iLounge conducted audio recording tests with the Wi-Fi and 3G iPad 2, discovering that the Wi-Fi version recorded cleaner audio. The explanation: the mic sits on top of the tablet, which means it’s housed in the 3G iPad’s plastic strip.
Perhaps due to this change in materials, the Wi-Fi model offers markedly cleaner audio than that of the 3G, which sounds slightly muffled and echo-prone as a result. Curiously, we found the GSM 3G model’s audio to be slightly preferable to that of the CDMA model, which seemed to suffer the issues more severely.