Review of the Audio-Technica ATR3350 microphone (for linguists)

If you look through the offerings of major microphone manufacturers, omnidirectional lavalier microphones usually cost well over $100 (USD). The price point is rather high for most students interested in field research, be it in linguistics, oral history, anthropology, etc. Even if you think you can get by using your field recorder's built-in microphones, you are almost always guaranteed better recordings with a good external microphone and proper technique.

Several years ago, the Radio Shack 33-3003 was the lowest-priced omnidirectional microphone. However, as many good things, it has been discontinued, though can still be found on eBay for about $5-10. I have two of these and love them.

The ATR3350 (Figure 1) is a nearly identical microphone in terms of design, build quality, and acoustics. The microphone comes with a permanently attached 10 ft. cord, an small in-line power supply (for one LR44 battery), terminated with a mono 3.5 mm (1/8-inch) connector. You also get a 1/4 adapter. If you want use this microphone with a standard XLR input, you will need to buy an additional 1/4-in to XLR adapter, such Hosa GXJ235.

Figure 1. ATR3350 with the included accessories

Perfect for small field recorders

They are perfect for small recorders, such as the Sony PCM-M10. They will connect directly into the plug-in power external microphone input, and will record into the left channel, unless you set up your recorder for dual mono. They are ready to use! This is the single most important feature for student use. If you need to complete a project within one semester, you want to buy a microphone, off-the-shelf, and start using it immediately.

Audio tests

The microphone performed surprisingly well in most of my audio tests. The performance is very similar to the Radio Shack 33-3003. With proper technique, you should be able to get reliable recordings for most student projects aiming at formant analysis. Of course, they are perfectly good for conversational analysis, oral history, even news gathering. Figure 2 shows a spectrogram of the Polish phrase "czarna krowa" obtained with the microphone in a typical lavalier position. The detail in F1 and F2 is quite good, though there is a drop in spectral detail in frequencies above F3, partly due to signal attenuation. Figure 3 shows FFT and LPC plots of the vowel /o/ in "bordo" showing perfectly defined formant peaks with narrow bandwidths.

Figure 2. Spectrogram in a lavalier position

Figure 3. LPC and FFT of /o/ in "bordo"

You can very easily convert the microphone to a headset, as described in this post. You get an appreciable increase in spectral detail. Figure 4 shows a spectrogram of the Polish phrase "czarna krowa" obtained in a headset configuration.

Figure 4. Spectrogram in a headset position

Self noise

The ATR3350 has a surprisingly low self-noise (Figure 5). It has medium sensitivity, so you will be able to reach the recommended peak level of -12 dB FS by setting your gain to about 60-75% of its range, on the Sony PCM-M10 or Fostex FR-2LE.

Figure 5. FFT of self-noise

Conclusions

Every linguistics student should be required (and given) this microphone at the start of their program. They will turn in wonderful recordings and a lot of good data. The price tag of $30 makes the whole kit a real bargain.

Download audio files

	Description	Quality	Comments
	Audio-Technica ATR3350 with Fostex FR-LE2	44,100 Hz; 16-bit; mono	In a quiet room in a lavalier position
	Audio-Technica ATR3350 with Fostex FR-LE2	44,100 Hz; 16-bit; mono	In a quiet room in a headset position