#ik the video is low quality but i just need to have this on here lmao

[kalicocal]

'how many times have you watched this?'

me: yes

[topicprinter]

I saw there was a post on this recently, and after reading the comments saw there was some good advice, and some bad. In today’s world online and social media marketing are becoming not only important, but actual tools to increase revenue and profit. There’s a bunch of ways to grow an IG account, and a bunch of ways to tank one. This will be a long post, so I’ll try and break into bits. Apologies for mobileSorry guys, I know I'm super late on this, I've just been really busy the past couple months. Here you go, and please don't hesitate to reach out for specific help or advice. Also I'm sure I missed some points, so feel free to add your experience. Just be very careful about using suggestions. Saw some advice in the comments on my last post that was good, and some that was bad. Do your research, and be careful. Have at it​UNDERSTANDING THE AUDIENCE​It really doesn't matter all that much what you're using your IG account for, whether it's to sell a product, to increase brand awareness, to create connections, or just to generate hype, if you don't understand your audience. Know the consumers you're trying to target and what kind of things they like and follow. Do your research, google searches, ask random people on the street, ask friends and family what they think and how would they feel. As with all things marketing, the most important step is to put yourself into their shoes and think strategically the best way to engage with themTHE IMPORTANT THING IS TO COME AT IT WITH A STRATEGY. Each post is an opportunity to gain followers. Your waves of followers will come from quality posts, so make sure you attack each post with a strategy and a hungry mentality. If you're on this sub, y'all are fucking sharks. Be a shark.​THE ALGORITHM​In all honesty, we don’t really know what the algorithm is, but understanding how it works is far more important. Basically, like Facebook, Instagram has a formula that ranks its content (posts) in the feed and in the explore page (more on the explore page later). It has variables such as time of post, total likes and comments, hashtags, location, details on the account that posted, and even includes software to recognize what is in each post, and boost or demote it that way. Therefore, if you tend to only like pictures that have luxury cars in them, IG will boost those pictures in your feed. If you only pics of food or dogs, IG will boost pics of food or dogs in your feed and explore page. Each account has a slightly different algorithm in this regard.This is why it’s important first of all to understand your target audience, and get in their shoes, not yours. So if your product is a technology that primarily benefits middle aged woman, but you only post pictures of the technology, you won’t do as well as if you posted pictures that were applicable and likeable by middle aged woman. Like and comments are your direct assessment of your post. If your audience like it, they’ll engage with you. If not, they won’t.Also the algorithm changes every few months, so what worked last year or even last quarter, probably won't work the exact same way now.​POST FREQUENCY​Some of the comments on the previous post touched on this, but gave some poor advice. Do NOT listen to anyone who tells you you have to post as frequently as you can or post twice a day no exceptions. This is shit advice. Anyone who makes a sweeping rule is clearly not a real entrepreneur, or at least not a very good one. Theres more than way to skin a cat.In general, posting twice a day is a safe option. Once a day, isn't bad either, 3x a day can work. I've had success with even posting 3x a week. I would say somewhere between 3-20x a week. But make sure you aren't oversaturating your feed. You can easily bother your followers by making too many low quality posts. Quality over quantity every time. I know this probably sounds vague, but the important thing to remember is each account is different and unique. Please feel free to ask questions specific to you in the comments and I bet as a community we can really give some good advice.​TIME OF POST​Pretty simple here. 12-9pm EST tends to be best. 12, 3, and 9 specifically. This is when most people tend to be on IG. Sorry if you're international, but I would suggest a quick google search looking for best times to post on IG. Generally speaking, Sunday tends to be the least engaging day of the week, but I've still found plenty of success these days.​CONTENT​Quality content is so important to have. There are three types of posts you can make on Instagram. Just a regular picture, a video, or a gallery post, meaning multiple selections where the user has to swipe in order to see the full post. Generally speaking, videos that are 10-30 second long will perform best, but this is absolutely not a rule of thumb. All posts that have a clear resolution, aren't cropped weird, and are professional are capable of performing well. People are forgoing their websites to only use an Instagram page for their business. Therefore, you have to use professional and quality content on your page. I've only had one post that was blurry that performed well, and it was in the middle of a good week (all other posts were getting thousands, and some tens of thousands of likes and