Lom Audio
https://store.lom.audio/
sold out old the time
The Great Field Recording Swindle
Or: Why I'm Done With Artificial Scarcity, Social Media Drops, and a Community Led Around by the Nose
There's this one thing in the field recording world everyone whispers about, but no one really has the guts to say out loud. So I'll do it. Grab a coffee. Or something stronger.
Lom Audio. We need to talk.
For the uninitiated: Lom Audio is a small Slovak manufacturer of microphones — Uši Pro, mikroUsi, basicUcho, Priezor, and so on. The mics are tiny, sound good, and cost around €130 a pair. Field recording enthusiasts on Reddit, YouTube, and Facebook groups recommend them relentlessly. "Get Lom Usi, it's the holy grail!" — "Best mics for the price!" — "Wait for the next drop!"
And that's exactly where the madness begins.
Welcome to the Drop Casino
Lom doesn't just sell microphones. No, Lom drops microphones. Like Supreme. Like Yeezys. Like limited sneakers that 15-year-olds camp outside stores for.
The routine is always the same: They post on Instagram or Facebook: "Next drop on March 23 at 16:00 CET. They may sell out fast ⚠️." And then this happens: The shop opens. Two minutes later, everything is gone. Gone. All microphones. Sold out. Game over.
A Facebook group documented this beautifully: May 2023, basicUcho drop. Availability in the shop: exactly 2 minutes. And not because of a server crash. Because the artificial scarcity is celebrated so aggressively that 200 people simultaneously hammer the "Buy" button like it's a 2003 eBay auction.
And those who miss the drop? They get to wait months. For the next holy drop. For the next Instagram post. For the next email notification — which, by the way, arrives after everything is already sold out. Not kidding. People report receiving the stock notification when there was nothing left to buy.
What's Inside? Shh, Trade Secret!
The truly twisted part: Lom is maximally opaque about which capsules they use. The community has long since figured out they're standard Primo EM272 capsules — the same ones found in €40 lavalier mics. But Lom stonewalls. Micbooster in the UK sells the exact same capsule in their Clippy microphones — with full transparency, at half the price, and without artificial scarcity.
Dr. Badphil, one of the few serious reviewers in this niche, writes dryly:
“FEL/Micboosters make this clear (and sell the bare capsules too), while LOM are rather more coy about what is inside their mics.”
That's British for: "They have something to hide."
Oh Right, the EM272 WiFi Problem
While Lom waves around with mysterious marketing, there's a real technical problem: The Primo EM272 capsule is susceptible to high-frequency interference — meaning WiFi interference. Micbooster openly warns buyers about this. Lom? Radio silence. Not a word.
Imagine this: You waited three months for a drop, dropped €130, head out to record — and your recording sounds like a fax machine because your Rode Wireless GO II is 20 meters away.
But Hey, the Community Loves It!
This is the part that genuinely makes me angry. The community plays along. People proudly post their "haul" pictures after successful drops. "Finally snagged one!" — "After 8 months of waiting!" — as if that were a virtue. As if artificial scarcity were a feature, not a bug.
No, people. This isn't a premium experience. This is Stockholm Syndrome with an XLR connector.
Lom makes a brilliant product. The microphones are good. But the business model is disrespectful to their own customers. You're not Supreme. You're a microphone manufacturer from Slovakia. Act like it.
The Alternatives: Buy Elsewhere. Buy Better.
Fortunately, they exist. Here are the microphones Lom doesn't want you to know about:
1. Micbooster Clippy EM272 (UK)
The direct Lom killer. Same EM272 capsule, full transparency, always in stock. No Instagram refreshing, no countdown timer, no shaking.
Clippy EM272 Stereo (3.5mm Plug-in-Power): £82.94 (~€97)
Clippy EM272 XLR Stereo (Phantom Power): £125.94 (~€147)
Shipping to Europe: ~£10
Delivery time: a few days
→ micbooster.com
2. Immersive Soundscapes EarSight (France)
My secret tip and probably the best Lom replacement. A French one-man operation using AOM-5024L-HD-R capsules. These are 4–5 dB more sensitive than the EM272, have no WiFi interference issues, and sound excellent in tests. Dr. Badphil attests: "deeper bass, clearer mids, lower self-noise."
EarSight PIP Stereo (3.5mm): €75
EarSight P48/XLR Stereo: €85
Transparent specs, no drops, no nonsense.
→ immersivesoundscapes.com
3. Sonorous Objects SO.1 (USA / NYC)
Newcomer from New York with a growing fanbase. Also uses Primo EM272 capsules, but in clever acrylic housings. 14 dBA self-noise, 108 dB dynamic range. Available via Etsy and their own website. 5-star reviews.
SO.1 Omni Stereo Pair: ~$115 (~€105)
→ sonorousobjects.nyc
→ etsy.com/shop/SonorousObjectsNYC
4. DIY: Solder Your Own Capsules
For those who really want to save: Primo EM272 capsules cost about €15 each from Micbooster. Add two Neutrik connectors, some cable — and you have a pair of microphones for under €50 that does exactly the same thing as a Lom Uši Pro.
Price Comparison (Stereo Pair, July 2025)
Manufacturer Model Price Capsule RFI Issue Availability
Lom Audio Uši Pro €130 EM272? (secret) Yes (EM272) 2 min / drop
Micbooster Clippy EM272 €97 EM272 Yes (warned) Always
Immersive Soundscapes EarSight €75 AOM-5024L No Always
Sonorous Objects SO.1 €105 EM272 Yes (EM272) Usually
Bottom Line: If You Play Drop Games, You Don't Deserve Your Customers
Lom Audio is not an evil company. They make good microphones. But their sales policy is revolting, and the community should finally stop romanticizing it.
Artificial scarcity is not exclusivity. Drops are not a service. And a "Sold Out" sign on the website is not a quality feature — it's a sign that someone can't manage their supply chain. Or worse: that someone deliberately underproduces to keep demand artificially simmering.
When I want to buy field recording microphones, I want to buy microphones. Not participate in a social media lottery. Not plan my calendar around Instagram posts. And certainly not wait months to spend €130 on a capsule my neighbor solders into their DIY project for €15.
Stay away from the drop circus.
Get EarSights or Clippys. They're better, cheaper, and — imagine that — actually available for purchase !
This article was compiled using researched facts from field recording communities (Reddit r/fieldrecording, Facebook LOM label group), independent reviews (Dr. Badphil, Acoustic Nature), and direct price comparisons. As of July 2025.