Tascam has been making some pretty cool stuff lately and the Tascam TM-2X seems to be another decent idea. Basically this thing is just the microphone portion of a field recorder mounted to a rubberized shock absorbing platform in a nice little package.

Tascam TM 2X

For $129 you get an adjustable microphone, shockmount, and cold shoe adapter. All this with a microphone cable that’s designed to be plugged directly into your camera. There are also some basic audio controls that you see on most camera mounted microphones, mainly a low cut filter and high/low signal switch. The frequency response range is advertised at 50 Hz to 20 kHz which means it already gives you a little bit of low end roll off even without the switch being used. Not a bad idea when using a microphone attached directly to the camera.

tm-2x_p_right-rear_arm

For an extra $30 you can get the Tascam TM-2X with a short little extension arm. Chances are, if you’re already using a rig, you probably won’t need this extra bit of plastic but it is a usable option. It would have been nice to see this included with the $129 model, but that’s another story.

All in all the Tascam TM-2X looks like something that could easily compete with Rode’s iXY iPhone microphone if the sound quality is comparable. You don’t get an iphone app with the TM-2X, but you also don’t have to deal with a proprietary (and obsolete) iphone adapter. A 3.5mm stereo plug is much more versatile and compatible with a lot more devices and doesn’t leave you stuck using an old iphone 4 or tablet. I’ll have to see if I can get my hands on a review model for test, could be useful to have around.

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