engagements). IG boosts accounts that show consistent positive results.I know that it can be hard to find quality content to post, so if you have questions in this regard specific to your account or business, let me know in the comments.Otherwise, there are a couple apps that let you pull down other profile's posts off the app. I like Grab the best, but it is a bit clunky to use. Buffer lets you do reposts, but I've had a lot of bad experience with Buffer, but one of my mentors has really loved it, so you can try it out and decide for yourself.Always tag people in your posts as well. Instagram lets you tag up to 20 accounts in one post, and you can now tag in videos too! this is awesome. So find influencers in your niche and tag them. Find big accounts related to your niche, and tag them. Find pages your audience follows, and tag them.We also need to discuss the concept of a powerlike. A powerlike is when someone with a big following likes your picture and engages with you. Your post is then much more likely to be displayed in their followers feeds and explore pages. Certain accounts likes have more value than others, so use this to your advantage.​EXPLORE PAGE​Your ultimate goal through organic growth is to consistently get on the explore page and get promoted this way. The explore page is the page you access through the little magnifying glass at the bottom of the mobile app, or the compass when using desktop (don't use desktop, IG's desktop sucks). It shows suggestions to you based on your previous likes and comments and who you follow. This is a great way to utilize OUTSIDE ENGAGEMENT, which I'll get to later.​HASHTAGS​Probably the best improvement you can make on your content is the correct use of hashtags. Each post can have up to 30, so use 30. I also suggest “hiding” them in the comments section by posting them as a comment, but there’s no evidence to support that this truly makes a difference. Use hashtags relevant to your niche. If you’re niche is in to cars, but your using hashtags like #hairstylistlove or #cutedogsoninstagram, IG will actually tank you for incorrectly “gaming” the algorithm.There’s a couple of strategies you can use. 10/10/10 is a good start. Basically, there are big hashtags (over 500,000 posts), medium hashtags (50k-500k posts), and small hashtags (under 50k). You’ll see these ranges vary depending on who you ask, but for 10/10/10, I like these ranges. 10/10/10 basically means to use 10 big hashtags, 10 small, and 10 medium sized ones to properly market your post. Pretty simple. There’s also 25/5, and all smalls. In this case I’d use 25 hashtags under 100,000 and 5 over, or all hashtags under 100,000.The important thing with hashtags is to keep experimenting and find what works. Not all posts are going to do well in a good set of hashtags, and not all good posts require a good set of hashtags to do well. Ik that sounds confusing and tricky, but if you take the time, and put effort into making quality content, Instagram will reward you. They want people to USE the app, to SPEND TIME using their product. The more you use it the more you’ll gain.Geotagging is using a hashtag specifically related to your area. So for example #beverlyhills90210 or #minneapolisweather. These can be great if you're specifically trying to grow your brand in an area.Tagstealing is a term I use, but basically, it means going into the explore page and searching a hashtag relevant to your niche. Find a post that performs well compared to that profile's usual posts. So if someone posts a picture and it gets 500 likes when all their other posts get 50, use the hashtags that they did. They already gamed the algorithm and did the hard part for you.​SHADOWBANNING​This is a widely misunderstood concept and its important that we cover it in its own section. Shadowbanning is where Instagram bans certain hashtags from showing your posts in the explore page. usually these hashtags are porn related or can be porn related. So for example, #petite is banned and won't show results when searched. You can just Google banned hashtags checker and find free online tools that determine whether or not something is banned.​Shadowbanning is NOT however, Instagram demoting your posts for whatever reason. it is strictly related to hashtags​CAPTIONS​Captions are the voice of your posts. It gives you an opportunity to share your opinion, connect with your audience, drive engagement, or really determine the direction of your post. I almost always recommend having a call to action ("let me know what you think in the comments below") to help drive engagement on your posts. Encourage people to want to interact with you, but don't be desperate. That shit turns people off. Some people have long winded, winding stories as captions, while others have maybe a sentence at most. It really depends on you and who you are. Be genuine and real with your audience, and they'll respond to that. Never try to do something just for the likes, always attack IG with the mindset of being yourself and putting your best content and effort into the page.You can use hashtags here, or you can post them in the comments section. I like utilizing the comments method because it "tricks" the algorithm by showing your post as having an extra comment right away.