IK Multimedia iRig Mic Pre Review

The iRig Pre is a mic preamp with built-in phantom power (48v) and a gain control, allowing you to connect a dynamic, ribbon or condenser microphone to your iPhone or iPad via the XLR input; basically you can connect your high quality studio grade mics to your device and capture optimum sound for your projects at a level of quality unachievable with the inbuilt microphones or the cheaper passive mics that connect directly to it.

The iRig is compact, making it ideal for carrying with you for location recording. It houses a 9 volt battery inside (powering both the unit and the microphones that require phantom power) which will power the unit for 30 hours when using dynamic microphones or 10 hours when employing a mic that requires phantom power. 

A 40cm TRRS cable is used to connect to the headphone input of your IOS device. You may find it useful to add an extension cable to your kit, allowing you more flexibility with placement of the mic pre in relation to the device and mic. Velcro is provided to allow you to connect the pre to a tripod or mic stand. It also has a headphone socket on the unit so you can monitor your recordings. 

The unit is only made of plastic. While it is sturdy enough, it is still plastic so care should be taken with it.

The unit’s self-noise is very low, but still evident to some extent. However for the price this is more than acceptable. To get the best possible results IK Multimedia recommend the following:

…when using the iRig Pre: "1. If present, set the input gain on the app you're using for recording at UNITY gain, typically shown as 0dB. 2. By looking at a recording level meter on the recording app, adjust the GAIN CONTROL on iRig PRE so that the recording level is as high as possible without distortion."

This is an ideal unit for location recordings, podcasting, vlogging, school video presentations, recording better quality videos for social media, and whatever else you can think of.