Senheiser G-2's or used Lectro's 195-D's

B

bwest

Well-known member
I seriously considering buying my first wireless and I'm budgeting approx. $1100.00 for my first attempt at it! I notice I can buy a used set of Lectro's 195-D's
on E-bay at between $625-725 quite easily! This would still keep me on track for a b-6 or cos-11 in the works!

Would I be better off with this over a new Senn G-2? A step higher...maybe?

I would be working it in the busy Boston area...both indoors and out?
I fear hiss but also RF hits, so I'm not sure which I would be better off with!

Thanks in advance
 
I am in Cambridge with the G2's, love them. Check out Talamas in Newton, they are known to be tops in sound in the area.
 
The Lectro's are going to sound much better BUT they are not frequency agile so you could find yourself SOL, especially in a area like Boston (I have actually heard rumor that Boston's rf is more cluttered then NYC).

If you were looking to expand on your already existing wireless I would say get the Lectro's but if these are your only wireless go with the agile frequency of the G2.

Cheers
 
Score: SENN G-2 LECTRO 195-D
------------ ----------------
3 0


Yes, I'm keeping score!

I got one offline, PM, vote for G-2 as well
And sadly it looks like I'll be living with hiss!
but I guess the Lectro's 195-d's are two damn risky!
"Better sounding" [wabbit] its hard to turn away from?
Having never owned a wireless, I just dont know the RF hit, but I think I've
heard them on my cell phone. Do today's cell phones have agility?
Anyways, I'll heed the recommendations....thanks
 
Actually we need a third party candate of: rent until you can afford better. :)

That would switch my vote and with Oleg's 1.5 for the Lectro we would need the Supreme Court to figure this one out. Prey no DVXUser from Florida gets involved.

:beer:
 
I am not voting for one over the other, I was giving you feedback on the G2's performance in the Boston area and I like them for what I use them for. It is pretty unanimous that lectro is superior to the Senns in general, although some (not all) have said the difference does not become appreciable until you reach the 400 series. Either way, the G2's were right for me and it may or may not be the same for you.
 
I've read this thread a couple times and reserved my input because I think the 195d is the lowest Lectro model that will outperform the G2 in any kind of noticeable way.

Bottom line is transmitter output. You want the most juice coming from the transmitter (and obviously a clear channel) to avoid pops and hits. I've used the 190 and had enough hits that we decided it was unusable... I've used the 195d and still had a few hits in situations that really surprised me... like being within 40' of the wireless and getting several hits.

The G2's only real weakness is it's weakness... the 30mw transmitter is a little on the weak side for a professional tool BUT generally speaking I have fantastic luck with the G2... so much that I'll buy another G2 set before I buy another Lectro set.

If this thread was comparing the 200 series Lectro and up... then it's zero competition. The huge gap doesn't begin at the 400 series... it begins at the 200 series... and then yes, it is a huge performance gap. I'm not Mr. Moneybags either... so unfortunately I don't have my own 200 series Lectros... but when the shot is crucial I don't count on the G2, I rent the Lectros for (ouch) $85/day.

85-90% of the time the G2 is good enough... 95% of the time the 195d is good enough... but you're still not in the "guaranteed sound zone" until you get into the 200 series. So for me, and this is my opinion only, what you get for the price and convenience with the G2 is why I put my money there... while still renting if I don't have the luxury of multiple takes or excuses.
 
I meant exactly what I said... I personally think the 195d is just a little better then the G2. (at your proposed deal of used)

It's not money thrown away, but it's not a whole different animal yet either.

Bottom line... toss a coin and pick heads OR tails.

I'd get the G2 for the convenience of AA battery and the other setup luxuries of the G2.
 
I would only use the G2s if I lived in Nebraska and was a student working on my first project.

It sounds like you are going to be paid for your work. I would not rely on the G2s at all.

Save up a little more, be patient and find some used Lectro 201/UM200 sets. They are out there. In the meantime, find some mixers in Boston, make a deal to borrow their kits when not needed and when you buy your set, return the favor.
 
What do you professional audio guys do about frequency blocks...both Senn and
Lectro have these tables so one can choose the best block for your area of
intended use. But how does an pro audio guy travel to distant lands or here in
the East Corridor of the US...nearby cities? If one were to receive a call to travel to Prov, RI. or NYC from Boston does one explain he has the wireless equipment needed for the job... but the wrong blocks? Or do you gamble with you expensive equipment and try to do the job anyways?

