Sometimes the sound you want isn’t traveling through the air - Audio-Technica BP880R has you covered
The Audio-Technica BP880R Waterproof Contact Microphone captures the impact and vibration traveling through a surface itself. That opens up some very interesting possibilities for sports broadcasting, film and Foley production, theater, field recording and other specialty audio applications.
A conventional microphone primarily captures sound waves traveling through the air. The BP880R works differently. It uses a piezoelectric element to pick up impact and structure-borne vibration.
Its very low sensitivity to airborne sound helps isolate those physical sounds. It cuts out surrounding crowd noise, room ambience, wind and other environmental sound.
That distinction is really the key to understanding where the BP880R fits:
When you want to hear what the surface or object itself is doing — rather than everything happening around it — a contact microphone can provide an entirely different audio perspective.
Bring More of the Physical Action Into Sports Broadcasts
Sports audio continues to become more immersive, and sometimes the sounds that make viewers feel closest to the action aren’t coming from a traditional microphone position.
The BP880R is designed to give broadcast engineers another source to work with: the sound being transmitted directly through the playing surface, structure or environment itself.
And this isn’t just a theoretical application. Audio-Technica’s contact-microphone technology has already proven itself in real-world sports productions. (In the events described below, broadcast teams used pre-release prototypes from Audio-Technica’s rental inventory; the BP880R is the commercially available version of that technology, now listed at BAI.)
Figure Skating, Hockey and Ice Sports
Audio-Technica designed this technology to handle one demanding application: capturing sound from beneath the ice itself.
For NBC Sports’ presentation of the 2026 Prevagen U.S. Figure Skating Championships at Enterprise Center in St. Louis, the crew deployed ten contact microphones directly beneath the competition ice.
The microphones captured vibration transmitted through the ice as skaters moved across the surface. That included blade edges carving in, toe picks during takeoffs, landings, crossovers and other movements that conventional rink-side microphones struggle to isolate.
The mics capture sound conducted through the ice rather than the air above it. As a result, they significantly reduce pickup of crowd noise, arena reverberation, PA systems, announcers and music. As NBC’s audio team described it, the ice itself acts like the diaphragm of the microphone — so it picks up the blade on the ice, not the noise above it.
That gives the broadcast engineer something very different to blend into the mix:
the actual physical sound of the performance traveling through the ice.
For the 2026 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, the crew positioned the ten microphones beneath a standard NHL-sized ice surface. They concentrated the placement closer to the perimeter, where skaters generate some of their most sonically dynamic movements — jump approaches, landings, crossovers and edge work.
Audio-Technica designed the BP880R to work beneath different types of competition ice. That makes this same approach relevant not only to figure skating, but also to hockey, speed skating and other ice sports.
Some broadcasters want to create a more immersive “you are there” experience. Capturing the action from underneath the playing surface itself opens up an entirely new audio perspective.
Skiing and Winter Sports
The technology has also already gone to work in another demanding winter-sports environment: ski jumping.
For Brattleboro Community Television’s coverage of the 2026 Harris Hill Ski Jump in Brattleboro, Vermont, Audio-Technica’s rental team placed BP880R prototypes directly within the snowpack. This was part of a broader microphone package designed to make the broadcast more immersive.
The contact microphones captured subtle vibration and impact created as athletes landed in the snow. That added a layer of physical sound that conventional microphones around the hill would struggle to isolate on their own.
This helps especially in a large outdoor sports environment. Wind, spectators and general ambient sound can easily dominate traditional microphone positions.
Rather than relying solely on sound traveling through the air, you can submerge the BP880R in snow. It captures impact and surface vibration directly through the medium itself.
At Harris Hill, those contact microphones worked alongside shotgun microphones positioned along the jump, handheld microphones for the announcers and a stereo microphone on the crowd. Together they created a much fuller soundscape — from the athlete’s approach and takeoff to the impact of the landing and the reaction of the crowd. BCTV reported its highest-ever YouTube audience for the broadcast, with more than 6,000 live viewers.
The same concept can extend to other skiing and winter-sports productions. Broadcasters can bring viewers closer to the physical action and capture sounds that might otherwise disappear beneath the surrounding environment.
Swimming and Aquatic Sports
Here’s where things get even more unusual:
The BP880R can be submerged in water.
Its waterproof construction lets you deploy the microphone in aquatic environments. It captures vibration and impact associated with swimming, diving and other water-based activities.
A microphone above the pool captures splashes along with room ambience, spectators and PA sound. A contact microphone gives production teams another potential layer of specialty audio from within the environment itself.
