Samson - XPD Series Wireless Lavalier Microphone System - Black

The TL;DR version: yes, this is the USB lav that you are looking for. Samson is my go-to for wireless lav mics when you need quality audio that is suitable for podcasts or other simple standup video production, but I've almost always had to use some sort of fixed camera setup requiring my DSLR... hooking into a laptop to record was always too clunky or required in-software settings swaps that then later had to be undone... and if you're trying to record + produce in the same short window, good luck unless you're willing to drop several hundreds of dollars on equipment. The problem in the past has been that USB wireless lavs were so stupidly clunky or didn't work, or to facilitate the use of a wireless lav to your laptop/iPad/iPhone required dongles and no end of settings hoops to jump through. I've even resorted to just using my Yeti Pro to keep things simple and dealt with adding the noise filters in post. No more. Samson's XPD USB Wireless Lav + USB-C to USB-A attachment, plug it in, turn on the lav, pair it, done. Seriously. I was recording with stellar audio quality within 5 minutes of unboxing on both my MacBook Pro and my iPad Pro. Gamechanger. That has never happened before. No complicated setup. No weird setting swaps or driver installs or a jumble of horrible cords. Just plug it in, set ONE setting in your primary audio input, confirm your levels, and go. I only wish they'd included a USB-C adapter in the box (they include a USB-A extender in case your USB port isn't angled for easy use), but other than that... it meets all the promises they make in the description: - range is excellent, with minimal interference even in a crowded space like a mall - gain adjustment inside the lav is identical to other Samson lavs - the lav utilizes AA batteries (2 of them) and the USB receiver requires no batteries If you need quality audio for quick standup video productions and/or want to get into fast spot interviews without having to sell an organ to afford the equipment, this is the right route for you. WAY better outcome than a shotgun mic and pairing this with your iPad or iPhone is infinitely more portable than lugging around a DSLR rig. Samson's XPD wireless lav gives you a great option to save you time and frustration, which means you'll be able to produce more great content.

This guy comes with a microphone transmitter, USB Wireless receiver, Lav mic w/ lapel clip, and USB extension cable. Starting off with the microphone transmitter. It is quite compact at roughly 2 x 3 inches, with a belt clip on the back made out of metal and screwed into the device. There is an antenna on the top with a small power button and micro XLR cable port. On the front of the device you can open it up where it takes two double A batteries which are not included and a little flathead screwdriver to adjust the gain. Getting the screwdriver out is easy, getting it back in is not. The gain control is easy to move and adjust. I found that how much gain you need greatly varies from device to device. I kept my gain at about 75% on my iPad which sounded fine when played back natively on the device but needed to boost in post to get It where I wanted for the video. The entire thing is made out of plastic, but it feels extremely solid with no creaking or flexing. Overall, I really like it. Next up is the USB wireless receiver. This is shaped like a USB stick with a USB 3.0 type A port on one side and a line out via 3.5 mm on the other side next to the antenna. You have a pairing button in the middle in case you need to pair it but it comes pre-paired. There is a status light that notifies you it is on and working. This light turns on only when the transmitter is on. It is very lightweight which is a good thing as it will be sticking out of a device and you don’t want it weighting down your USB port. They say this works for Mac and Windows. Which I can confirm. I also bought a dongle (USB 3.0 Type A-to USB Type C Adapter) for $10 - 15 that allowed me to use it on my iPad. I tried to plug it into my Canon G7x Mark III via USB C and it didn’t work (likely due to the camera not providing power). I’m sure it would work on a phone via the same connection. But since Apple insists on using Lightning I couldn’t test it out without buying another adapter which I wasn’t going to do. I didn’t have any issues with connections such as drops or skips. Next you have the Lav mic. This is a pretty nice microphone with a thin wire (which I like as it blends into clothing easier or you don’t feel it if underneath) that ends in a micro XLR connection. It is quite long and there is a locking connection when placed in the microphone transmitter which I like a lot. There is a high quality lapel clip that holds part of the wire (so it doesn’t get bent and wear down over time) with a strong clip. It’s probably the best I’ve ever used. Overall sound quality from it certainly surprised me. As previous microphones like this haven’t sounded very good. But this was very similar to my dedicated XLR microphone w/ audio interface that costs dramatically more money. So I was very pleased. It’s not perfect sound but it is very good and will work for most people unless they are working in very professional environments. But even then you would probably be okay, or just need to spend a bit more money on another microphone and you’d be just fine. Last you get the USB extension cable. This guy is rather short, thick, not very malleable and USB 3.0. This is mostly to be used when you can’t get the dongle to fit directly into something. I’m glad they included it. I do wish they included other accessories such as the USB A to USB C and USB A to Lightning and/or USB A to Micro USB as that would make it work for everything. Overall, this thing is well built and just feels solid in your hand. But is also lightweight to the point you forget you are wearing it. The USB dongle is very light so it won’t damage the USB device you have it plugged into. You can tell that they paid attention to little small details (which usually means you are getting a stellar product as the engineering team really thought things through) as everything is super compact but has a specific purpose and does it well. The microphone you get with it sounds good. I think you could buy another to make it sound even better. You can easily peak with the microphone so having the ability to adjust the gain is nice. The screwdriver is a pain to get in and out and I would prefer a better way of doing it. I can see a lot of people losing it. I also would have preferred they added a few more accessories even if it were a bit more expensive to be able to make it work on all of my devices. But I will certainly be using this guy a lot.

