Got $100? Should you buy a RODE VideoMic GO II or a Sennheiser MKE 200? Which is better for you?

so how do we compare microphones well if you're like me you have watched a ton of my comparison videos online and i don't want to make one of those videos what i want to do is to help you determine which one of these two mics might be best for your content creation needs so today we're talking about the rode videomic go 2 and the sennheiser mke 200. now these two mics are a great comparison because they are both within the 100 price range they both utilize plug-in power so they can be plugged directly into your camera and they both are stated to have directional pickup patterns so for those reasons they fall into a similar microphone category and something that a lot of solo content creators might be looking to invest in but let's talk about a couple ways that they differ and the first is design now the rode video might go while it is a small on-camera microphone in comparison to something like its older brother the videomic ntg it does retain more of that small condenser shotgun feel so it has a dual rycote shock mount and it does extend out from the camera but the shock mode does have a cable management system built into it so you can tidy up the cable for your mic running into your camera now the sennheiser mke200 on the other hand it is a different style microphone in so much that the capsule is enclosed within this housing and this housing is super short and low profile so when it's on a camera even a compact one like the sony zbe10 it's much less noticeable than the video might go to and while it doesn't have a built-in cable management system it does include cables with locking connectors which means they screw onto the microphone and prevent the cable from being accidentally pulled out but aside from design features they also come with different accessories the rode videomic go to comes with its microphone the shock mount and a 3.5 millimeter trs cable also included is this foam windscreen that's clearly from rode the 200 on the other hand comes with the microphone two different cables one trs to trs cable for your camera and one trs to trrs for things like smartphones or mobile devices a dead cat style wind muff that fits over the entirety of the body and a neat little bag to store and carry everything in so while this doesn't seem like a big deal it's kind of a bummer because while these two microphones are priced at the same price point if you get the rode videomic go 2 and you want a dead cat accessory or a 3.5 millimeter trs to trrs cable those are separate purchases and increase the price but aside from accessories let's talk about functionality the sennheiser mke200 is a no-frills microphone meaning you just put it in your hot shoe of your camera plug in the appropriate cable into your mic input set your audio record level and you are good to go the rode videomico 2 also has that same functionality but in addition can double as a usb microphone when plugged into your computer or your smart device plugging it in via usb enables the 3.5 millimeter jack to be a direct monitoring output for headphones so yes for the 100 price point the rode videomico 2 almost feels like two separate mics with two separate use cases while the mke200 basically is designed straight for your camera and finally the most important thing that we need to compare is how the two microphones sound so right out of the bat they are both plugged into my sony zv e10 via a cable splitter where i sent the rode videomic go to one channel and the sennheiser mke to the other channel the audio record level on my sony zve 10 is set to 15 and i can immediately tell you that the rode videomico 2 has a hotter output than the sennheiser mke200 both mics are pointed directly at me we are about an arm's length away and in post i've had to boost the mke200 a few dbs just to match it with the rode videomico 2. but how do they sound well would you be surprised if i told you you've already listened to the mic comparison so if you look at this graphic down here in the corner when the word subscribe was illuminated you were listening to the sennheiser mke200 and when the word here was illuminated you were listening to the rode videomic go to so yeah at this point you've heard both mics being switched back and forth throughout this whole video so if you didn't hear a difference awesome both mics to you sound exactly the same with regards to recording but if you do want to know which one was which you can always go back re-watch this video and keep an eye on this icon down here in the corner so that's what they sound like inside of an acoustically treated studio but these were really meant to be out and about right so let's take them outside and see how they handle the elements okay now we're outside and now we can test how each mic handles the wind they both have their included wind protection on so in the road rode videomic go to that is the foam wind cover and for the sennheiser mke200 that is the furrier dead cat i'm gonna turn around and fit and have my back to the wind so you can see what it's like when wind hits the microphones directly okay so now my back is to the wind and i can i can feel it i can hear it right now without even having to listen to it okay so now my back is to the wind and i can i can feel it i can hear it right now without even having to listen to it so yeah if you shoot or vlog in windy conditions this is what you can expect to hear from both the rode videomic 2 and the sennheiser mke200 so yeah if you shoot or vlog in windy conditions this is what you can expect to hear from both the rode videomico 2 and the sennheiser mke200 all right it's freezing i'm going back inside okay so who are these mics for well i think that if you are in the market for an on-camera microphone that is super easy to set up and will reliably record high quality audio directly to your camera and has a low profile and is a little more discreet than the sennheiser mke200 is the mic for you but if you're looking for something with a little extra versatility and plan on using it both for your camera and as a usb mic and don't mind throwing in a couple extra bucks for some non-included accessories then the rode videomic go to might be a better choice for you but in my opinion both of these mic sound really great and you can't go wrong with purchasing one over the other it really comes down to your personal preferences with regards to aesthetics design ease of use and ultimately audio quality and because this video is about you if you have either of these microphones and would like to share your experiences with them drop a comment down below so we can start a friendly discussion and we'll talk again real soon

Channel: Wayne RECs

Views: 27,801

Keywords: Vlog, Content Creation, Connection, Sony ZVE-10, Better Audio, Good Audio, Best Microphone, Audio Tips For YouTube, RODE VideoMic GO II, VideoMic GO 2, Sennheiser MKE 200, MKE200, Mic Review

Id: dX7v_msZKJ0

Length: 6min 41sec (401 seconds)

Published: Tue Feb 15 2022