Yeah unfortunately, the bottom price on what I would truly
call a quality wireless lav is about $500. I've had excellent results with both the
Sennheiser 100 G3 and the AudioTechnica 3000 series. Unfortunately, both will cost you around $500. As far as I'm concerned, in that price range, the quality of the transmitters and receivers between Senny,
Shure, and AT are about the same. The big problem is that even with a $500 kit, the
stock lav mics that come in that kit is mediocre at best. So you need to think about upgrading the mic as well... which adds a couple hundred more to the price of the kit. You can buy just the
beltpack and receiver for around $400-$450 and save your money to buy a better lav.
I know it's not kosher but I'm running 13 mics with no antenna distribution and no problems. However that depends a lot on your theater
layout, length of transmission, location of the building in relation to other sources of interference... lots of variables.
Call your local dealer and ask for their best bid.
Look for sales at Guitar Center, Musician's Friend, Full
Compass, and Sweetwater.
If you choose Audio Technia,
Send BillESC a personal message or give him a
call. He got me some excellent prices on AT in the past.