A $2,490 Wireless Podcasting Kit Is Absurd, But At Least This One From Nomono Sounds Great

"A $3,000 podcasting kit, in this economy?" That was my first thought when I heard about Nomono's portable recording setup last year. Since then, the price has dropped slightly to $2,490. But my main concern remains: who needs this thing when you can get a small audio recorder and lavalier mics for much less? Still, I was intrigued.

Nomono's kit includes four wireless sanitary mics, plus a space logger for room tone and spatial data, all of which load into a portable carrying case. Your recordings are automatically uploaded to Nomono's cloud service, where you can optimize their audio quality (and optionally edit them in your browser). As someone who's been a regular podcaster since 2008, the notion of an all-in-one kit that can easily tackle local recordings sounds like an absolute dream. Nomono's kit has the potential to be something the podcasting industry has needed for years, but can the company justify its insanely high price tag?

Gallery: Nomono Podcast Kit | 5 Pictures Gallery: Nomono Podcast Kit | 5 Pictures

Obviously this isn't a product for everyone - it's definitely not for beginners, and I'd say it's way beyond what most podcasters actually have need. But after testing Nomono's kit for a few weeks, I can see how it could be useful for recording studios and businesses that need flexible podcasting solutions. It doesn't require a lot of training to use, it offers high quality recordings, and it can be deployed just about anywhere. For those folks, spending $2,490 on Nomono's kit may make more sense than having an engineer spend time on every recording. Add to that a cloud subscription, which can cost up to $29 per month, and it certainly doesn't seem like something for mere podcasting mortals.

You can tell that Nomono strives for Apple-level design just by looking at its hardware. Even though everything is plastic, nothing feels cheap. The egg-shaped charging case has a fabric handle on top as well as a USB-C port. Its two halves snap together with secure clasps - open them, remove the top and you're presented with four lavalier microphones around the space recorder. It's like an adorable podcasting bird's nest.

Photo by Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

The Spatial Recorder serves as the hub for the entire Nomono experience: it's a rectangular device with omnidirectional microphones to capture room sound with spatial information (it can tell where everyone is during a conversation). There's a small screen at the top displaying the battery levels of all connected washing machines, as well as prominent recording and direction buttons. On the side, it has a USB-C port and a 3.5 millimeter headphone jack. As you capture audio, Spatial Recorder takes data from the lav mics and uploads it to Nomono's cloud after your session is over.

Lavaliers aren't quite as unique: they're indiscreet little square pucks with four LED colors (useful for distinguishing each track). They stick to your clothes with little magnets, making them easy to put on, but potentially just as easy to take off. The lavs never fell off during my testing, but I was constantly worried about dropping one and losing the little magnet. (Nomono includes additional magnets in its bundled accessory kit, which also includes windshield sleeves for the toilet and space recorder.)

Photo by Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

Setting up the Nomono hardware was relatively straightforward: after charging the case, I downloaded the Nomono Companion app, created an account, and paired the kit to my phone. The application displays the battery levels of the sanitary microphones and the space recorder. To capture audio, you just need to remove the spatial recorder and at least one lav, t...