How paramount is it to have these right blocks?
 
You must have clear channels... it's pretty common to rent wireless sets even in your own city. For a pro job you don't take those kind of chances. Every pro guy I know is very familiar with rental houses in any city where they work.

Recently I shot with a 4 man cam crew including Varicam owner/operators... and we still rented wireless sets. (even though this guy had several of his own... he didn't want to take any chances on close frequencies.)

As for yourself... check the charts on Lectrosonics' website... buy the best block for your area... in close ranges you will sometimes still be okay as long as there isn't a strong transmitting frequency right on top of you... that's why the Lectro chart gives frequencies AND mileage.

This is why I always acknowledge 3 levels of production... (and there are many more then that)... amature/beginner... semi pro... and pro. A well-paid pro can't take any chances.
 
so for a small private guy to own four sets of expensive Lectro's in the city of Boston is kind of crazy...unless he was knee deep in local production..
..guaranteed!? One would be better off then, showcasing a selection of wireless
mics?

oh bty...wb Matt
 
If you're getting $500 for a full day of sound then you should be running a wireless behind the wireless, unless you can run hardwired. For one cam I ran 3 channels on one speaker... a hardwired feed on one channel, and then nearly the same wireless setup on the other two channels while outputting a hardwired feed to the cam plus a wireless feed to the cam (so the op can break-away)... my job is to be sure the sound from the wireless is as good as the hardwired sound so that the editor has easy options... if I start hearing pops or hits of any kind I can switch out wireless channels asap and nobody knows there was a problem. This is how I ran sound when the first lady was in town and my setup fed not only our crew but the major STL newschannels which tapped the mult-box.

My sound jobs aren't usually like that... normally I can say that the take was bad for sound (if it really is) and we can re-shoot it... but honestly, even then I better not have too many problems or else it will be time for a new soundguy.

If you're a DVX owner/operator and most of the time you're working on your own projects and helping other locals on things which don't pay that well (sub $300/day for everything) then the G2 is good enough and a great wireless set.

If you're at the point where you get the occasional good paying job ($300 for a couple of hours or $500+ per day for everything) then I'd consider the 195d and/or renting/buying a higher level Lectro.

If you're getting frequent jobs paying well then I'd follow the advice to bypass the 195d and buy 2 of the 200 series sets now.

I'm in the same boat as you really... I can't buy everything I want for sound... and I can relate to the feeling of tossing $$$ away when you rent the gear you want to buy... but renting is very common for professionals. It's just an accepted cost of doing business because whatever the rental fee, it's a lot less then the work lost from a bad reputation.

Really this is all a matter of being honest with yourself about the kind of work that you do, what you expect to do next, and what you can realistically afford. The reason I brought up renting is because the more pro work I do the more I see things being rented for particular jobs... I mean everything... sometimes it's an extra cam, or HMI, or several wireless sets.

I have really good luck with the G2... and I love how convenient they are with the AA power and excellent setup features. For the typical work in STL I'll be buying another G2 set and I'll be renting a 200 series Lectro for anything that's really important... but the good thing about the 195d set is Lectro's reputation and resale value so that's a pretty safe buy.

My point earlier was that for 20% more money you'll probably get 10% more performance... which honestly isn't a bad trade-off... hence my coin-toss comment.
 
MattinSTL said:
If you're a DVX owner/operator and most of the time you're working on your own projects and helping other locals on things which don't pay that well (sub $300/day for everything) then the G2 is good enough and a great wireless set.

If you're at the point where you get the occasional good paying job ($300 for a couple of hours or $500+ per day for everything) then I'd consider the 195d and/or renting/buying a higher level Lectro.

If you're getting frequent jobs paying well then I'd follow the advice to bypass the 195d and buy 2 of the 200 series sets now.
Click to expand...

I agree. I was recently on a job that was paying $500 a day +$200 ENG kit rental fee. A guy showed up with two G2's and an ME66 shotgun. Needless to say he wasn't back the next day. When doing a pro job, you need Pro gear.
 
Well, it SOUNDS LIKE I'll be looking for mics with TA5M connectors over
1/8" locking-mini connectors after all. Seems the best way to satisfy my
immediate needs and still leave room for growth. Same philosophy I used when
I selected the dvx over the pd-170 back in the 24p days when I was just as confused!
 
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