After receiving the Joby Wavo Pro for review, my initial impression is that it appears worthy of its price point and intended audience of content creators and storytellers. Joby claims this to be their most advanced on-camera shotgun mic available – let’s put them through their paces!
JOBY Wavo Pro: Solid Design This microphone comes complete with an already installed foam windscreen and fuzzy windjammer as well as a 3.5mm TRS cable and USB Type C to Type A cable; unfortunately a TRRS-TRRS cable is NOT included. The mic has an intriguing yet cool appearance; more “substantial” than the Rode or Lume Cube mics I reviewed earlier, yet still weighs only around one-third of a pound! It looks professional enough for interviewing your CEO!
The body construction combines aluminum, ABS plastic and Hytrel thermoplastic materials, all of which feel well constructed. Notably, the cold shoe mount provides a secure hold on a DSLR camera while windscreens fit securely. Furthermore, Rycote shock mount is renowned for ensuring sound stability for clear recordings.
The microphone controls and indicators are intuitive, providing all the essentials without being overcrowded with features. LED lights on its back display key real-time notifications regarding power, audio level, Bluetooth connectivity and battery life; up to 60 hours can be achieved on one charge of its Lithium battery; additionally it will auto power off when your camera does!
JOBY Wavo Pro — Audio Capture The Joby Wavo Pro features a super cardioid polar pattern and frequency response from 20Hz-20kHz (+/-3dB), with max SPL, sensitivity, signal to noise ratio and noise-handling specs suitable for this microphone class. Needless to say, it does an exceptional job capturing audio in front of it!
Active Noise Reduction, or ANR, should be one of the primary drivers behind purchasing a microphone. ANR filters out low-frequency noise from recordings; wind gusts or handling can introduce vibrations that disrupt audio quality; although ANR couldn’t entirely eliminate all unwanted sounds during testing, it significantly reduced their severity.
JOBY Wavo Pro’s safety track
recording feature can be an invaluable lifesaver if your primary track experiences clipping. When enabled, this feature records an identical audio signal at 10dB lower in order to protect against clipping issues on primary tracks; should this happen during recording with multiple microphones, this feature will be disabled.
JOBY Wavo Pro — Secondary Mic
This mic base offers a 3.5mm connection for attaching a secondary microphone, so that lavalier microphones may be added and records separate signals. Furthermore, there are buttons to independently boost camera output and secondary mic input up to +20dB; plus Mix Mode/Mono Mode recording features; where Mix Mode records the Wavo mic on one channel while mono mode mixes both microphones together so they are recorded onto both channels simultaneously.
JOBY Wavo Pro–App Control
This app is an essential addition to your video shoot, enabling easy gain adjustments, EQ settings and ANR toggles – with Bluetooth connectivity working instantly for me despite an update issue at first. I did encounter an error updating it though which had to be remedied later – it’s great having this level of control from such a quick and effortless interface; it won’t slow you down at all!