​LOCATION​This is a tricky one but can greatly be used to your benefit. This mainly affects the explore page. Basically, you want to use a location that garners a lot of activity, and more importantly, people on their phones. Stadiums, famous malls, public monuments, or popular Instagram spots are good locations to use. I’ve had mixed results when using restaurants. If you’re trying to grow in a specific city this is wonderful. But make sure you get a little more specific, if you’re just going to do a certain city. Use a neighborhood instead, i.e. Brooklyn not New York, Beverly Hill not Los Angeles.​OTHER TOOLS BESIDES POSTS​This is going to be things like Stories, Live, IGTV. Instagram wants you to use the app, so that they can make more money off of ads. Therefore, they're going to boost you for using the other aspects of the app. Post stories once a day or 5x a week, as a general rule of thumb. An easy strategy with stories is to just do reposts on similar accounts and encourage them to engage with you. Minimal effort for decent reward. also turning the camera around and showing you, talking into the camera, showing your workspace, or you in the field is great as well. More effort, but also probably more reward. Live feed maybe once or twice a week, or more, if you have the content/activity. Things like talks, lectures, videos, lessons etc. Sometimes you can do giveaways exclusive for your live viewers. This encourages viewers to come back consistently and engage in your live stream. IGTV is the newest tool here, but I've best seen it used and used it in the form of interviews, similar to a podcast, or in lectures or announcements. Amanda Bucci has a really great use of stories, live, and IGTV, so check her out for inspiration. These are now so much more important for gaining followers. Make sure you're using hashtags and tagging people in your stories etc as well.​OUTSIDE ENGAGEMENT​This is where you'll really separate your account and make huge strides in growth. I grew an account from 3k followers to 10k in 3 months throug this. You should be spending 30 mins to an hour a day, going out and liking and commenting on other people's posts, to help drive engagement to your page. If you haven't noticed by now, the key word in IG is engagement, and you have to give if you wanna get. You can open a post in the explore page, like it, leave a comment that opens/starts a conversation, and move on in literally less than 10 seconds. Great, swipe right, and do it again. and again. and again and again and again for 10 minutes before and 10 minutes after each post. I've seen this strategy work, but also doing this multiple times throughout the day. Experiment and find what works for you. Each account is different and unique. Each method is going to be different and unique. More than one way to skin a cat.Also make sure that youre replying to all your comments on your posts. This will not only increase loyalty and motivation among your followers, but also trick the algorithm. if you get three comments on a post, and reply to all of them, you now have 6 instead of 3. Always be engaging and active with your followers, and try to reach out to other accounts in your niche and bring them in.I saw a question about bots and stuff, there are plenty of bots on instagram. If they leave a comment, then leave a generous reply, and ignore, unless they respond and seem to be more than just automated. Bots are another follow, but having a group of loyal active followers will grow your account much faster than a bunch of bots who don't engage.​DONTs​Don't buy followers. Most of them tend to be bots, or the wrong type of followers, and won't engage with you at all. Instagram tries to ban these accounts, which could negatively affect yours. Organic growth is infinitely more valuable than buying followers.Don't forget about it or give up. Stay consistent. IG rewards consistency. If you keep at it, you'll eventually break through. Ik trust me, it is very tough and difficult, but can be very rewarding as well.Don't post just to post. Make sure each post has care and effort. Think of it like a new baby each time. You are shaping and raising your baby to give it the best possible opportunity to succeed. If you have a kid just to have a kid and don't put care into, it's going to turn out like shit. Be diligent​DOS​Consider paying to boost your posts. Get a couple of posts to perform really well, and consider spending 10 or 15 bucks on each post. This can easily bring you a thousand or more followers, depending on your account and history.Do consider reaching out to influencers, asking for help, or a shoutout. This is a livelihood for a lot of people, and they will want to gain off your following as well. Most of the time, it's win win.Engage engage engage. If you come away with one thing from this, it's that engagement is key in Instagram, and you need to find ways to drive engagement on your page. Experiment, try new things, have multiple accounts and cross promote.​That sums up the generals guys, but I know that I missed plenty. Please please don't hesitate to bring up any issue or question you have, through either comments or PM. Im super busy right now, but will try to get to all of them. I've worked with single person accounts in past and helped people grow over 100k followers. Currently, I'm working as CMO at a startup, and have experience in all things marketing and sales. I'm looking to get into coaching/consulting, and would love to use you as a guinea pig.​Take care, and best wishes

