Hollyland Lark M2S wireless lavalier microphone review

REVIEW – They say that there are two things you must have when making good videos. One is lighting and the other is sound. The lighting in my videos is pretty well dialed in, and my sound has been good since I’ve been using the Hollyland Lark M2 mic after reviewing it last year. But now I have a new Hollyland mic to test. It’s the Hollyland Lark M2S wireless Lavalier microphone. Let’s take it for a spin.

⬇︎ Jump to summary (pros/cons)
Price: $159.00
Where to buy: Hollyland and Amazon

What is it?

The Hollyland Lark M2S is a wireless Lavalier microphone system that includes two clip-on microphones and all the cables and adapters that you need to connect it to your USB-C phone (they offer a Lightning version, too) or camera.

What’s included?

• Charging case
• Receiver (camera)
• Receiver (USB-C)
• Transmitter x2
• USB-C to Lightning cable
• 3.5mm TRS to 3.5mm TRS patch cable
• USB-A to USB-C cable
• Windscreen x2
• Drawstring bag
• Quick guide

Tech Specs

Specification	Details
Mic Sensitivity	-37 dB ± 2 dB @1 kHz, 94dB SPL
Wireless Modulation Mode	GFSK 2 Mbps
Wireless Transmission	2.4 GHz Adaptive Frequency Hopping (AFH)
Transmission Range	Mobile Version: Up to 30m (100ft) for LOS / 60m (200ft) for NLOS Camera Version: Up to 30m (100ft) for LOS / 40m (130ft) for NLOS
Mic Polar Pattern	Omnidirectional
Frequency Response	20 Hz – 20 kHz
Signal-to-Noise Ratio	>70 dB
Max Sound Pressure Level	116dB SPL
Sample Rate and Bit Depth	48 kHz, 24-bit
Battery Voltage	TX: 3.87V Camera RX: 3.87V Mobile Version Charging Case: 3.8V Combo Version Charging Case: 3.8V
Battery Capacity	TX: 85 mAh Camera Version RX: 145 mAh Mobile Version Charging Case: 880 mAh Combo Version Charging Case: 1300 mAh
Operating Time	TX: Approx. 9 hours Camera Version RX: Approx. 8.5 hours Mobile Version Charging Case: ≈2 times charging for 2 TX at the same time Combo Version Charging Case: ≈2.5 times charging for all TX and RX at the same time
Charging Time	TX: Approx. 1 hour Camera Version RX: Approx. 1 hour Mobile Version Charging Case: <1.5 hours Combo Version Charging Case: <1.5 hours
Charging Temperature	-10°C – 45°C
Operating Temperature	-10°C – 45°C
Dimensions (TX)	Main Body – Front: 13 x 63mm (0.5″ x 2″) Main Body – Rear: 24 x 9mm (0.9″ x 0.4″)
Dimensions (RX)	Main Body: Approx. 40 x 16 x 9mm (1.6″ x 0.7″ x 0.4″) Main Body with Clip: Approx. 40.5 x 25.5 x11mm (1.6″ x1″ x0.5″) excluding cold shoe

Design and features

At first glance, the new Hollyland Lark M2S (above right) might not look that much different from the Hollyland Lark M2 (above left). But when you flip open the lid, you notice that the M2S has room for the USB-C adapter and it doesn’t need extra space to hold the magnetic clips that were used on the Lark M2. BTW, if you’re wondering where the other mic is in my Lark M2 case, I lost it… I have no idea how or where it is. I’ve also misplaced the magnetic clip more than once. That’s a huge improvement with the new Lark M2S, but we’ll get to that in a minute.

As I just mentioned, the Hollyland Lark M2S charging case is designed to hold the two microphones, camera receiver, and USB-C receiver. 

There’s a place for everything in the charging case, so you won’t lose any of the components.

The camera receiver is designed to be used with a camera, but you can connect it to your phone with a USB-C cable or Lightning cable. I will be using it with my OSEE GoStream Streamdeck for my top-down video setup.

The TX transmitter has a mount on the back so you can slide it into the cold shoe on your camera. There’s also a USB-C connection and a power/pairing/mute button on one side.

The opposite side of the camera receiver has a 3.5mm jack that you can use to connect it to your camera using the included TRS to TRS cable.

There’s also a built-in volume knob. Pressing the knob will toggle the noise canceling feature. You can also press and hold to switch from mono and stereo mode.

The USB-C receiver has two status LEDs and a noise cancellation/pairing button. There’s also a USB-C charging port on one end so that you can charge your phone while also using the receiver.

The Hollyland Lark M2S kit includes two transmitters. 

The transmitter has a power/noise cancellation button on the side.

You want to clip it to your shirt or jacket so that the small part, which is the microphone, is facing outward. Then to start using the microphone, you plug the receiver into your phone and press the pairing button on it and the microphone. When the LEDs on both devices turn from blue to green, you’re all set to record audio. Check out the sample audio in the video below.

Hear it in action

I don’t know if you can tell a huge difference between the iPhone’s audio vs. the Hollyland Lark M2S audio, but I can tell that in certain circumstances, it is improved, and the improvement is more obvious the farther away you are from the phone. The Hollyland Lark M2S has a 1000ft range, which is impressive. I didn’t test it nearly that far, but I did test the range by leaving my phone with the USB-C receiver in my basement office while I walked up to the 2nd floor of my home with the microphone clipped to my shirt collar. The audio captured was sharp and crisp, with two floors between the two devices.

Final thoughts

The audio quality and range of the Hollyland Lark M2S microphone are impressive and the updates between the Lark M2 set that I reviewed last year vs. the new M2S set reviewed here are really nice in my opinion. The fact that the USB-C receiver fits in the charging case and there are no magnetic clips to lose makes this set a winner. Hopefully, I won’t lose one of the microphones like I did with the M2 set.  

What I like about the Hollyland Lark M2s microphone

• All of the main parts fit in the charging case
• Can be used with phones and cameras
• TRS cables are included
• Long battery life

What needs to be improved?

• Nothing

Price: $159.00
Where to buy: Hollyland and Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided for free by Hollyland. Hollyland did not have a final say on the review and did not preview the review before it was published.

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• SmallRig S60 wireless microphone
• Allreli M5 Wireless Lavalier Microphone Kit