Wireless Microphone Suggestions

[WVTheatre]

Hey everyone,

I'm looking into purchasing new microphones for an installation in the future. I have decided that I would like to go with either Shure or Lectrosonics, two brands that I trust for reliability (such as Shure's UHF-R, the new Axient series or anything by Lectro). I refuse to use Sennheiser, as I've experienced constant dropouts and subpar audio quality with every unit I've used over the past five years.

As of now there is no budget so anything goes. There is also no preference as to analogue or digital, so feel free to persuade me either way.

Any input is greatly appreciated!


Jay
WV Theatre

 

[jkowtko]

Is digital mature enough to start considering?

 

[Thetechmanmac]

I would go with Shure... Also I bet whoever is running the space (unless they're really pro) would be able to handle/understand analog mics a bit better than digital.

 

[NickVon]

I've never used the Shure fancy stuff only the SLX series and while it's okay for small uses i was never really impressed. I have a personal 4 rack of G2 Ew100 that work great, I have a Facilities 4 rack of G3 Ew100's that two great. I've used both 8 racks and 16 racks of G3 Ew300's, and they all work great. For price point the Sennheiser EW100 stuff is built better then the SLX. That said the high end Shure stuff is great, Then again so is the high end Sennhesier gear.

Other people with have better thoughts on whether to go digital, but if the money is there upfront for the cost, you are future proofing yourself. And if you are going with a digital console and any kind of digital snake/audio network they are a sure bet from the ones I've seen.

If you've all ready really ruled out Sennheiser then i won't try to sell you on them. but I prefer the 1/8 Locking connector over Shure's, and their body pack design and size. I think the Shure UHF-R/D all have metal belt packs but the SLX don't, and that a minus for me when compared to the EW100's.

I'm not familiar enough of Lectrosonic's to comment either way. But if you have a price point that you are looking at per unit others may have other Plus/minues for you.

 

[jkowtko]

Lectrosonics is more of a professional use brand, no? The local high school theater has been using them for years with 24 channels, and recently upped it to 32 channels. No significant RF issues as far as I can tell, and that's with the paddles back at the sound board ~100ft from the stage, spaced only 10ft apart.

 

[WVTheatre]

I do like the ULX-D wireless, especially because of it's Dante capabilities; but Yamaha does make Dante Stageboxes that pair with my console to do the same for any analogue system.
I used to be a fan of the G2 series, that were rock-solid reliable compared to the G3's, but I don't want to buy an old product.
And yes, Lectrosonics is a professional use brand primarily. We've got a rather busy RF environment, and I know firsthand that both Lectro and Shure's high end gear excel there.

 

[Lextech]

I have used lots of Shure wireless and currently have Lectrosonic and Sennheiser. Of them I like the Shure the best in terms of audio quality with the Sennheiser ones a close second. This would be all of them using E6 mics. Lectrosonics are not anymore professional, they are just another brand. Assuming you buy at a level in quality for the amount of channels you need and with proper antennae placement any of the three brands should work fine as long take the time to coordinate frequencies.

 

[BobHealey]

I'd go with the Shure digital at the moment, mainly due to the looming spectrum sell off. How many can get packed into low UHF is going to start to matter more and more.

 

[themuzicman]

Hey everyone,

I'm looking into purchasing new microphones for an installation in the future. I have decided that I would like to go with either Shure or Lectrosonics, two brands that I trust for reliability (such as Shure's UHF-R, the new Axient series or anything by Lectro). I refuse to use Sennheiser, as I've experienced constant dropouts and subpar audio quality with every unit I've used over the past five years.

As of now there is no budget so anything goes. There is also no preference as to analogue or digital, so feel free to persuade me either way.

Any input is greatly appreciated!


Jay
WV Theatre

Sennheiser EM3532/SK5212 is the standard in Broadway and touring theater. I have never had issues when coordinated properly and I have bought over 25 3532 Units and 50 SK5212 units for my venue, replacing older SK50/5012 units that have been in service 8 shows a week for a decade, handling abuse outdoors in the rain as well as indoors in all manner of ridiculous musicals. The rental houses own thousands, and wouldn't invest that money unless they work well and sound good too.

Axient is alright if it's in your budget, but the Sennheiser 9000 Series is truly the best wireless system I have used in years. Frequency hopping of the Axient is alright, but the 9000 Series has the best audio quality. Your money still rides with being good at coordinating your RF and using the most of the available bandwidth, especially as the bandwidth gets tighter you'll find RF Coordinators in more demand, sure has given me some work in NYC helping folks out who need to jam all their RF around all the obstacles.

 

[FMEng]

Any brand and model of system will have problems if proper frequency coordination isn't done, or if antenna systems are not installed correctly. You also have to choose the model based upon the maximum number of active systems. Trying to use too many systems with cheaper, less selective receivers will fail. Most manufacturers offer good advice if you ask.

 

[Henning]

Shure for Shure!

I've generally only worked with EV and Shure wireless microphones. By far the shures were my favourite, for shure!

That being said I've worked mostly with two Shure Wireless systems, the ULX and ULXD4.

ULX: Your standard Work horse, I would give it a 7.5/10 on quality. But it gets the job done.

ULXD4: If your going with ULXD4's for shure get some rechargeable batteries. Ours currently run at an 11 hour battery life (When fully Charged) and the Audio Quality is great. plus that fact that you can use wireless workbench with them makes them the for shure choice.

 

[BillESC]

I've been using Audio Technica's new digital System 10 Pro with great success. The feature set is impressive and the price point acceptable.

http://www.audio-technica.com/cms/wls_systems/aba22caa86183f78/index.html

 

[brin831]

both great choices ... but few things to keep in mind ... the lectro stuff is built like a tank and most hand held units can work with any cap so your really just paying for the transport ... the other thing is they have a feature that most don't offer they have a talk back function which in many situations can be super useful ... they also offer higher power tx levels than most other manufactures they do have a few draw backs though they have a fairly limited tuning range ... you couldn't go wrong with either though ... shure receivers are they easiest and every engineer who's been around for a while is familiar with how they work and if you ever need more they are a dime a dozen to rent because of their popularity.

one more to throw in the pile is the akg dms800 series has 150mhz of spectrum tuning available, has dante and aes, and can work with any popular cap.

 

[TimmyP1955]

The ULXD seem quite nice, the quad receivers save a lot of space if you have lots of channels, and the RF cascade jacks (no combiners needed!) make setup a lot nicer. We have 16 Senny EW100 at the theater and they work fine, but the antenna combiners weren't cheap. If we were in the market now, I'd likely go with the ULXD (but likely not Shure capsules on the handhelds). Lectrosonics are a lot more money I believe.

 

[TDN]

The other thing to keep in mind is the upcoming frequency auction. Whatever you buy now may be obsolete in 3 years. Sadly, there are absolutely no details on "safe haven" channels, those are going to be completely dependent on what market you are in, and honestly, I don't trust the FCC to follow through on actually providing it. This doesn't help you at all- if you are getting only 4 channels, you might be ok in finding an open spot, but if you are looking at 16+ channels, good luck!

I don't know what my advice would be to anyone today looking to buy a system- no guarentees that it will be useful for very long. Calculate your break even point on renting vs buying, since that may be the most crucial factor. If you can break even in a year or two, it may still be worth it. I was able to convince my school to buy a wireless system when the rental cost was 1/3 of buying a nicer system and we were only renting for 2 weeks out of the year.