Samson Concert 88, Shure BLX or other inexpensive wireless for drama

J

jalco99

Member
My high school drama club has $1,500 which can be spent on wireless for our upcoming show. We're considering the Samson Concert 88 (http://www.fullcompass.com/product/471282.html) which is ridiculously inexpensive, but I worry about performance and longevity. Also considering blx14/pga31 (http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/BLX14PG31-H8). It doesn't look as good without the slim line microphones but I'd expect better performance. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Just some context: The spring show is running off ~$5,000 raised by students fundraising since last spring; the district doesn't have the budget for anything. Currently the only microphones in the 650-seat auditorium (with a noisy ac system that makes hearing un-amplified speech difficult) are wired sure pg48s. However, district is budgeting for a $30,000 sound system revamp in four years (not sure what will be included, or what to do in meantime).
 
With wireless, as with any other product, you get what you pay for. With only $1500 budgeted, I'd recommend either renting what you need or buying a handful of wired, hanging mic's you can use to cover your acting area with. You can't afford high-enough quality wireless in enough quantity to use that $1500 effectively, and you probably don't have the budget to repair/replace those wireless systems when they break (and they will break). Investing more in wired mic's is a better way to go.

Even a $30,000 revamp for a 650-seat theater is hardly any improvement. Going rate for a sound system in 600-800 seat high school theaters is $150k-$250k. Figure a minimum 40% of that for any meaningful upgrade of an existing system, and minimum 60% for an overhaul.
 
If the expectation is one or two channels, then the budget systems would probably be fine. For more channels, you would need to go with a higher end product to avoid problems.
 
$1500 isn't much for purchasing wireless, and if only one show per year can budget wireless you're probably better off renting in for that show.

As far as the distric's $30,000 sound system revamp, you might see if you can get involved in directing where that money goes. Find out who will be in charge of that money then help whoever it is spend it on areas that will make a difference and avoid replacing parts of the system that already do a good job serving needs.
 
If you are going to go low end Shure (cheapest I think is worth using is QLXD, but then you're spending $1200 per channel), use a digital system like the PGX-D and a headworn mic. The sound quality of the digital system will be significantly improved over a cheap analog system.

You don't have to buy the kits - any Shure dealer can sell you a separate receiver and bodypack. I've heard that these mics work reasonably well: http://microphonemadness.com/products/mmpsm.htm , but the Shure MX153 is the cheapest I will go on head worn mics.
 
I'm not sure what the wireless noise is like in your area, but on a recent show I used the ultra-cheap Samson Airline wireless mics. They're fixed frequency and max of 6 channels, but they worked much better than any of the similarly priced Shure or AT options we tried. http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/SWAM2SES-N1

The Samson is a "better than nothing" option, but renting Shure ULX-S or better would certainly be the preferable route.

MNicolai said:
With wireless, as with any other product, you get what you pay for. With only $1500 budgeted, I'd recommend either renting what you need or buying a handful of wired, hanging mic's you can use to cover your acting area with. You can't afford high-enough quality wireless in enough quantity to use that $1500 effectively, and you probably don't have the budget to repair/replace those wireless systems when they break (and they will break). Investing more in wired mic's is a better way to go.
Click to expand...

Typically I would agree with hanging, wired mic's on a low budget instead of cheap wireless, however based on the OP's comment about a noisy HVAC system that makes hanging mic's much harder to use.
 
Thanks for your help, all. I had advised against wasting money on a cheap system, but the director is insisting and will likely buy as cheap as possible. It's great to get a variety of opinions.
 
One other option is used. I've had very good luck buying used Sennheisers off of Ebay. An old Sennheiser is a better bet then a new low end mic. Generally, the G1 series can be had for about $100 for the receiver and about $125 for a beltpack with microphone. G2's are about double that and G3's about triple. The G1's work great and are compatible. New, these are about $600+ for a G3 receiver, belt pack and mic. You could probably put together 6 channels within budget, but the usual Ebay rules apply- look for sellers with 100% and who do a lot of volume. And, putting things together could take some time. Sometimes, you have to track down things like AC adapters, antennas, and such. If you go this route, look for mics that operate in the "A" band (500Mhz). "B" band (600Mhz) is fine for now, but there is talk off the FCC grabbing that band. Do not buy any "C" band stuff (700Mhz) as that is banned, but they are still being sold on Ebay as it is legal in other countries.
Out of the 8 I bought, I only had one dud and that seller did a return/refund.

Sample search: http://www.ebay.com/sch/Pro-Audio-Equipment-/180014/i.html?_udlo=10&hash=item5b0e4a20f5&_udhi=200&item=391081763061&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&_mPrRngCbx=1&_from=R40&_nkw=sennheiser wireless microphone&_dcat=29946&rt=nc
 
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