[lorrainecparker]

Review + comparison: iRig Pre HD cross platform audio interface

In this article, I’ll review the new <US$100 iRig Pre HD cross platform audio interface, with preamp and A-to-D converter. If this sounds familiar, it’s because it was only 3 months ago that I reviewed the >US$150 iRig Pro I/O, whose notable missing feature was latency-free monitoring. The new <US$100 iRig Pre HD indeed has true latency-free monitoring, costs US$50 less, although it lacks MIDI. When I say “multi-platform”, I mean compatibility Apple’s Lightning connector (used on all current iOS devices, including the iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch) and USB for compliant-Android, Chromebook, Mac and Windows devices. I am also including a 9-point pro/con comparison to its closest competitor on the market, the <US$150 i-XLR from RØDE (which is Lightning-only), including a test recording to hear the preamp and A-to-D quality, specs and practical pros/cons, and a “How to choose” section.

Comparison chart

Test recordings

The following iRig Pre HD (Amazon • B&H) test recording was made using the Shure SM58 dynamic microphone (Amazon • B&H) using my Google Android Pixel XL phone (Amazon • B&H) and the free Auphonic app at 48 kHz WAV mono. It was normalized to -16 LUFS, trimmed and uploaded as 48kHz WAV mono.

https://www.provideocoalition.com/app/uploads/iRig-Pre-HD-with-SM58.wav

Preamp gain and cleanliness

IK Multimedia has not published any spec for the official maximum gain of the iRig Pre HD (Amazon — B&H), but based on my observations, it seems to be approximately +60dB max. With the Shure SM58 (Amazon • B&H) , I had to set it about 64% to get our desired -12dB in raw recordings. However, I was happily surprised to hear a clear signal even at near max. In fact, it seems much cleaner than the preamps in the <US$270 Zoom H5 recorder (whose max gain is officially +52db, (Amazon • B&H) when both are at near max. Fortunately, with the iRig Pro I/O, I didn’t hear hiss or noise, as typically happens when you bring most preamps near to the max. The Shure SM58 dynamic microphone is not the gain hungriest dynamic mic on the planet, and it isn’t the hottest either, but it is much more so than most condenser mics. The SM57 and SM58 are closer to the middle of the dynamic mic spectrum. If you plan to use the iRig Pro I/O with one of the gain-hungriest dynamic mics, like the Audio Technica RE20 or the Shure SM7B,

you should add a pre-preamp like the FetHead (shown above, B&H link), which would be powered from the iRig Pro I/O’s phantom power function. In this case, the phantom power would power the FetHead, not the mic, and the FetHead would not send any phantom power to the dynamic mic. Normally, you would leave phantom power OFF when connecting the iRig Pro I/O directly to a dynamic mic, which is what I did with the direct connection to the Shure SM58.

On the other hand, as covered in my review of the i-XLR (Amazon link • B&H link), RØDE has explained that the i-XLR has a max of +80dB. That is plenty of gain for even the hungriest dynamic mic. With the palindromic Shure 545, I had to set the i-XLR’s gain to absolute minimum to get -12db (with the attenuator Off). However, the i-XLR is a one trick pony (iOS only/Lightning only) and does not officially offer phantom power. The i-XLR is intended to be used with dynamic mics or self-powered condenser mics (i.e. with batteries inside).

SUMMARY FOR THIS SECTION: The iRig Pre HD (Amazon — B&H) has sufficient clean gain for a dynamic mic like the Shure palindromic 545 mic or SM58. The iRig Pre HD has more than sufficient clean gain for a condenser mic or hotter dynamic mics like the Senal ENG-18RL (reviewed here, B&H). If you need to connect an even hungrier dynamic mic with the iRig Pre HD (like an ElectroVoice RE20 or Shure SM7B), consider getting a pre-preamp like the FetHead (B&H link) to complement the iRig Pre HD.

Sampling frequency and resolution

Fortunately, both the iRig Pre HD and the i-XLR offer 48kHz, the absolute standard for audio sampling for video production and distribution. See my related article All audio production & distribution should go 48 kHz.

