dB” button on the receiver to change it to any of its five preset levels.
What I like about the Fulaim X5M
- Easy to setup and use
- Just works out of the box
- Improved audio for my videos
What needs to be improved
- Rewrite the manual
Final thoughts
The Fulaim X5M is a microphone system that makes it easy for any content creator with a phone to get clear audio for their videos. It’s as simple as connecting an adapter to the receiver and the receiver to my phone and then clipping a transmitter on my shirt. The audio for the videos I tested and created where significantly better than the audio I captured directly with the mic on my phone. Even though the manual is pretty bad, I am happy with both with the results of using this gadget. If you’re looking for a microphone system for your videos, I recommend taking a look at the X5M.
Price: $89.99
Where to buy: Fulaim (Save 15% with code: BFSALE expires 12/2/24) or Amazon
Source: The sample for this review was provided free of charge by Fulaim. Fulaim did not have a final say on the review and did not preview the review before it was published.