While the name XPD2 might strike visions of an eXperimental Prototype Droid that is a pre-R2-D2 robot; the Samson XPD2 Lavalier is an amazingly useful USB Digital Wireless System. This device consists of a belt pack transmitter with an LM8 Lavalier microphone, and a USB stick receiver with 1/8” headphones/line output to provide high-definition wireless audio to a variety of use cases including but not limited to capturing audio via a computer, a mobile phone, a tablet, a Public Address System, a mixing board, and karaoke systems. The device retails for $129.99. You can see a video review of this device and its audio at: https://youtu.be/cVn8x02OMYU While testing this device I used a laptop, a desktop, and my portable phone. In each case the setup was to plug it in and select the device as the recording device – no software or other special requirements were needed, the device just worked. In the case of the mobile phone, I did have to connect it to the phone via a USB on-the-go adapter and a USB C to micro-USB adapter that I had on hand but other than that is just plainly worked. The device has a 100’ range and the belt pack is powered by two AA batteries. The belt pack also has a gain adjustment with a small screwdriver contained within the belt pack to make those adjustments. The USB receiver gets power from the device it is plugged into, or it can be connected to a 5- volt USB adapter to gain power – this is useful when using the device with the line output to an analog device. Using the device results in high-quality audio for whatever audio needs you may have – this could be streaming, video production, public speaking, etc. The device is compatible with the Samson Expedition Series Portable PAs and Apple’s Lightning USB camera adapter for use with iPADs® and iPhones® (sold separately). Overall, this is an extremely nice addition to the audio recording capabilities that my wife and I use in producing YouTube videos and other content. I believe that you may as well.