In addition, both the iRig Pre HD and the i-XLR offer its 2x cousin, 96kHz. Finally, the iRig Pre HD also offers 44.1 (a throwback to the ancient CD-Audio standard. Not recommended for video) and its 2x cousin, 88.2 kHz (not recommended for video either).

In terms of resolution, fortunately both also offer 24-bit. See my related article: Understanding 24-bit vs 16-bit audio production & distribution to understand the advantages of recording 24-bit even when not planning to distribute 24-bit.

Hardware compatibility

The iRig Pre HD is extremely versatile, including compatibility for compliant Android, Chromebook, macOS, iOS, Windows, including necessary cables, except for Androids that use Micro-USB-OTG or USB-C. Unlike the iRig Pro I/O I covered back in August, the iRig Pre HD does not include MIDI.

On the other hand, the i-XLR is a one-trick-pony, offering only iOS via the Lightning port.

Clarifying the phantom power situation

The new iRig Pre HD absolutely offers switchable 48-volt phantom power, either to power a condenser microphone, or to power a FetHead (B&H ) if necessary to use with an extremely gain-hungry dynamic mic like an RE-20 or SM7B.

The i-XLR officially offers no phantom power. However, some other users and I have discovered that it does power a few XLR condenser mics that demand very low voltage.

CONCLUSIONS FOR THIS SECTION: The iRig Pro HD works great with phantom-powered condenser mics (with phantom power ON), medium-to-hot dynamic mics (with phantom power OFF) or (optionally) with very demanding dynamic mics via a FetHead (with phantom power ON). On the other hand, the i-XLR works great with any dynamic mic (including those that are very gain-hungry), or a small group of condenser mics that have a very low voltage requirement.

Live monitoring

Unlike its two predecessors, the new iRig Pre HD has a 3.5 mm jack for a stereo 3.5 mm headphone including hardware-based latency free monitoring! This means two things:

You can use any app to record audio-only or video with audio, even one that doesn’t offer live monitoring.

There will be no latency.

There is an ON/OFF switch in case you don’t want to hear yourself. In either position, you can still hear playback from the host device, or the voice of the other person if you are connected live via Allo, FaceTime, Hangouts, Skype, etc. It is aso confirmed that (just like the i-XLR), the iRig Pre HD will also work properly even if you connect a TRRS headset, and will intelligently ignore its microphone.

See my TS/TRS/TRRS/TRRRS: Combating the misconnection epidemic (illustrated above).

Conclusions, and how to choose a single-source XLR interface for your mobile device

I titled the this section as such, because it is not feasible to give a summary of advice for a laptop or desktop computer, given the enormous number of desktop/AC-powered options available, of which there are also many, and I have reviewed several before. That’s why this summary and guide is for mobile devices only, i.e. phones and tablets, and for a single-source XLR.

IF YOUR PHONE OR TABLET IS ANDROID

If your phone or tablet is Android and compliant, and you want to record from a single XLR source while bypassing the (typically inferior) preamp and A-to-D converter in your Android device (if it even exists), then the iRig Pre HD (Amazon • B&H) is your only logical option, since the i-XLR does not work with Android at all. Just remember to get your appropriate cable or adapter, depending upon the connection of your compliant Android.

IF YOUR PHONE OR TABLET IS/ARE EXCLUSIVELY iOS If your phone or tablet is iOS (iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch) and you don’t have any need to use your audio interface with a different platform beyond, and you also want to record from a single XLR source while bypassing the (typically inferior) preamp and A-to-D converter (which disappeared anyway starting with the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus) then other factors should affect your decision:

If you want to use a condenser microphone that requires 48-volt phantom power, the iRig Pro I/O is your only logical choice, despite any other consideration.

If you want to use MIDI, the under <US$150 iRig Pro I/O I reviewed in August is your only logical choice, despite any other consideration.

If you really love the tally and Record/Pause feature onboard (at present, only with the free RØDE Reporter app), you will likely favor the i-XLR (Amazon • B&H), although it will cost you US$50 more, and it will work with iOS devices only.

