When comparing Nolan LiveMIC2 vs Sony ECMAW4, the Slant community recommends Nolan LiveMIC2 for most people. In the question“What are the best bluetooth microphones (excluding headsets) for mobile devices?” Nolan LiveMIC2 is ranked 3rd while Sony ECMAW4 is ranked 5th. The most important reason people chose Nolan LiveMIC2 is:
With this product, you are connecting the unit (the transceiver) directly to your tablet, phone, or other Bluetooth enabled device (the receiver). No receiver is supplied with this product. You must have something compatible for this to work with either the [A2DP](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Bluetooth_profiles#Advanced_Audio_Distribution_Profile_.28A2DP.29) or [HSP](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Bluetooth_profiles#Headset_Profile_.28HSP.29) Bluetooth profile. On iOS this does not work for Apple's built-in apps, but for some 3rd party apps, you can use your phone as the receiver. For Android it likely won't be as much of an issue. YMMV.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Microphone connects directly to mobile device by Bluetooth (no 3.5 mm jack)
With this product, you are connecting the unit (the transceiver) directly to your tablet, phone, or other Bluetooth enabled device (the receiver). No receiver is supplied with this product. You must have something compatible for this to work with either the A2DP or HSP Bluetooth profile.
On iOS this does not work for Apple's built-in apps, but for some 3rd party apps, you can use your phone as the receiver.
For Android it likely won't be as much of an issue. YMMV.
Pro Incredibly portable
It's very small and lightweight. It easily clips on to your pocket, shirt, or wherever else.
Pro 7 hours battery life
While advertised battery life is 8 hours, a user reports the battery life as being 7 hours in real world use.
Pro Works with most mobile devices
Pro Inexpensive considering size and comparable technology
Pro 75 feet / 23 meter range
Impressive for such a small device. Keep in mind that this range is measured with an unobstructed line of sight. With walls and other challenging objects, the range will diminish.
Pro Small and attractive form factor
Cons
Con Flaky, low quality hardware
In less than a month, my unit became unreliable, sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't.
Con The buttons are unclear about what they do
You have to look at the manual and memorize that pressing left or right on the directional pad will put the embedded microphone in either omnidirectional or cardioid pattern.
Con Requires a 3rd party app in order to use
Default video/voice recording apps of iPhone/Android don't support the use of a bluetooth microphone, you will need to use a different app for that.
Con Latency/Lag can be an issue
If latency lag is a concern, consider purchasing the Alead Nolan LiveMICRX2 instead as it has the same transmitter as this product and a Bluetooth receiver that claims 10x lower latency (meaning 10x faster transmission and receiving) than most Bluetooth devices. Using linked product would mean your mobile device would have to have a 3.5 mm microphone jack as that is how the receiever would connect to your mobile device.
You can also buy the Nolan receiver a la cart, although you lose the savings (~$2 at the time of this writing) by buying it in a bundle. It is also possible to purchase other stand-alone Bluetooth audio receivers or USB Bluetooth dongles (for computers) depending on your needs.
Con User reviews report echo effect
Con Battery life is only 2 hours
This unit uses one AAA battery and users report that the units only last 2 hours in real world use.
Con Generates handling noise
The transceiver unit creates a lot of handling noise if using the internal microphone. To avoid this it is recommended to use a lavalier microphone plugged into the 3.5 mm input jack.