Review on Movo VXR280 Microphone Adjustable Directional by Leanne Steltz

The built-in microphones of my Canon Rebel T6i sound very good. I am very happy with this sound. However, this Movo mic is a definite upgrade in frequency response with better bass and treble. Instead of a better running time, the sound has a better "fullness", so to speak. I tested all 3 microphone orientations. XY, AB (parallel and side by side in the same direction) and 120 degrees apart. The first 2 have fairly good stereo separation at shorter distances like 5-10 feet or so. However, for my primary church use, where the main subjects are typically 10 to 50 feet or more apart, the 120 degree ORTF separation works best and gives a very nice stereo image. This type separation was originally developed because it closely mimics how our ears work and provides the best natural sound. My particular Movo doesn't have perfectly matched mics. The left mic has slightly more gain than the right mic. But in reality it is not very problematic. The T6i mics are perfectly matched, but the Movo has an average of 3dB more gain on the left channel. I really can't tell if this has any apparent effect on stereo fidelity. I don't think it's noticeable at all. But as a precision freak, I can see it electronically and know it's there, and I've played with its tuning to perfection. I used the basic free version of WavePad to extract audio and save it as PCM. Then in Audacity paste, split the channels, use the gain in the Effects tab to roll down the left channel by 3dB and merge the channels. Then use an audio converter to revert to the original AAC and put it back into the video. I've provided this information for those who, like me, like to play around with the fine-tuning! 8-) As I said, the slight difference in gain is not really audible. Yes, it looks like it's made out of cheap plastic, but it's actually very durable, and the keys feel solid. I adjusted the gain to be slightly higher than the built-in mics. The rest I take care of the automatic gain in the camera. Overall I'm very happy with the value for money. A very good mic that is definitely a very eye-catching, inexpensive upgrade over the built-in mics. Happy I bought this.