Recent articles and reviews you’ll enjoy

Review: iRig Mic HD 2 handheld digital microphone

Review: RØDE Broadcaster, the voice microphone that challenges conventional wisdom

Review: RØDE improves VideoMic Pro+ with several new features

Use wireless Apple AirPods’ mic for shooting standups/monologues with your smartphone?

Balanced audio: benefits and varieties

Review: MixPre-3 audio recorder/mixer from Sound Devices

My multitrack crossgating audio workflow to eliminate crosstalk

Review: AT875R shotgun mic & AT8415 shockmount from Audio Technica

Upcoming articles, reviews, radio shows, books and seminars/webinars

Stand by for upcoming articles, reviews, and books. Sign up to my free mailing list by clicking here. Most of my current books are at books.AllanTepper.com, and my personal website is AllanTepper.com.

Si deseas suscribirte a mi lista en castellano, visita aquí. Si prefieres, puedes suscribirte a ambas listas (castellano e inglés).

Listen to his CapicúaFM show at CapicúaFM.com in iTunes or Stitcher.

Save US$20 on Project Fi, Google’s mobile telephony and data

Click here to save US$20 on Project Fi, Google’s mobile telephone and data service which I have covered in these articles. I’ve been using it since its birth in 2015 and I love it.

Learn to speak Castilian, the most widely used Spanish language

SpeakCastilian.com

FTC disclosure

No manufacturer is specifically paying Allan Tépper or TecnoTur LLC to write this article or the mentioned books. Some of the other manufacturers listed above have contracted Tépper and/or TecnoTur LLC to carry out consulting and/or translations/localizations/transcreations. Many of the manufacturers listed above have sent Allan Tépper review units. So far, none of the manufacturers listed above is/are sponsors of the TecnoTur programs, although they are welcome to do so, and some are, may be (or may have been) sponsors of ProVideo Coalition magazine. Some links to third parties listed in this article and/or on this web page may indirectly benefit TecnoTur LLC via affiliate programs. Allan Tépper’s opinions are his own.

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The post Review + comparison: iRig Pre HD cross platform audio interface appeared first on ProVideo Coalition.

First Found At: Review + comparison: iRig Pre HD cross platform audio interface

[lorrainecparker]

Review + comparison: iRig Pro I/O cross platform audio interface

In this article, I’ll review the new <US$150 iRig Pro I/O cross platform audio interface, with preamp and A-to-D converter. SPOILER: It sounds as clean as a whistle, even with a dynamic microphone, cranked up to near max. When I say “multi-platform”, I mean direct connections for Apple’s Lightning connector (used on all current iOS devices, including the iPhone/iPad/iPad Touch) and USB for Android, Chromebook, Mac and Windows devices. I am also including a 9-point pro/con comparison to its closest competitor on the market, the <US$150 i-XLR from RØDE (which is Lightning-only), including test recordings to hear the preamp and A-to-D quality, specs and practical pros/cons, and a “How to choose” section.

Comparison chart

Test recordings

The following test recordings were made sequentially, the same day in a semi-treated environment, using the same Shure palindromic 545 dynamic microphone (illustrated above, reviewed here, Amazon link • B&H link) with its enormous A81WS windscreen (Amazon link • B&H link). Both are uploaded as 48kHz WAV, normalized to -16 LUFS. Since the members of the now defunct ABBA group were unfortunately not available, both recordings are with my voice.

iRig Pro I/O recording with native iRig recorder app for iOS:

https://tecnotur.us/capicuafm/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/iRigPro-IO-545-native_app_normalized.wav

iRig Pro I/O recording with Auphonic app for iOS:

https://tecnotur.us/capicuafm/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/iRigPro-IO_Auphonic_app_normalized.wav

