I will reveal the mics and their cost in a few days.

First round was in my office with nothing but my PC fan. Second round I played some crowd chatter on a loop and stood about 6 feet from the speakers.

When connecting each mic, I adjusted the recording level on my Tascam DR-05 so they were at their max, just before clipping point.

Feel free to give your thoughts, or rank them.

Lavalier Mic Comparison - Recorded on Tascam DR-05 on Vimeo

P.S. None of these are beyond $250/£160. No Trams or Sankens here!

2 & 3 sound best to me, about the same. Didn't care as much for the others.

Doesn't look like too many are interested! But it may serve it's purpose for those stumbling on this thread in times to come...

Here are the mics I tested:

1 - Olympus ME-15 £19
2 - JK MicJ 044 - £22
3 - Azden EX-503 £26
4 - Giant Squid Audio Lav £36
5 - Rode Smarlav+ (inc adaptor) £53
6 - Rode Lavalier microphone (inc adaptor) £159

Personal preference all things considered is the MicJ. Its super neat and tiny, and seems well made. I see no reason at all to spend Over £100 extra to get the Rode Lavalier Microphone over the Rode Smartlav+.

#1 for the Azden - I've just ordered a couple :)

Interesting test, I'd guess we all hear it a little different from each other and have personal preferences, No2 (JK MicJ 044) sounded just a little cleaner without being 'tinny' and without too much bass, it also rejected the background noise a little better....but then I've been using one for 4 months with a Zoom H1.

A re-test of the mics in a room with no PC fan, and recorded at lower input level, and boosted in post.

The Olympus and Giant Squid I already own - of the rest I think I may return them all bar the JK MicJ. Thoughts?

Mic Comparison2 on Vimeo

Giant squid worked best for me