REVIEW: SAMSON - XPD SERIES WIRELESS LAVALIER MICROPHONE SYSTEM Model: SWXPD2BLM8 Best Buy Tech Insider Network WIRELESS MIC SOUNDS GREAT - EXTRA STEPS WIN 10 PRO - MAX 20 FEET Very good sound Quality. For me it took several extra steps to get the SAMSON – XPD2 USB WIRELESS MIC to work at an acceptable level. Once I had it working, it worked well, and I liked it overall. I tested the SAMSON – XPD2 USB WIRELESS MIC on 3 different systems (and with 2 difference XPD test units), all Windows 10 PRO, all from various makers. The main issue I had is that even with all Windows settings and device gain settings maxed out, I could barely get any input volume from the mic via the USB dongle. Once I overcame the input issue (tips below review) it worked really well for my needs, which is hands free voiceover for video blogs. If you want a hands-free mic for close distance, maybe a video demonstration or a lecture in a small room, then the SAMSON – XPD2 USB WIRELESS does a very good job. Beyond 20 feet (between mic and the USB receiver) or any with obstructions (example 5 feet away separated by a drywall wall), then you might want to look at a different wireless solution. In most speaking / presentation situations, this is fine. The presenter is in the front of the room with the PA / Soundsystem / Mixer, which then projects sound into the room. So most people would rarely need more than 20 feet of distance between them and the PA system. You would not want to “risk” walking into the middle of a room away from the USB receiver, in my opinion. FAVORITE FEATURES - Seems well made physically - Standard (Typical Lavalier Lecture Mic) form factor (lapel clip , belt for transmitter, and so on) - Good Support (Quick Response) - Easy to use / setup - USB Extension Cable OVERALL RECOMMENDATION I can only recommend this for close distance work, where hands free is still required. The sound quality was great and it really made it easier for me to do what I needed with free use of my hands. Minus 1 star for not working though USB port and for really short line of sight distance. ----- OTHER INFORMATION / WORK AROUND FOR WEAK INPUT VOLUME I could only get a tiny amount of input level (like 3%) when using the mic via the USB dongle. I even had a replacement unit sent from tech support and it had the exact same problem. (This was on 3 different PC’s). The manual says it can be attached to any USB power source and used without a PC. I attached it to 1 AMP USB plug (from a ROKU) to power the usb device for pairing and pass through of analog output. I then plugged LINE-OUT from the USB dongle to LINE-IN on my PC and bingo, I finally had full signal strength on audio input. In the end this is not that big of deal as the end result was the same. It allowed me to use the SAMSON – XPD2 USB WIRELESS hands free as I needed to do. Still, it did not work as advertised for me. In all likelihood it is an incompatibility with a default windows driver for audio devices or a USB driver or something else. Even so, there are no special drivers indicated as needed in the manual or the company website (that I could find), so that implies to me, that it should be fully compatible with modern windows. Instead of support asking me to install a driver or upgrade firmware, they sent a new unit. So, if it was as simple as a driver, I assume they would had said something. Again, support was prompt and offered to RMA the original unit quickly.

Straight out of the box, add two AA batteries and it is ready to use. My first attempt at using this system was with an older USB-A to USB-C adapter and the included extension cable to an Android phone. Sound quality was crisp, clear and steady compared to the built-in phone microphone. However, when walking with a person wearing the transmitter and another recording it would constantly break up at about 20-30 feet. I then found a newer USB adapter and didn’t use the extension wire but was getting breaking audio while both moving at about 30-40 feet. Although, with the receiver remaining stable and open line of sight I could walk 100 feet away with the transmitter and still have the same level of recording audio, example photo. There were some occasional breaks when turning the transmitter away from the receiver though. I then tried this plugged to a battery pack and used the line port to the mic-in on my camcorder and it had less breaks in audio. I am assuming the battery pack is providing a slightly higher and stable power source compared to the phone, that is trying to do all its other functions at the same time. What this comes down to is that it is situational on the range, but in a stable clear line of sight environment it can get 100 feet. As mentioned, the recording quality is clear and crisp without any noticeable delay. You can adjust the gain on the transmitter to pick up audio even easier, but it has a very odd way of adjusting it with an included small screwdriver. This does make it so that the gain isn’t something that can easily be adjusted by accident or with curious fingers, but seems old. When using the device to USB, you can use a set of headphones to monitor the audio at the same time and may have had an effect on the shortened range when I was using the Android phone. Overall, this can be discrete looking and good for normal movement and recording at about 20-30 feet. If you want further you must pay attention to the clear line of sight and stable receiver.