11Jun HMN sound & Sennheiser ME-2 Lav mic audio testing

I’ve been testing and using the HMN Sound lav mic for the last few weeks (earlier post here) and I’ve been pretty happy with the results. The shelved version of the HMN lav sounds very similar to the $140 Sennheiser ME-2 Lav mic I normally use. At $79 however, the HMN lav is a bit more affordable than Sennheiser’s offering and it leaves me wondering if the ME-2 is really worth the extra $60.

Placing the two lav microphones side by side, you can see that the HMN Sound lav (left) is slightly wider and slightly shorter than the Sennheiser ME-2 (right). Both microphones have a brass outer shell casing. This is easy to see on the ME-2 thanks to all the use it’s seen, but I actually had to scrape a little paint off the HMN to find out what it was actually made of. Both microphones also use a very similar tie clip and the cable size is pretty much the same.

All of the sample tests have been converted to a 192 kbps mp3 format for easier download. This first test is the HMN Sound lav plugged directly into the Zoom h1 field recorder.

This next test is the Sennheiser ME-2 plugged directly into the Zoom h1 field recorder.

For the last test I’m using the Azden ULT dual wireless system. I have the HMN Sound lav plugged into the left channel and the Sennheiser ME-2 plugged into the right channel. The receiver is feeding the audio directly into the Zoom h1.

I’ve listened to this last one a few times and to my ear it sounds as though the shelved HMN might have a slight advantage over the ME-2. The sound difference is very subtle and i’m having trouble deciding which one I actually like more. 

Sometimes tests like this really boil down to personal preference. Both microphones sound good, but the HMN is roughly $60 less than the Sennheiser ME-2 and audio difference seems pretty minimal compared to the difference in price. Take a listen to all of the audio samples and let me know what you think.

Tags: HMN sound lav, Lav mic testing, Sennheiser ME2 Lav