Gadget Review: Making 'Shure' you’re heard loud and clear

Back in the last century, some bloke named Andy Warhol is rumoured to have said that “in the future everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes”. Whether or not Warhol said this is still a matter of contention, but what is not contentious is that the future the famous quote was alluding to is now, and you do have a shot at global fame for well over 15 minutes on social media with nothing more than a video camera and microphone.

Since not everyone with ambitions of global fame can afford a professional-grade movie camera, the mobile phone manufacturers have stepped up to the task, with the likes of Apple, Samsung and their ilk making the cameras on their latest releases such serious tools for cinematography that an entire mobile phone indie film genre is hardly surprising.

But that still leaves the question of sound – remember you need to be heard, too, to be famous. And here is where the Shure Movemic Two Receiver Kit comes in. It is a microphone kit that seeks to do for sound what, say, the iPhone’s Pro version has done for images.

The Shure Movemic Two Receiver Kit is a versatile and robust solution designed for professionals seeking high-quality audio capture in various settings. As a reputable name in the audio industry, Shure has built this kit to cater to the needs of filmmakers, journalists and content creators who require reliable and efficient wireless microphone systems.

In the kit you will find two wireless microphones the size of small USB sticks that come in a wireless earbud-style case which has its own built-in battery. While the microphones work for eight hours on their own battery, the case gives them two more full charges.

These microphones connect to your phone - or whatever device you’re shooting the images on – via Bluetooth and can only be operated using the Shure Motiv Audio or Motiv Video apps. If you want to use any other app that is not made by Shure, however, you’ll need to use the dedicated receiver, which connects to your phone via a USB-C cable while the microphones connect to it using Bluetooth. Then you can control the mics on your mobile on any non-Shure app that you’re using for audio or video.

The feather-light mics weigh 8.2 grams each and have a spring-loaded clip to attach to an item of clothing on the speaker. They record 24-bit audio and have an IPX4 rating for water resistance, meaning if you want to film during the next Dubai deluge, you can do so.

The set-up process is easy: you just attach the receiver’s USB-C cable to your phone, pair the mics to the receiver via Bluetooth and you’re in business. The receiver also has a 35mm headphone jack to which you attach external headphones to listen to and monitor the audio being recorded.

The receiver acts as the audio control centre, with a tiny joystick allowing you to adjust the mics’ gain, select recording modes for speech and music, and activate a filter for 75Hz or 150Hz recording. Each of the two mics can also be individually muted and their status is displayed on the receiver’s screen.

While ease of use is welcome on the device, the proof of this pudding is in the recording. And here the Shure does not disappoint either. Shure has a long-standing reputation for producing microphones that deliver clear, natural and detailed sound, and this kit is no exception. The Movemic microphones captured vocals with impressive clarity, making them ideal for interviews, dialogue and presentations.

The kit's wireless system operates on a digital transmission platform, which helps in maintaining audio fidelity. We experienced minimal interference and dropouts, ensuring that the recorded audio remained consistent and of high quality. Additionally, the frequency response of the microphones is tailored to capture the nuances of the human voice, which is particularly beneficial for professional applications.

As a journalist, when yours truly used it to record a business interview at a construction job-site, this Shure did an excellent job of filtering out the deafening noise of the heavy machinery, drills, jackhammers and pneumatic equipment to make the voice of the interviewee really pop into the foreground and his words come through clear and sharp. Exceptional noise reduction and audio quality are definitely hallmarks of this Shure.

Working with third-party apps, however, didn’t appear to be a hallmark. Using the sound recorder app on my mobile phone I found that sometimes the Movemic did not sync with it, leading to losses in recordings. This was not an issue with Shure’s own app, but if you’re using another app of your choice, you might want to be careful.

The only other gripe was the price. At Dh2,069, this is a high price to cough upfront on your route to YouTube stardom. But, hey, with content creators earning as much as they do, your 15 minutes of fame could pay you back manifold.

Shure Movemic Two Receiver Kit wireless microphone

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