Today we will be taking a look at the Sarmonic Ultra wireless mic system and its recently introduced optional Sony adapter that allows the system to connect to Sony cameras through the Sony Multi-Interface Shoe without cables.
In the box
In the box, you get the charging case with two transmitter units, one receiver, and both USB-C and Apple lighting adapters for smartphones. There is also a 3.5mm short cable and two dead cats for the transmitters. You will also get a small antenna and a short USB-C charging cable.
In our kit, we also got two lav mics and clips as well as foam covers. Finally, we also received the optional Sony adapter which is sold sparely.
Saramonic does provide a fabric bag for accessories although an actual larger case would have made more sense to us for both the mics and at least some of the accessories.
What we got in the box
Build, Design, and Control
The Ultra comes with two transmitters each about 4.5cm (over 1.8”) long a little under 3.5cm wide (just over 1.5”) and just over 1cm thick (about 0.5”). Each transmitter weighs about 42g (1.2oz). The receiver is only slightly larger and weighs about the same.
Each transmitter unit has 3 buttons. ON/OFF with a color ring indicating status on the front, noise reduction and record on the right as well as a 3.5mm non-locking jack on the top and USB-C on the left. It has a metal clip on the back and it comes with a square magnet that goes with it in the charge case (this is not the situation with the Hollyland Lark Max case for example).
The receiver unit is really small and lovely and has an on/off button on the top with a pressable jog wheel on the front. On the right there is a connection for the extended range antenna that comes with the unit and on the left there is a 3.5mm jack that connects to either the camera or headphones (we would have liked to see two connections here).
The screen on the receiver is bright, colorful, and easy to read. It is a touch screen but the interface is pretty strange and takes some getting used to. Swiping from the top down brings a menu for controlling the transmitters including mute, noise reduction, and auto record.
Swiping from the right brings the main menu with options to change the output, volume, mic gain, gain modes, sound options including vocal boost, low cut, etc, rec settings, speaker, time code, pairing, display, and some general system options.
We would actually prefer it if the unit had an extra button or two instead or in addition to the touch screen to go into the menus but we have a love/hate relationship with touch screen in general.
We won’t get too deep into each option but it’s clear that Saramonic gave users plenty of control and recent firmware updates improved on some of the aspects even more.
The only thing that isn’t working from the receiver at the moment is the option to set specific cameras in the gain modes. This still needs to be set in advance from the app (more on this later).
The two transmitters of the Saramonic Ultra
Main Features
We already covered the main features of the unit in a short that we published on YT in late 2024 but here they are again:
- 32-bit float recording for expanded audio levels with no peaking and distorting.
- 8 GB of internal recording memory
- Noise cancelation technology with low cut and automatic gain control
- Built-in timecode for simple audio/video syncing in post
- External antenna for up to 300m/984′ line-of-sight range with antenna
- Receiver with a color touch interface and scroll wheel for easy control
- 2800mAh charging case for up to 18h with 6 hours of operation per charge (both transmitters and receiver)
- Charging case automatically powers the system on/off when removed or returned
- Both Transmitters and the receiver can charge via USB during use
- IPX5-rating water resistance
App
Saramonic also created an app for controlling the unit which is surprisingly useful including most of the main features found on the receiver like noise reduction, voice enhance, bit depth, low cut, and more as well as a clear level indicator.
The app works well and could have been a fantastic tool for many Saramonic Ultra users but it has two big shortcomings. The first is a very cumbersome setup that requires a pretty annoying and, in our view, unnecessary registration process. Luckily this is a one-time thing.
The bigger issue is the lack of BT support for the Ultra. This means that the user needs to physically connect the receiver unit to the phone and this can’t be done when the receiver is connected to the camera hotshoe making the app useless with the new Sony adapter (and pretty difficult to use with cameras even without it).
Choosing a camera preset via the Saramonic app
Sony Adapter
A few months after the announcement of the Ultra, Saramonic introduced a small adapter that connects to Sony cameras using multi-Interface Shoe. Sony has been using this technology for years with some of their mics and adapters and both Godox and more recently DJI have been using it as well and now Sarmonic has joined the party.
The ability to connect digital audio to a camera without cables is fantastic, we lost these cables so many times and they are always at risk of damage.
