Review: Fulaim X5M wireless mic for mobile and mirrorless cameras

Review sample provided by Fulaim

The Fulaim X5M is minor update to the Fulaim X5 wireless mic system released in 2024.

Price listed on Fulaim's online store is USD 90 and USD 110 for the standard model and the one with 4GB onboard recording. It's USD 119 on Amazon US and at time of review, you can get an additional $20 off with a coupon.

The X5M is a variation to the X5. The receiver has been redesigned to work with smaller connectors for the various adapters: 3.5mm, lightning and USB-C.

Bottom line

Audio quality varies depending on the device used and the environment.

The mic record clear audio quality to mirrorless cameras and Android devices. Volume recorded to iPhones and iPads is extremely low with the USB-C connector, and this is not a problem specific to Fulaim though.

The mic struggles when recording in noisy environment, and when you enable noise cancelling there will be slight voice distortion.

By the way, I'm still using the Fulaim X5 that I received last year because I like the quality, but I mostly use it indoors for recording my Youtube videos.

Battery life is good and you can get around 6 hours of use with a single recording session, or a total of 18 hours with the charging case.

This wireless mic is extremely portable and has a charging case can hold all the three connectors. The downside (for me) is the transmitters cannot be stored together with the furry windshield.

Specifications

• Frequency Range: 2.4Ghz (2402 - 2480 MHz)
• Modulation: GFSK
• Frequency Response: 30 Hz to 20 kHz
• Audio Latency: 20ms
• Transmit Power: 10 dBm
• Wireless Transmission Range: 656 feet (200 meters)
• Audio Quality: Hifi Stereo - 48kHz/16bit
• One-Click Noise Canceling: Yes
• Battery Life: 18 hours
• Real-Time Monitoring: Yes
• Compatibility: iPhone, Android Phone, Personal Computer, Camera, iPad/Tablet
• Dimensions charging case: 99 x 42. x 66mm, 144g
• Dimensions transmitter: 47 x 26 x 13mm, 18g
• Dimensions receiver: 47 x 29 x 14mm, 21g
• Total weight: 240g

Things included

• Charging case
• 2x transmitters
• 1x receiver
• USB-C adapter
• Apple Lightning adapter
• 3.5mm adapter
• USB-A to USB-C charging cable
• USB-C to 3.5mm cable
• 3.5mm to 3.5mm extension cable
• 2x furry windshield
• Hotshoe extension
• User manual

Design

The charging box has been redesigned to fit the USB-C, Apple Lightning and 3.5mm adapters. It's really convenient to have all the adapters, receiver and transmitters in one box.

The only thing that would make this charging case perfect is if there's space to store the furry windshield without removing it from the transmitters. Also if you bring cables and the coldshoe mount, you have to find another place to store them.

Battery life and charging status lights are in front. USB-C charging port is behind. Battery life is around 6 hours for a single recording session, and you can get up to 18 hours with the charging case.

Battery life is definitely sufficient. My workflow is to record, go for lunch and charge the mic, and record till the end of the day.

The receiver (left) and two transmitters are compact and lightweight.

These are the connectors that can attach to the receiver. They will slide in and lock into place.

The receiver has a display that shows battery life, connection strength, audio mode, volume, recording to internal storage. Display does not show noise cancelling status (shown on transmitter as the lower blue light).

The display isn't particularly bright so it's difficult to see under strong sunlight.

Pressing the "dB" button will adjust the volume up to 5 levels. Press and hold the "dB" button for 3 seconds switches from between mono, stereo, Ms (safety track) recording modes.

The transmitter has a 3.5mm audio jack that you can connect to a lavalier (for interviews) or shotgun mic (for event coverage). "SET" button can be used to enable or disable noise cancelling, and the lower blue light will appear. Press and hold the "SET" button for 2 seconds and internal recording will start, and a red blinking light will appear.

In addition to the clip, you can also use the detachable magnet to hide the transmitter behind your shirt. This way, you don't need to install the furry windshield.

The furry windshield can be inserted to the omnidirectional mic at the top, and you can twist it to lock it securely in place.

Since there are two transmitters, you can record two person at the same time, and this is great for interviews.

I prefer to use the furry windshield but there's no space in the charging case to fit that. And you have to find some place to store the windshield when not in used too. So when using this mic, I usually use it without the windshield and have the mic behind my clothes instead, to block out the wind. But it's not as comfortable compared to clipping the mic outside.

The USB-C and lighning connectors make it easy for you to connect to iPhones and Android devices, or even computers.

That's the receiver attached to the 3.5mm connector which is attached magnetically to the coldshoe mount fixed to the mirrorless camera. The magnet is strong but not that strong so the transmitter can be knocked off and will dangle by the cable.

It may be possible to attach the transmitter with 3.5mm connector directly to the port of your camera, but this may interfere with the flip screen or camera strap, and an accidental hit may break the 3.5mm connector.

Sample audio and best audio settings

Below's video where you can hear the audio samples. I did not bother including the iPhone recording because volume is too low.

Noise cancelling works fine enough, but there will be some distortion to the voice which is not surprising.

Mirrorless camera
Volume is set to 1/5 when recording in noisy environment, or 2/5 in quiet environment.

iPhone
Volume has to be set to 5/5 as iPhones and iPads have problems with recording at proper volume. Even so, you'll likely have to increase the gain during the edit.

Android devices
Make sure your Android recording app can choose external mic as input.

Computer
Volume has to be set to 5/5, and mic has to be held very close to the mouth for better audio quality.

Conclusion

The audio quality is decent as long as you don't use the mic is extremely noisy environment. I tend to use the mic without noise cancelling because I don't like the voice distortion.

Two main downsides would be the receiver can be knocked off the cold show mount easily, and there's the low volume problem when recording to Apple iPhones and iPads.

The pricing is definitely quite attractive.

Availability

The Fulaim X5M can be purchased from Fulaim online store (15% coupon: BFSALE) and Amazon US.