This mic is practical for camcorder use. The short mini-stereo to mini-stereo cable serves its purpose for that, but I am using the mic with a handheld digital recorder. I can use that cable into a stereo EXT MIC jack, despite the short length. Ideally though, I would prefer to use the two separate bonafide mic jacks on the recorder for enhanced input control. My Zoom H4n PRO offers the XLR/TRS combo jacks for mic or line use respectively. The longer cable thats supplied with this mic splits the mini-stereo plug into separate left & right sides. The 1/4" adaptors fit the combo jacks fine but those 1/4" inputs want to see a line level signal. I cant adjust that. The mic is hardly audible going that route. It would help to have an XLR option at the end of the longer cable pair. Unless you have the 1/4"-ers going into a mixer with gain adjustment, theres no use for 1/4" plugs for mic level use. Not much gear out there has standalone 1/4" mic jacks. And you cant just plug a third party mini-stereo to double-XLR connectors into the bottom of the mic because the access hole is threaded for screwing/securing the supplied cables into. The supplied cables are proprietary! The deepened hole prevents a regular mini-stereo plug from making contact inside. So the most beneficial solution is to cut off the ends of the long cable and solder XLR plugs onto it, or some silly adapto-rama using a mini-stereo fe/fe barrel tween the short cable and a third-party mini-stereo to twin-XLR cable. Kind… read more of disappointed that Audio-Technica would assume 1/4" plugs are acceptable for most true mic level configurations.

Musical Background:
Synth Enthusiast

Musical Style:
Mic to be used for ambient recording of events or sounds in nature. read less