During IBC 2023 we had a chance to visit the Hollyland booth and discuss some of the features of the Hollyland Lark Max.
Hollyland Lark Max and the MaxTimbre Mic Tech
During IBC this year we had a chance to talk to Vivian Lu from Hollyland about the Lark Max and some of its features.
The first feature Vivian talks about is the MaxTimbre Mic Technology which uses what Hollyland calls air film utilizing a multilayer membrane microphone design that optimizes audio recording for crisp results. Hollyland even applied for a patent for some of the advanced technologies in the Lark Max.
The second technology (and based on our experience the true power behind the Lark Max is the Environmental Noise Cancellation (ENC) technology. This technology first utilized by Hollyland in its fantastic Solidcom C1 Pro Headset (see our review) can reduce environmental noises without affecting the quality of the sound in a significant way in real time.
Besides those the Lark Max includes 8GB of built-in memory, providing up to 14 hours of backup recording, electronic field production, and a sleek charging case.
Our Experience with the Hollyland Lark Max @IBC 2023
While we are planning to release a full review of the Lark Max later this year, we have a few observations from our use of the Hollyland Lark Max on IBC. We used the mics for almost all of our videos from the show and we have a number of observations that you might find useful:
- The noise reduction feature of the Lark Max is fantastic (we would go as far as to call it a game changer) compared to the Rode Wireless Go II that we had to use for one or two interviews (at the end of a full day of recording after the Lark Max battery was almost depleted as we had no time to charge it) the difference in the very noisy IBC show floor was huge and for either live videos or very fast turnarounds its just amazing.
- Talking about the battery life. Aside from the first day when we were not sure if the mics would survive the last couple of interviews, the battery on the mics lasted for basically a full workday 9 AM to 18 PM. In some cases, we have a few min here and there to charge the mics in the case which has enough power for several recording days.
- The mics are a bit heavy so using the clips on a shirt is useful only when the shirt can hold the weight of the mic (on a collar or pocket). We discovered that the magnet is a much better solution but it can get lost (we lost one so I highly suggest that you get some backups).
- Despite different audio levels in the show and different levels of speakers (and mic placements) we never had a significant clipping with the mic at the show on any of our videos. Still, having a 32-bit Float built in might have given us even more peace of mind but maybe that will come in a future version.
- The wireless system worked very well for us at close distances and even in the very very challenging conditions of the show (with dozens if not hundreds of wireless systems all around us all the time) we didn’t get drops at close ranges of several meters which is how we typically shot our interviews. However, when one of us moved beyond that we did experience some cutouts (again not surprising at all given the conditions at the show).
- The internal recording worked very well and for one instance where we did shoot from a longer distance and required audio, we had no problem using the recorded audio from the mic.
- We actually found an unexpected useful use for the system at the show. As Art was both recording and monitoring audio I could speak to him even from several meters away and he could hear me as if I was standing next to him (this was useful as he was sometimes wondering off to look at other booths as I was talking to the people we were interviewing and needed him to come back and didn’t know where he was).
- During the show, we used the Lark Max with a DIY handle that we created for some of our interviews. It worked well although we would really love to see Hollyland come up with their own dedicated Lark Max handle (we mentioned that to them and hopefully they will consider this).
Using the Lark Max (with our DIY holder) during our Irix interview at IBC 2023
Pricing and availability
The Lark Max is already available for purchase and sells for around $320 with its case.
Make sure not to miss any of our IBC 2023 videos and articles on our special show coverage page.
Special thanks to our sponsors for IBC 2023: SmallRig, Ulanzi, Godox, Zhiyun.
Full disclosure – Hollyland has been our sponsor for our short videos on IBC 2023.
Iddo Genuth 
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