Preamp gain and cleanliness

IK Multimedia has not published or responded with any spec for the official maximum gain of the iRig Pro I/O (Amazon link — B&H link), but based on my observations, it seems to be approximately +52dB max. With the palindromic Shure 545 dynamic microphone (reviewed here, Amazon link • B&H link), I had to set it near to max to get our desired -12dB in raw recordings. However, I was happily surprised to hear a clear signal even at near max. In fact, it seems much cleaner than the preamps in the <US$270 Zoom H5 recorder (whose max gain is officially +52db, Amazon link • B&H link) when both are at near max. Fortunately, with the iRig Pro I/O, I didn’t hear hiss or noise, as typically happens when you bring most preamps near to the max. The palindromic Shure 545 dynamic microphone is not the gain hungriest dynamic mic on the planet, and it isn’t the hottest either, but it is much more so than most condenser mics. Like the SM57 and SM58, the 545 is closer to the middle of the dynamic mic spectrum. If you plan to use the iRig Pro I/O with one of the gain-hungriest dynamic mics, like the Audio Technica RE20 or the Shure SM7B,

you should add a pre-preamp like the FetHead (shown above, B&H link), which would be powered from the iRig Pro I/O’s phantom power function. In this case, the phantom power would power the FetHead, not the mic, and the FetHead would not send any phantom power to the dynamic mic. Normally, you would leave phantom power OFF when connecting the iRig Pro I/O directly to a dynamic mic, which is what I did with the direct connection to the palindromic Shure 545.

On the other hand, as covered in my review of the i-XLR (Amazon link • B&H link), RØDE has explained that the i-XLR has a max of +80dB. That is plenty of gain for even the hungriest dynamic mic. With the same palindromic Shure 545, I had to set the i-XLR’s gain to absolute minimum to get -12db (with the attenuator off). However, the i-XLR is a one trick pony (iOS only/Lightning only) and does not officially offer phantom power. The i-XLR is intended to be used with dynamic mics or self-powered condenser mics (i.e. with batteries inside).

SUMMARY FOR THIS SECTION: The iRig Pro I/O (Amazon link — B&H link) has sufficient clean gain for a dynamic mic like the Shure palindromic 545 mic, which is very similar in gain requirements to an SM57 or SM58. The iRig Pro I/O has more than sufficient clean gain for a condenser mic or hotter dynamic mics like the Senal ENG-18RL (reviewed here, B&H link). If you need to connect an even hungrier dynamic mic with the iRig Pro I/O (like an ElectroVoice RE20 or Shure SM7B), consider getting a pre-preamp like the FetHead (B&H link) to complement the iRig Pro I/O.

Sampling frequency and resolution

Fortunately, both the iRig Pro I/O and the i-XLR offer 48kHz, the absolute standard for audio sampling for video production and distribution. See my related article All audio production & distribution should go 48 kHz.

In addition, both the iRig Pro I/O and the i-XLR offer its 2x cousin, 96kHz. Finally, the iRig Pro I/O also offers 44.1 (a throwback to the ancient CD-Audio standard. Not recommended for video) and its 2x cousin, 88.2 kHz (not recommended for video either).

In terms of resolution, fortunately both also offer 24-bit. See my related article: Understanding 24-bit vs 16-bit audio production & distribution to understand the advantages of recording 24-bit even when not planning to distribute 24-bit.

Hardware compatibility

The iRig Pro I/O is extremely versatile, covering Android, ChromeBook, macOS, iOS, Windows, including necessary cables. It even has MIDI.

On the other hand, the i-XLR is a one-trick-pony, offering only iOS via the Lightning port.

Flexible power options for either interface

The new iRig Pro I/O (Amazon link — B&H link) has multiple power options depending upon your recording situation. When used as a standalone interface for an iPhone, iPad or Android device, you can power iRig Pro I/O with 2 – AA batteries that can also provide switchable 48V phantom power for condenser mics or for a FetHead (B&H link), as explained earlier in this article.

When used with the optional <US$40 iRig PSU 3A, iRig Pro I/O will charge your iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch while plugged in for endless or extended recording and playing sessions. (I didn’t receive an iRig PSU 3A or test that.)

When used with a Chromebook/Mac/Windows computer, iRig Pro I/O gets its power from the USB port and the connected laptop.

On the other hand, the i-XLR normally gets its power exclusively from the iOS device. As designed by RØDE, the i-XLR cannot charge the iOS device either.

However, the i-XLR will likely work together with the iRig PowerBridge (Amazon link • B&H link) from IK Multimedia for <US$70, to get external power and charge the iOS device. (I didn’t receive an iRig PowerBridge or test that.)

Clarifying the phantom power situation

The new iRig Pro I/O absolutely offers switchable 48-volt phantom power, either to power a condenser microphone, or to power a FetHead (B&H link) if necessary to use with an extremely gain-hungry dynamic mic like an RE-20 or SM7B.

