New Microphone Purchase

BNEL

Member
With the 700 Mhz shut down about 75% of my microphones will become unusable. I have a mix match of wireless microphones. I wish to streamline the operation. I have a brand new facility that is being completed right now which 16 wireless microphones have been speced for it. I need to match that with my old facility. The three big brands I am looking at are Electrovoice, Shure, and Sennheiser. Shure UHF-R. Sennheiser Em 3700 Series. Electrovoice REV UHF series. What is everyones thought of pros and cons of these microphones?
 
Take a look at Lectrosonics as well. If you're in the UHF-R or Sennheiser 3k range, the Lectro is going to be less expensive and more reliable, especially in a school situation. Go with the Venue receiver system (VRT receiver modules) and SMDa transmitters. I own 17 of these and they work wonderfully and are virtually indestructible. Feel free to PM me if you want to do so.
 
If you go with the REV-D system, you'll only need 4 antenna for 16 channels of operation. That's just one of the great features the EV system offers.

With any professional system and appropriate antenna distribution, you should only need 2 antennas for many more. Well-designed systems of Sennheiser, Shure, and Lectrosonics are all possible with upwards of 32 channels on two paddles.

With Sennheiser, you also get the added benefit of using what's become the de facto standard in Broadway, off-Broadway, and touring. With Lectro you get many other benefits (6 channels in 1 RU, optional remote programming of beltpacks, ability to work with rx/tx from other manufacturers, waterproof without needing condoms or polybags), etc, although they've not yet eclipsed Sennheiser in the professional theatre world.
 
I'm curious about the choice between Shure and Sennheiser? We have 14 Shure UCs I need to replace.....about a year ago we bought 4 Shure ULXP4s. All of these work fine, however having the opportunity to essentially start over makes me want to look at Sennheisers. I like the "industry standard" factor as well as the smaller size of the transmitters. In addition, the AA batteries seem more advantageous as I've had much better luck with AA rechargeables than 9 volts. Anyone have particular feelings one way or the other. I guess I should add that our power distribution units would still function with new Shures because of there large frequency range. Anyway, any help would be much appreciated.
 
Realize that some rechargeable batteries do not have the full voltage that a throw away battery would have.

I personally do not like Sennheiser's input jack; I prefer the TA4 connectors that Shure uses on theirs. Other than that, I would use either - so long as they are set up properly, all will be fine.
 
I've had very good luck with the 2000 mAh eneloop rechargeable batteries. Not only do they have plenty of capacity, but they hold their charge for months at a time. We use them with our Lectrosonics SMDa transmitters.

Also, csheleytd, tale a look at Lectrosonics as I said above. They're a bit pricey, but certainly no more pricey than Shure UHF-R or Sennheiser 3k/5k equipment (actually, Lectro sits nicely between "prosumer" mics and true professional systems).

I don't work for them, I swear - I'm just a very happy customer. I'm also happy to answer questions via PM.
 
5 years of graduate school to go... :)
 
If size is the only reason to go the Sennheiser route, one might care to look at the the UR1M from Shure. It is even smaller than the SK5212 from Sennheiser.

I have to disagree with howlingwolf on TA4Fs. They were not Switchcraft's best invention... The knockoffs are worse than the real ones, but they are one of the major sources of issues with headsets etc through our service dept. In contrast, those with microdot connectors seldom fail. There are microdot to TA4F adaptors available and these plus the microdots seem to be the best way of connecting.

Big gig last year we had some dropout issues with the Senny G2 IEMs. We have never had issues with Shure PSM gear. This is a part of why we have an extensive Shure inventory and only a handful of Sennheiser... I'm sure that at one point or more, Lectro would too have been considered... Their price point is not as attractive down here for various reasons...

csheley, your antenna distributioon, which I assume is what you are talking about, in ultimately independent of manufacturer. The governing factors will be the bandwidth that the splitter is happy at and possibly you may need new antenna cables for an oddball receiver. Beyond that, manufacturer is no issue... Ditto for antennas.
 
I've been very happy with Shure's wireless units. I've used the UHF-R systems a few times, most recently Saturday night. I've never had a problem running upwards of 32 ULX systems at once. I don't know your exact situation, but it may be more cost effective to step down to the ULX series, assuming it offers everything you need.
 
Thanks to everyone for their input. Especially Chris15 for the info about the Antenna amplifiers.....that helps a lot. I'll share any other important info I find.
 
Just curious now...and please don't kill me for being harsh in my next line...but...

why does everybody go all ga-ga over Sennheiser crap? personally, I don't like it.
I don't see how that...stuff...can even compare to Shures UHFR gear. It's all I'd ever use! It has so many features, and if you don't like the regular switchcraft connectors, get LEMOS!

Any explanation for this sennheiser support??? ew.
 
Just curious now...and please don't kill me for being harsh in my next line...but...

why does everybody go all ga-ga over Sennheiser crap? personally, I don't like it.
I don't see how that...stuff...can even compare to Shures UHFR gear. It's all I'd ever use! It has so many features, and if you don't like the regular switchcraft connectors, get LEMOS!

Any explanation for this sennheiser support??? ew.

What Sennheiser gear have you used specifically? More specifically, have you used the SK5012/SK5212 transmitters and/or the EM3732 receiver? These are their pro-level products, which are directly comparable to the UHF-R. Evolution series is not comparable to UHF-R, but rather to Shure's ULX or SLX lines.
 
Just curious now...and please don't kill me for being harsh in my next line...but...

why does everybody go all ga-ga over Sennheiser crap? personally, I don't like it.
I don't see how that...stuff...can even compare to Shures UHFR gear. It's all I'd ever use! It has so many features, and if you don't like the regular switchcraft connectors, get LEMOS!

Any explanation for this sennheiser support??? ew.

One word. Quality. (Aside from the fact that the latest Sennheiser models are on par with the UHF-R featurewise.) Sound quality, and, more importantly, build quality. Shure has been notorious for years for miserable build quality, from case design down to the TA4 connectors. Yes, they finally have a Lemo option, but it's not even standard, it's an option. And it's yet another proprietary pinout, non-compatible with the long established stock of Sennheiser-wired Lemo mics.

--Andy
 
You sir have obviously never used the 3000 and 5000 stuff from Sennheiser. I'd put the 3000 series on par with the UHF-R, and it's not even Sennheiser's top of the line unit. Just about every (pro) theatre I've been in uses the 3000 series. It works, it's reliable, and it sounds good. I'll take it over a Shure any day.

I take it you've never used the good stuff from them.
 
Um... quality might be one thing.

There might be a reason why Shure RF was used for the Sydney Olympics, and the Athens Games and 60 channels of R series was bought for the Melbourne Commonwealth Games. The reason was reliability, not a single drop out. The same company as did all of that does own 8 channels of top end Sennheiser, bought before the micro beltpacks came out for R series for a theatre shows that needed the small packs. Sennie IEM packs have given grief where PSM700 never did...

I think it all comes down to weighing up various factors, the subjective sound quality being one of those, when considering preferences...

Is it not the same as the debate over which top end digital console is best?
 

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