Hollyland Lark Max 2 Ultimate Combo Kit review: an impressive kit for pro sound recordists

I enjoyed reviewing the original Hollyland Lark Max wireless mic kit back in 2023, and was especially impressed with its ability to record audio directly onto the mics (a feature called onboard recording). This essential feature enables you to plug any holes in your recording caused by signal drop-out between the wireless transmitter worn by the presenter and the receiver plugged into your camera. I was therefore keen to see if 2025’s Lark Max 2 had any new tricks up its sleeve!

I was lucky enough to test the Lark Max 2 Ultimate Combo set, which ships with four wireless mic transmitters! This is way more wireless mics than most content creators will require, but it will be useful if you need to capture a team talk or a group of presenters/musicians who each require a dedicated microphone clipped (or magnetically attached) to their lapel.

The Lark Max 2 Ultimate Combo set also ships with a pair of OWS (Open Wear Stereo) earphones. The OWS earphones are designed to enable you to wirelessly monitor the audio from the transmitters so you can listen out for problems such as signal drop-out, wind rumble, or a microphone rustling against a subject’s shirt. You can also monitor audio by plugging a headphone cable’s 3.5mm (1/8”) mini jack into the receiver’s headphone socket, which I found particularly useful on my test shoot with the Lark Max 2, as you’ll see from my test video in the Performance section.

Hollyland Lark Max 2: Specifications

Hollyland Lark Max 2: Price

2025’s Hollyland Lark Max 2 is the flagship mic in the Lark range, so it’s no surprise that it costs a higher price than the entry-level Lark A1, which was also released in 2025. The Lark A1’s two-mic combo kit costs around $80/£70 from Amazon, whereas the Lark Max 2’s two-transmitter kit costs $249/£230. This big price difference isn’t a surprise as the Lark Max 2 is a higher-specced kit, featuring pro specifications such as onboard recording.

This review looks at the most expensive version of the Lark Max 2 - the Ultimate Combo kit. You can pick this kit up from Amazon for $319/£260 - and get two extra wireless mics and a set of OWS earphones to wirelessly monitor the mics via the receiver. However, if you’re a solo operator who only needs one wireless mic, then you can purchase the Lark Max 2 Solo kit for a far cheaper $169/£150.

Hollyland Lark Max 2: Design & Handling

2023’s original Lark Max transmitters were relatively chunky rectangles with a wide mesh covering their microphone. Both of the Lark Max’s mics and their rectangular receiver were stored in a rectangular charging case.

2025’s redesigned Lark Max 2 is sleeker and more attractive than its predecessor. Its transmitters are smaller and lighter (weighing 14g compared to the original Lark Max’s shirt-sagging 33g). The Lark Max was constructed from a shiny textured plastic, whereas the Lark Max 2’s mics and receiver are covered in a sleeker black matt material that makes them look more expensive (and therefore more professional) than the shinier chunky bricks of the original Lark Max.

The stealthier look of the Lark Max 2 is echoed in the more subtle Hollyland branding on the transmitters and the receiver, compared to the lighter and more noticeable branding on the Lark Max units. The sleeker and more confidant, subtle design of the Lark Max 2 evokes a sense that this is equipment that deserves a place in a professional’s kit bag.

When I reviewed the entry-level Lark A1, I was disappointed that it relied solely on a single magnet to attach each mic to a presenter. There was no clip on the A1’s mic, so if its magnet got lost, then the mic would be rendered useless. Fortunately, the Lark Max 2’s transmitters have a built-in clip that clamps them securely to a shirt lapel, so no magnets are required.

However, inside the kit bag, I was pleased to find a collection of magnets. You need to slide a magnet adaptor onto a mic’s clip before you can secure the mic to the outside of your shirt by placing a magnet inside your clothing. The mini magnets are super strong - indeed, when I was trying to attach the four magnets to the four mics, they would fly across the table and clump together as if a poltergeist was at play! There’s little danger of the magnetically attached mics falling off during a shoot.

The downside to using magnets is that the little plastic magnetic adaptor that slides onto a mic’s clip needs to be removed before you can fit the mic back into the charging case. This means you need to make sure that you put the tiny magnets and their adaptors into one of the fabric carry case’s interior pockets, or you might lose them.

Another key component of the Lark Max 2 Ultimate Combo kit is its receiver. It actually has two! The main receiver is designed to slide onto a camera’s shoe mount and be attached via a supplied USB-C to USB-C cable (or a supplied TRS cable). The main receiver has a touch-sensitive screen, so you can adjust properties such as mic gain or turn on a mic’s low-cut filter to reduce the rumble of wind noise. The second receiver is a small capsule with a USB-C plug.

You can plug this receiver straight into a smartphone or laptop and record sound directly to your device, which might be convenient for quick plug-and-play smartphone scenarios when you don’t want to use your DSLR/mirrorless camera. The smaller receiver could also be useful if you want to record audio from a gimbal-mounted smartphone.

Hollyland Lark Max 2: Performance

I usually record video and audio via a smartphone, so I could have plugged the Lark Max 2’s tiny USB-C receiver into my iPhone 16 Plus and transmitted audio to that. However, I wanted to test the Lark Max 2’s more sophisticated receiver with its touch-sensitive screen, so I mounted my iPhone into a Smallrig cage. I was then able to slide the Lark Max 2’s receiver into the cage’s cold shoe mount and attach it to my iPhone via the supplied USB-C to USB-C cable. I then popped the cage on a tripod.

