Hisong AirStudio S1: a wireless mic for voice and handpan

This article is mainly about the acoustic handpan, and about your voice. An electronic handpan like the Neotone plugs in with a jack, no mic needed: for it, the Hisong is only useful for your voice (see the dedicated section below).

Want to sing while you play, be heard by your students or record outdoors, with no cable between your handpan and the speaker? The Hisong AirStudio S1 is an all-in-one wireless mobile studio. I use it myself: here is what’s inside, what it’s for, and how to buy it.

What’s in the studio

Everything fits in a single case:

• a dual-mode microphone;
• wireless in-ear monitoring: two earbuds, to hear yourself while you play;
• an audio interface;
• a wireless receiver for your phone (the RX Mini);
• a magnetic stand;
• a carrying case.

To play live, you also need the RX Plus (the “Universal” pack): it sends the sound to the PA, the mixing desk or a camera.

One mic, several uses

Voice + handpan

Singing while playing. The mic picks up your voice and your acoustic handpan together, and you hear the result in the wireless earbuds.

On stage

With the RX Plus, the sound goes to the PA or the mixing desk. Your voice and your handpan, wireless, live.

Teaching

Your students hear you clearly, voice and instrument, with no cable running between the handpan and the speaker.

Recording

Mic, monitoring and audio interface in one: a portable studio to capture your handpan and your voice, at home or out in nature. That’s what the first video shows.

Not just for the handpan

The mic isn’t limited to the handpan or to singing. It captures any acoustic instrument (a gonilele, an ngoni, a guitar) and also the speaking voice: a lesson, a talk, a video.

Here, the same studio next to a gonilele.

The RX Plus: what it’s for, how to connect it

The RX Plus is a wireless receiver for the AirStudio S1 mic. It receives the mic’s sound and sends it to your gear. It only works with an AirStudio S1 mic.

Its three outputs (according to Hisong’s product page):

• 3.5 mm jack on the side, for a camera (DSLR, mirrorless).
• 3.5 mm jack on top, line / headphone output, for an active speaker, a mixing desk or a PA: that’s the live one.
• USB-C underneath, digital output to a phone, tablet or computer, to record or stream.

Two volume buttons set the output level right on the box, without the app. It charges over USB-C.

How to use it, the first time: pair it with the mic in the HISONG Link app.

1. In the app: Settings → Device → pair the RX Plus.
2. On the RX Plus, hold both volume buttons until the LEDs flash red and green.
3. Confirm in the app.

Source: the RX Plus page on hisong.io.

Hisong or Muling: which one for your handpan?

The two mics don’t do the same job. They complement each other.

	Muling MP1	Hisong AirStudio S1
What it picks up	The handpan shell (contact)	The air around, wireless
For	Acoustic handpan, stage, noisy room	Voice + handpan, live (with the RX Plus)

If you don’t sing and mainly want to amplify your acoustic handpan in a noisy room, look at the Muling microphone. If you want your voice and your handpan together, wireless, go for the Hisong.

What if you play a Neotone?

The Neotone plugs straight in with a jack, no mic needed. The Hisong is still worth it for your voice: in my nomad setup, it plugs into the Bose S1 Pro+ and turns the whole thing into a mobile mini-studio.

Buy your mic

Here’s my ambassador link: it gives you 5% off (code DAVID-LESAGE-SAVE-5).

My advice: if you want to play live, get the RX Plus straight away.

Two ways to buy:

• Online: you buy on hisong.io, Hisong delivers.
• At the showroom in Paris: I only sell the mic with the RX Plus. You pay online to reserve, upload the screenshot of your payment, then suggest a pick-up date and time (a showcase or a date of your choice).

Live showroom availability and reservation: it all happens on my Hisong page.