The i-XLR officially offers no phantom power. However, some other users and I have discovered that it does power a few XLR condenser mics that demand very low voltage.

CONCLUSIONS FOR THIS SECTION: The iRig Pro I/O works great with phantom-powered condenser mics (with phantom power ON), medium-to-hot dynamic mics (with phantom power OFF) or (optionally) with very demanding dynamic mics via a FetHead (with phantom power ON). On the other hand, the i-XLR works great with any dynamic mic (including those that are very gain-hungry), or a small group of condenser mics that have a very low voltage requirement.

Live monitoring

Unlike its predecessor, the original iRig Pro (reviewed here),

the new iRig Pro I/O does have a 3.5 mm jack for a stereo 3.5 mm headphone. However, I am surprised and a bit disappointed that IK Multimedia did not make it hardware-based and latency free, as the company did with the iRig Pro DUO, which has 2 XLR inputs instead of 1. In the new iRig Pro I/O, the monitoring is software dependent. This means two things:

The software you use to record must offer a live monitoring feature. In iOS, most professional audio recording apps do offer this; IK’s own iRig Recorder does, and FiLMiC Pro does. However, the Apple stock Camera recording app does not.

The latency you hear will depend both upon the software and the hardware.

If you are just in charge of shooting and/or sound (but not trying to conduct an interview or be a vocalist simultaneously), you can probably tolerate the latency. However, if you are also planning to participate by conducting an interview or recording yourself, i.e. a self-portrait (“selfie”) standup or a voiceover, you may not. In that case, I would leave the live monitoring active only doing a sound check, and then deactivate it.

On the other hand, the i-XLR fortunately has hardware-based latency-free monitoring. That will work with any app, without any delay, even consumer apps like the Apple stock Camera recording app or conferencing apps.

Conclusions, and how to choose a single-source XLR interface for your mobile device

I titled the this section as such, because it is not feasible to give a summary of advice for a laptop or desktop computer, given the enormous number of desktop/AC-powered options available, of which there are also many, and I have reviewed several before. That’s why this summary and guide is for mobile devices only, i.e. phones and tablets, and for a single-source XLR.

IF YOUR PHONE OR TABLET IS ANDROID

If your phone or tablet is Android, and you want to record from a single XLR source while bypassing the (typically inferior) preamp and A-to-D converter in your Android device, then the iRig Pro I/O (Amazon link • B&H link) is your only option, since the i-XLR does not work with Android at all.

IF YOUR PHONE OR TABLET IS/ARE EXCLUSIVELY iOS If your phone or tablet is iOS (iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch) and you don’t have any need to use your audio interface with a different platform beyond, and you also want to record from a single XLR source while bypassing the (typically inferior) preamp and A-to-D converter (which disappeared anyway starting with the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus) then other factors should affect your decision.

If you want to use a condenser microphone that requires 48-volt phantom power, the iRig Pro I/O is your only choice, despite any other consideration.

If you want to use MIDI, the iRig Pro I/O is your only choice, despite any other consideration.

If you want to use a dynamic or very low-voltage condenser microphone for which you have already verified compatibility with the i-XLR (or is self-powered, i.e with inboard batteries or an external phantom power supply), you will likely favor the i-XLR (Amazon link • B&H link), since it offers latency-free monitoring with absolutely any app, tally and Record/Pause onboard (at present, only with the free RØDE Reporter app), and offers much more preamp gain without the need of a pre-preamp like a FetHead (B&H link).

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No manufacturer is specifically paying Allan Tépper or TecnoTur LLC to write this article or the mentioned books. Some of the other manufacturers listed above have contracted Tépper and/or TecnoTur LLC to carry out consulting and/or translations/localizations/transcreations. Many of the manufacturers listed above have sent Allan Tépper review units, including IK Multimedia and RØDE. So far, none of the manufacturers listed above is/are sponsors of the TecnoTur programs, although they are welcome to do so, and some are, may be (or may have been) sponsors of ProVideo Coalition magazine. Some links to third parties listed in this article and/or on this web page may indirectly benefit TecnoTur LLC via affiliate programs. Allan Tépper’s opinions are his own.

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