Should you buy the Saramonic BlinkMe B2 microphone system?

Saramonic BlinkMe B2

Ever heard of a company called Saramonic? I hadn’t either, until recently when I received an interesting email. A wireless microphone system with…a touchscreen? Count me in. So I filled out their form and they shipped out a sample for review. While this sample was provided to us at no cost, our opinions and reviews are 100% honest and unbiased. So is the Saramonic BlinkMe B2 worth its weight in gold or is it just another gimmick? 

Sound

The most important thing when it comes to microphones is the sound quality. I’m going to be honest, I had pretty much next-to-no expectations for this product. I thought this was just going to be another product that sells itself on its unnecessary gimmick but falls short on the one thing it’s supposed to be good at. 

However, the audio quality on the Saramonic BlinkMe B2 microphone system is actually pretty good. Obviously, we’re not looking at broadcast-quality levels of good, but I could absolutely see this being usable for a vlog channel or something along those lines. 

I did some testing against my Airpods Pro and MacBook Pro microphones and I have to say, the Saramonic BlinkMe B2 blew the Airpods out of the water. I mean it’s just a night and day difference between the two. However, the MacBook Pro microphone was on a completely different level than the two.

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Unfortunately, in some cases the Saramonic BlinkMe doesn’t seem to handle plosives very well in comparison to both the Airpods and MacBook Pro and even the Hollyland Lark M1 Duo. So if you do end up trying these out, just be mindful of those when recording. 

Features

The main feature that Saramonic is selling here with the BlinkMe B2 is the touchscreen system. Both of the included transmitters as well as the receiver have a built-in touchscreen that allow you to navigate and customize the display menus on each device. 

Again, I thought the touchscreen would be another useless gimmick that doesn’t really provide anything for the user aside from another screen to look at. However, I have to say, I’m getting used to using the touchscreen as opposed to random buttons with different-colored LEDs that tell you what settings you have active at any given time. 

Being able to swipe up or down to change certain settings and adjust an on-screen gain slider on the actual transmitter itself has proven to be a much more handy feature than expected. Now, you may be thinking “Well, what about accidentally touching it while you’re recording?” – and to that, you are absolutely right. Saramonic has included a screen-lock feature that helps prevent those accidental swipes, and I can tell you right now that I’m going to need to get in the habit of setting that screen-lock. 

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The Saramonic BlinkMe B2 allows you to record in a few different channels including stereo, mono, and the aforementioned safety channel. (A safety channel is essentially a separate track that records at a lower volume to prevent your audio from clipping.) 

I love that there’s a safety channel – something that can (and does) go entirely overlooked on other microphone systems but can be invaluable especially for beginner videographers. Definitely some major points to Saramonic for including this. 

Alongside the channel selection, you can enable auto recording to start the system’s onboard recording as soon as the transmitter is turned on. It’s a nice feature, but I don’t really see that getting a whole lot of use as most people would probably want to adjust their audio settings beforehand. I could see it being useful in quick on-the-fly situations, though. 

Credit: Saramonic

Battery

Saramonic claims up to nine hours of battery life from the transmitters, 24 hours from the receiver, and the receiver can extend each transmitter’s battery another 4.5 hours. The receiver also doubles as a charging dock for each transmitter which keeps everything compact and ready to go at a moment’s notice. 

While I haven’t used the system until it’s completely dead, I can say that it does charge pretty quickly. The receiver’s display shows the current battery percentage for all three devices when it’s plugged into a power source, alongside a red or green icon based on how much of a charge each device has, which is a really nice visual that I wouldn’t have thought to include.

Portability

Unfortunately, I’m not the biggest fan of the way Saramonic has designed their storage system for the BlinkMe B2. I do like how the receiver acts as a charging hub for the transmitters, but you then have to put it all in another case that is just way too big for what it should be. 

On top of that, the actual case that comes with the system serves no other functionality other than to hold some cables and accessories for the system. This is the biggest issue I have, because it’s just not very portable and for no really good reason either. The actual system itself can fit in your pocket, but I wouldn’t suggest carrying it around by itself like that. 

Accessories

Saramonic includes some nice accessories for the BlinkMe B2 including some magnetic clips that attach to the back of the transmitters (and a cold shoe mount for the receiver) that allow you to either clip the transmitters to clothing or attach them with a magnet through a shirt. 

I’m not a big fan of the clips as the transmitter seems to be a bit too heavy to realistically stay in place, but the other magnetic attachments are incredibly well-designed and keep the transmitter exactly where it’s supposed to be. 

Saramonic also includes a windscreen for each transmitter and I have to say that I absolutely hate these things with a burning passion. They’re unnecessarily difficult to put on the microphone (though, I will say they do actually seem to stay on if you can get them on), you can hardly see where to align them in the slot, they’re just bad. They are some of the least user-friendly accessories I’ve come across, and I highly recommend Saramonic make some adjustments for the next iteration.

Price

The Saramonic BlinkMe B2 is going to run you about $250 right now. That’s definitely not budget-friendly, and for about $100 more you could get the DJI mic which is the gold-standard for wireless mics as far as I’ve heard. 

However, for $100 less (and for even less when it’s on sale), you could get the Hollyland Lark M1 DUO which sounds significantly better and is way easier to carry with you, in my opinion. Sure, there’s no displays or a touchscreen, but if you’re looking for a more budget-friendly option then I would go with that M1 DUO. 

So…do I recommend the Saramonic Blink B2? Well, actually, I do. Sure, there’s better options and there’s cheaper options, but Saramonic is doing something that I haven’t seen anybody else in the wireless microphone space do and that’s adding a customizable touchscreen to their devices. 

Do I think they’re for everyone? No, not a chance. But if you’re someone that really likes having a screen to look at and flip through, then yes I think for $250 the Saramonic BlinkMe B2 is a solid and innovative option to consider.

Saramonic BlinkMe B2

$249
7.4

Sound

8.0/10

Features

8.5/10

Battery

8.0/10

Portability

6.5/10

Accessories

7.0/10

Price

6.5/10

Pros

  • Pretty good sound
  • Tons of features
  • Easy to use

Cons

  • Carrying case is too bulky to carry around every day
  • The accessories fall pretty flat
  • Not exactly budget-friendly

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