The Lark Max 2 Ultimate Combo kit ships with four microphones - this is the first time I’ve encountered so many mics in one kit. As there’s only one of me, I decided to record a split-screen sequence where four versions of me (wearing the four mics from the kit) would appear onscreen at the same time. By default, each mic transmitter features a constant blue light that indicates that the mic is transmitting to the receiver.

The receiver displays each of the four mics on its display so that you can see that they are transmitting a strong signal. When managing four mics, it can be a challenge to work out who is wearing a specific mic. By swiping and tapping on the receiver’s display, you can assign each mic with a unique colour - Pink for Mic 1, Yellow for Mic 2, Cyan for Mic 3, and Blue for Mic 4. Each mic also displays its relevant colour on its own LED. This useful design touch then enables you to see if there is a problem with a particular person’s mic.

The Lark Max 2 Ultimate Combo kit ships with four tiny wind shields. Unlike some wireless mic windshields, the Lark Max 2’s fluffy ‘dead cats’ clipped firmly and easily onto the transmitters, and they did a great job of keeping wind rumble at bay. To ensure rumble-free noise, you can also use the receiver’s touchscreen display to turn on a low-cut filter on each mic.

A pro sound recordist will always want to monitor the sound quality coming from the transmitters into the receiver (in case of problems such as wind noise or a barking dog!). The Lark Max 2 Ultimate Combo ships with a pair of wireless OSW earphones that are designed to work specifically with the Lark Max 2 receiver. However, after trying to pair the earphones with the receiver, I noticed a message on the display saying that the earphones wouldn’t work when the receiver was receiving signals from four mics (only two). Fortunately, the receiver has a 3.5mm (1/8”) mini jack, so I was able to monitor incoming audio via a classic pair of over-ear headphones.

The Hollyland OWS earphones receive a wireless signal from the receiver over the same 2.4 GHz frequency that enables the mics to transmit to the receiver, so you can monitor audio via the earphones from a distance as you talk. The earphones can also sync via Bluetooth to the Hollyland Lark Sound app, which enables you to update the earphones’ firmware when required.

This ability to monitor your audio wirelessly is great as you’re not tethered to wired headphones plugged into the receiver’s 3.5mm (1/8”) socket. It did take me around 20 minutes to get the earphones to pair with the receiver, but it was certainly worth the effort as I can now hear problems such as drop-out as they happen during a take (so I know that I need to turn on onboard recording by pressing the REC button on my mic).

After testing the input of four mics in my split-screen sequence (see my supporting video), I took the Lark Max 2 kit to a local playing field to do a distance test. Hollyland claims that the Lark Max 2 can transmit audio up to 340 metres with line of sight. Normally, I count my steps while walking approximately 100 metres away from my camera to hear if a mic can transmit a clean signal over that distance.

I used my DJI Flip drone to fly 150 metres away from my camera. I then walked to collect the drone and spoke to the camera-mounted receiver from 150 metres away. The signal was audible, but it suffered from some drop-out, so Hollyland’s claim of 340 metres seems inaccurate.

To be fair, 150 metres is the furthest distance I’ve tested any wireless mic for Digital Camera World, and you could barely see me at that distance, so it’s unlikely that you’d need to record audio from such a long range. Plus, it was an easy edit to take the onboard recorded 32-bit floating-point .Wav file from the mic and use it to fill any gaps in the broadcast audio in Final Cut Pro.

Finally, I tapped the mic’s noise cancellation button. It took the edge off a passing jet while keeping my voice free of the type of processed distortion that noise cancellation can create on cheaper or less effective mics. So that’s a big thumbs up for the Lark Max 2’s AI-powered noise cancellation feature.

Hollyland Lark Max 2: Verdict

For most content creators, the Hollyland Lark Max 2 Ultimate Combo will be overkill, as most people don’t need four wireless mics in one kit. However, it’s always good to have a couple of extra mics up your sleeve in case you do get commissioned to wirelessly record a group presentation. You can always enjoy the quality of the Lark Max 2 and save money by purchasing a cheaper 2-mic (or 1-mic) version of the kit.

I loved the curved matte black design of the transmitters (with their understated Hollyland branding). The audio quality broadcast by the mics was rich, clean, and clear, and the safety net of onboard recording meant that any holes could be easily plugged. The fact that the mics couldn’t broadcast a clean signal from 150 metres was negligible, as I’d never need to film someone from that distance during a normal shoot.

The touchscreen on the receiver was large and bright enough to operate outdoors, and the navigation was easy enough to adjust properties such as mic gain and earphone volume levels.

The inclusion of the wireless earphones was particularly useful as I could monitor audio quality wordlessly from the receiver during a take - something that’s essential for a pro sound recordist (though I did find it a bit of a battle to get the earphones to pair with the receiver). All in all, the Hollyland Lark Max 2 is a kit that I can see myself using when recording my voice for other product reviews, such as stabilisers and LEDs, especially as I can monitor the receiver’s audio input from the Combo kit’s wireless earphones.

Alternatives

The Hollyland Lark Max 2023 incarnation has a similar spec to the Hollyland Lark Max 2, with 24-bit depth and a 48 kHz sample rate. However, its chunky, more angular transmitter and receivers are not as sleek or attractive as the Lark Max 2’s. If you can find one, it should be a bit cheaper than the Lark Max 2.

Read our full Hollyland Lark Max review

Like the Lark Max 2, the Sennheiser Profile mic kit has the additional safety feature of 32-bit float onboard recording, which is (unlike the Lark Max 2) triggered automatically when signal drop-out occurs. You can then plug any holes in your recording using the .wav file captured directly onto the mic.

Read our full Sennheiser Profile Wireless review