XLR Audio into iPad

For those of you who are more adventurous and have wondered if it were possible to have an XLR audio input to an iPad then the answer is yes. As you probably know there appears to be only a headphone out on an iPad but no mic input.

However the headphone out can be used as a mic input with the right connection.  A company called IK Multimedia produce a device called iRig.

This little device sells for £23.99 on Amazon and is easy to set up. Its powered by a Duracell 9V or similar. You can hook up any professional device i.e. the Sennheiser radio mic receivers for classroom/lecture room recording. It even has 48V Phantom power which allows a huge number of condenser mics to be used. There’s also a 3.5mm headphone socket.

First impression: very good for the price. No distortion, clean sound, excellent for lecture recordings. No software needed unless you want it but you do get access to a couple of Apps which I haven’t used.

I used it with the App ‘Explain Everything’ and all worked well.