Assisted Listening Microphone

[dmx]

Good Evening!

A local venue has been using a hanging choir mic to feed their assisted listening system. The mic is now dead and they are researching a replacement. Trying to keep costs under $300. Would you recommend another hanging mic or go with a shotgun? Any help is greatly appreciated!

Thanks!!

 

[FMEng]

Mics left installed like that rarely fail. Has anyone tried troubleshooting to see why the existing mic doesn't work? Did the phantom power for it get turned off?

 

[RonHebbard]

Mics left installed like that rarely fail. Has anyone tried troubleshooting to see why the existing mic doesn't work? Did the phantom power for it get turned off?

@dmx Even with silver flashed XLR's. monitor mics which have remained plugged in undisturbed for years have been known to fail due to oxidation on the contacts anywhere along the way. Try unseating and reconnecting a few times and, if this works, consider adding a small amount of contact cleaner de-oxidizer.
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard

 

[TimMc]

The other factor is we know nothing about the acoustic properties of the space (we'll presume the acoustics are too reflective) and whether anyone actually listens to the feed.

Most one-mic pickups are frankly terrible at HELPING the hearing impaired. Why funnel a terrible program into their ears? How to fix this is another discussion and is dependent on whether one is trying to genuinely assist or simply ticking a box on a list of ADA requirements.

 

[Amiers]

So I’m no sound person but with the new digital consoles out can’t multiple audio feeds be routed into said devices eliminating the need for a hanging mic?

 

[MNicolai]

So I’m no sound person but with the new digital consoles out can’t multiple audio feeds be routed into said devices eliminating the need for a hanging mic?

Depends on the situation. If you have a largely acoustic event or principals without mics, then you need a dedicated mic. At a school level or for musicals, we generally assume these days most principals are miked, but there's appropriately a whole lot of theater out theater where that's not the case and possibly nobody at all on stage is wearing a mic.

My preference has always been to have a room mic that is ducked when fed by a vocals-only feed from the console. As many of my projects are schools, I suspect many times they wholly forget to set up a feed for that, in which case the room mic does most of the heavy lifting. You also generally don't want the ALS mix to be purely vocals because then you miss out on the other auditory experiences of the show with that earpiece jammed on your ear. So that's why it's nice to have a dedicated room mic you can use that's ducked during active speech but but fills in the auditory gaps between speech.

Doesn't fit the budget here, but I generally spec Shure VP88's and balance the mid/side so that it's neither too dry nor too reverberant for the ALS feed. I also spit an unprocessed feed back onto the system's Dante network that anyone can use to record either directly to the onboard recorder in the mix console or through Dante Virtual Soundcard.

Other benefit of having a dedicated room mic is you can feed a similarly ducked version of the audio into the lobby/dressing rooms/corridors/scene shop/green room/etc.

 

[dmx]

Thanks for all of your input!

A couple of answers (and some not-so-much answers):

I have been unable to visit the venue to confirm the plug-unplug method offered.

It is a smaller venue, where they often do not use any microphones. In addition to the asst. listening system, the feed also drives the audio for the TV monitors backstage and in the green room.

Admittedly, the system is not used THAT often, but it was installed with a grant from the city, so mgmt is keen on keeping it working.

I like the look of the VP88, but as stated, it is a bit outside of the budget.

Additional info: Stage is a 3/4 thrust with the current mic hanging at proscenium center. Hasn't ever worked great but something is certainly better than nothing!

Thanks again!!

 

[TimMc]

Thanks for all of your input!

A couple of answers (and some not-so-much answers):

I have been unable to visit the venue to confirm the plug-unplug method offered.

It is a smaller venue, where they often do not use any microphones. In addition to the asst. listening system, the feed also drives the audio for the TV monitors backstage and in the green room.

Admittedly, the system is not used THAT often, but it was installed with a grant from the city, so mgmt is keen on keeping it working.

I like the look of the VP88, but as stated, it is a bit outside of the budget.

Additional info: Stage is a 3/4 thrust with the current mic hanging at proscenium center. Hasn't ever worked great but something is certainly better than nothing!

Thanks again!!

If keeping the city grant equipment working is important, getting access to the current microphone, wiring, and connected electronics needs to be a "keen" priority for management. I agree that the likely failure is oxidation, but would not rule out rodent or insect damage to wiring or failure of an electronic component that runs 24/7 (intended or not).