JOBY Wavo Plus Microphone Review
The JOBY Wavo Plus is a shotgun-style microphone that's been our trusty companion on our Canon mirrorless camera. Curious minds, vloggers, and videographers, will be intrigued by this plug and play mic that is supposed to deliver audio excellence at £189.95/$199.95.
Design
Travellers will no doubt enjoy the JOBY Wavo Plus being lightweight and easily charged via the now ubiquitous USB-C cable; and once again it's another piece of JOBY gear which has a top notch build. This microphone will reside on top of cameras when in use, so is likely to take a few bangs and scrapes on its journeys. These are not much of a threat to the main body, with rigid plastics that sit on top of an impressively versatile flexible frame that we have seen effectively absorb heavy impacts. The foam windscreen that wraps over the mic is easily removed with just a gentle tug, to be swapped out for something like the Windjammer Wavo PLUS accessory sold separately.
An on button is located on the back (battery life roughly 25-30 hours), although it automatically powers up when it detects the camera is on, and vice versa when off. There’s a light to indicate if levels peak, and it includes the ability to also record a safe track (switch located on the right and under this a Low-Cut Filter switch which we’ll get to later) at -10dB lower concurrently with the recording of the main channel; very handy in case of interference or peaking. There’s also a gain control switch on the left which can swing to -10dB or +15dB.
Performance
The ongoing debate over the necessity of an external shotgun-style microphone persists, especially with the remarkable microphone arrays in recent iPhone models, touted as true studio quality. In our quest for clarity, we pitted the JOBY Wavo Plus against the latest iPhone 15 Pro microphone. Surprisingly, the Wavo Plus shares a similar tone and sensibility, yet it stands out with richer audio and a touch more warmth that is also dryer. The seamless 'mount-ability' of this microphone makes it a preferred choice for DSLRs, compact mirrorless cameras, and similar setups. Its rubber suspension mount serves to isolate the microphone from the camera, effectively minimising any handling sounds that could potentially be picked up, and that’s a big plus. However, for the iPhone vlogger, it will require a rig setup to fully justify its use, or else we’d skip it.
Turn on the Low-Cut Filter (100Hz high-pass filter) if vocals are your primary recording ambition. The implementation from JOBY here effectively ignores lower frequency sounds such as background noise and quietens close proximity noise like walking through crowds or wind where the windshield also assists. Although we should point out that with this not enabled, the microphone isn’t droned out from distant surrounding noise and we think it adds to the style of vlog content when you can feel environments such as cityscapes - with the hustle and bustle of sidewalk activity and honking from tortoise paced vehicle movements. Nevertheless, we found the low-cut-filter particularly beneficial in eliminating low noises when vocals were the focus, and from our audio playback testing this seriously impressed us, specifically in situations where preserving the clarity of vocals or other high-frequency elements is essential. This definitely aids in simplifying the editing process, leaving less interference and low level background noise.
Of course, this is further assisted by the ability to monitor how the audio sounds via the use of headphones or earphones with the integrated 3.5mm output. Coupled with the convenient gain control, this significantly enhances the monitoring experience for creators. It’s a thoughtful combination which empowers users to effectively discern and manage background noise by a design approach tailored to the needs of content creators. Conversely this feature is useless for vloggers, who typically speak to camera and can’t practically keep a check on their audio; but this is where the safe track which records concurrently at -10dB adds reassurance and flexibility for the edit.
Verdict
The JOBY Wavo Plus shotgun style microphone appeals to the curiosity of vloggers and videographers seeking plug-and-play ease and excellence in audio, smartly safeguarding itself and its audio quality through a flexible frame. For enthusiasts to prosumers, it has enough onboard adjustability to be genuinely useful and not overwhelming, and to present professional grade audio that is a pleasure to listen to.
