Wireless Cheap Wireless for Kids Show

[LavaASU]

Hey CB,

I'm looking for experience/suggestions for some cheap wireless mics to use for a kid's performance. I suspect there is a very high chance of the mics getting broken (from what I've seen/heard from rehearsals), so rentals are out. Sound quality is also not hugely important-- we just need mommy to be able to hear little Suzie's lines. I'm looking for cheap karaoke type setups (no more than $20/channel for 4 channels). The receivers will be placed either offstage DSR/DSL or hung over the stage to minimize distance and to maintain line of sight. To put in perspective the $17 wireless mic from target that I had years ago would fit the bill perfectly (it worked at least 50' through 2 walls). Oh and long term reliability is not a concern-- we need them for 2 rehearsals and a show.

Thanks!

 

[chausman]

Samson equipment might be what you are looking for.

Samson — Stage 55 Earset System

 

[shiben]

What happened to telling Suzie to talk louder? Worked for us when I was a kid in 5th grade drama club, and its free.

 

[museav]

Samson equipment might be what you are looking for.

Samson — Stage 55 Earset System

But even that is $130 per channel ($120 for the other versions) when they are looking for $20 per channel. It is also fixed frequency, you can't change frequencies you would have to send it back to have the frequency changed if there were any interference or reception problems, and I can't tell from the manual or literature how many systems can be operated simultaneously.

Target still has a cheap wireless 'karaoke' microphone and it's now down to $10. But as some of the reviews on it note, you can't use more than one at a time.

I found some online retailers selling Emerson, Pyle Pro and Technical Pro four channel systems for $160 to $200 or $40-$50 per channel. And the usual pro audio retailers have Nady and VocoPro systems at $340 to $370 or $85 to $92.50 per channel. All of these systems are four channel systems, meaning they are a single four channel receiver unit. If you have to get a replacement transmitter that is then a bit more complex than it sounds as if the manufacturer even offers a transmitter as a product rather than only the packaged system, these systems are also all fixed frequency, thus you would have to get a transmitter of the correct frequency.

In addition, fixed frequency operation means that if you experience interference you send everything to the manufacturer and hope they can, for a cost, modify the related channel(s) to operate on a different frequency. Reading reviews it sounds like it is not unusual for at least one of the four channels to be problematic, however that will depend on the location and the potential sources of interference.

Realistically, you are not going to get wireless microphone systems that will be reliable or allow you to use four at once for $20 per channel. $50 to $100 per channel might be possible but with a risk of not all four channels being usable as well as more costly and/or complex transmitter replacement.