The Saramonic adapter is interesting. It connects using the back port of the receiver. You need to learn how to lock it in place and then you need to push it into the multi-Interface Shoe which requires some force.
Our unit was a little delicate and the plastic part of the connector was released once – it didn’t seem to damage the operation of the unit and we connected it right back but Saramonic needs to make sure these units are a little more robust.
We tested the unit with our A1, A7R V, and A7 IV cameras and it worked well with all of them. It took some time but for our voice, we needed to add about 6-10db of boost in the transmitter to get to a decent audio level. Note that you can’t do this in the camera when a digital accessory is connected.
Also note that when you first connect the adapter to the camera you need to go into the camera menu and change the settings to record 24bit as the default is set to 16-bit only.
The Saramonic ultra-connected to a Sony camera via the Saramonic-Sony adapter (no need for a 3.5mm cable)
Performance
We tested several of the main features of this unit and here is what we found out.
- Range – while the official range is about 300m in line of sight (with the antenna), we decided to do a more practical test indoors and were able to go behind two heavy metal doors and quite a bit of reinforced concrete as well as about ½ a floor down before we started to lose signal, impressive.
- Noise reduction – The noise reduction on the Ultra has 3 different levels (plus off) but you can currently only control them from the app for some reason and the default is the highest – level 3.
In our test, the noise reduction did reduce the ambient noise level considerably but it also introduced - Battery life – both the transmitters and the receiver have an official battery life of about 6 hours and the charging case should have 2 full charging cycles for all their units. We never came close to draining any of these so far and our only suggestion would be to have a small screen on the case that will show the battery status of each unit and the case itself.
- 32-bit float – The ultra has a 32-bit float mode that you need to turn on in the receiver (the unit is set to 24-bit by default). We tested it and it certainly works and can be a lifesaver in certain situations to prevent audio clipping. The only thing to remember is that almost no camera at the moment supports 32-bit float so the only way to enjoy this feature is to use the recording from the internal memory of the mic.
Please make sure you choose the 32bit float option in the menu
- Audio quality – we compared the audio quality of the Ultra to our Hollyland Lark Max that we reviewed over a year ago and you can listen to it in the video (preferably with headphones).
The only major feature we didn’t try on the unit is the timecode. However, you can check a video by Saramonic on this feature below:
Updates
Following our tests we found two issues. The first has to do with a low noise/hum when the auto gain function is turned on (when using Sony cameras). The second has to do with the quality of the audio when used with noise reduction (audio sounding over-compressed).
Here is what Saramonic had to say:
Audio gain – The auto gain function works by amplifying quieter sounds while compressing louder ones. This means that when vocals are amplified, some background hum may also become more noticeable. While this is a natural outcome of the process, the team is actively working on refining the technology to improve noise recognition.
Our suggestion at the moment – use the camera preset whenever possible – it reduces this problem considerably (we used the A7R V preset on all our Sony cameras).
Noise reduction – For noise reduction, we compared it with Hollyland’s performance. Generally, a higher noise reduction depth can have some impact on audio quality, which is something the team continues to optimize. With Ultra, adjusting the noise reduction level can help find a better balance (for now)—setting it to 1 or 2 might yield better results.
We will be testing the noise reduction 1/2 compared to 3 for audio quality and update with our findings.
Please remember that both of these (setting specific camera preset and the level of noise reduction) can only be selected via the app at the moment.
Conclusion
The Saramonic Ultra is one of the most feature-rich wireless mic systems on the market right now. The Ultra contains some truly fantastic capabilities, including 32-bit float internal recording, automatic audio gain, noise reduction, long-range and long battery life, cable-free connection with Sony cameras using the additional adapter, and much more.
Not everything is perfect and while the screen is nice and the jog wheel works fine, the touch interface takes some getting used to and is not perfect, there is no separate headphone jack for monitoring, and while the app is really nice and useful it’s hampered by a lack of BT in the receiver making it impossible to use with the new Sony adapter.
All in all, though, the benefits of the Ultra outweigh any of these drawbacks in our opinion and Saramonic really outdone itself with the Ultra, not a small feat in one of the most competitive market segments in the industry.
Using the Saramonic ultra as a backup on LensVid Talk
Pricing
Pricing is also surprisingly competitive given all those features and is set between $270 for the basic model to $300 for the kit with 2 lav mics. The Sony adapter is available for around $40.
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Iddo Genuth 
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