That could mean capturing underwater movement, impacts or other physical sounds that help create a more immersive production.
Film, Foley and Sound Design: Mic the Object, Not Just the Room
The same concept becomes extremely useful outside of sports.
For film, video and Foley production, you can attach the BP880R to floors, props, set pieces and other vibrating surfaces. It captures the sound traveling through the object itself.
Need the impact of a footstep through a floor? The movement of a mechanical prop? The vibration of a set piece without as much surrounding room sound?
Placing another conventional microphone nearby just captures everything happening in the space. A contact microphone gives sound designers and production teams another isolated source to work with.
Sometimes the better solution isn’t to mic the room more closely.
It’s to mic the object itself.
Theater: Capture What’s Happening Through the Stage
The BP880R also creates some interesting possibilities in theater and live production.
Mount it to or beneath a stage surface, and it captures footsteps, physical movement, mechanical effects and other structure-generated sounds.
Again, the advantage isn’t simply adding another microphone. It’s the ability to capture what is physically happening through the stage or structure while staying far less sensitive to ordinary airborne stage noise.
Some productions want to reinforce the physical impact of movement, scenic elements or mechanical effects. For them, that provides an entirely different source for the audio mix.
Field Recording and Less Obvious Applications
This may be where the BP880R becomes especially interesting.
Audio-Technica designed it so you can:
- Submerge it in water or ice
- Embed it in snow
- Install it in flooring
- Bury it underground
- Attach it to structures or objects
- Mount it using screws and nuts, zip ties or a 1/4-inch threaded mounting point
That means the applications don’t necessarily stop with the examples above.
Field recording, experimental sound design, specialty effects, mechanical vibration, structural sound and unusual environmental recording all become possibilities.
If the question is:
“What does this object, surface or structure actually sound like?” …the BP880R may give you a way to find out.
Why Low Sensitivity to Airborne Sound Matters
One of the most important things about the BP880R is not simply what it picks up.
It’s what it largely doesn’t pick up.
Conventional microphones hear sound pressure traveling through the air. In many environments, that means they also hear crowd noise, reverberation, wind, music, PA systems and everything else occurring around the desired source.
The BP880R is a contact microphone. It favors impact and vibration transmitted through the surface it is coupled to, and it has very little sensitivity to airborne sound.
That makes it especially useful when the customer isn’t asking for “more sound.” They’re asking for a different layer of sound — one that may be difficult to isolate any other way.
Built for Demanding Production Environments
Of course, putting a microphone into ice, snow, water, flooring or earth requires something built for considerably more abuse than a typical studio microphone.
The low-profile BP880R uses a corrosion-resistant DZR brass body designed to withstand harsh environments. Its waterproof body and attached cable provide waterproof performance equivalent to IPX7 standards. That lets you submerge the microphone in water or ice and use it in other demanding installations.
The BP880R includes a permanently attached 20 m / 65.6 ft waterproof cable with a low-impedance output. You can extend the signal over greater distances using balanced cable.
A high-sensitivity piezoelectric sensor and internal preamplifier provide the signal. The microphone operates on standard 20–52V phantom power.
The microphone itself stands just 0.41 inches high. That lets you embed it beneath surfaces such as competition ice without creating a substantial obstruction.
Important note: The microphone body and fixed cable are waterproof, but the XLR connector itself is not.
When Should You Consider the BP880R?
Perhaps the easiest way to understand the BP880R is through the problem you are trying to solve.
A contact microphone should come to mind when someone says:
- “I need to hear the vibration through the structure.”
- “I need to capture what’s happening through the floor.”
- “I need a microphone that can go underwater.”
- “I want the impact sound without all the crowd noise.”
- “I want to capture what the object itself sounds like.”
- “A normal microphone is picking up too much ambient noise.”
- “I need another layer of sound that makes the audience feel closer to the action.”
Those are the kinds of applications where simply adding another conventional microphone may not provide the source you actually need.
The BP880R captures the impact and vibration traveling through the surface or object itself rather than primarily through the air. That makes it a very interesting new tool for broadcast engineers, production professionals, sound designers and anyone looking for a different way to capture the physical sound of an event.
Audio-Technica BP880R Now Available from BAI
The Audio-Technica BP880R Waterproof Piezo Contact Microphone is ready to order from BAI. Visit the product page for full specs, pricing and availability, and add it to your order.
Doing something interesting with it? We’d love to know how you’re putting the BP880R to work — under the ice, in the water, on a stage, or somewhere we haven’t thought of yet. Drop us a note with your order.