C200: Any recommendations for a wireless lavalair mic/system to use

Stills2HDConvert said:
Any recommendations for a wireless lavalair mic/system to use with a C200?
Click to expand...

My recommendation, and I'm entirely serious, is to avoid wireless as much as humanly possible. Wireless is a last resort, not a first. No wireless system, no matter the cost, competes with wired well on at least three main points. First, an XLR cable sounds better. Second, an XLR cable is way more reliable. Third, an XLR cable is way less expensive.

But if you insist on wireless, I wouldn't (and haven't) considered anything below the Sennheiser G3s (used) or G4 (new). And with these I'd only use the kit lav. as a backup. I replaced my ME-2 kit mics with Oscar Soundtech 802s which give a big step up in sound quality. And I have OST's XLR converters so I can use them wired (converts phantom power to plug-in power for the lavs). But even owning the Sennheisers, I use the OST 802s 90% of the time wired because they sound better and it's way less hassle.

If you're going to use wireless all the time (as in every day) then I'd go for Lectros or Zaxcoms. For that level of use get professional equipment and save your sanity. And they're still less than half the cost of your C200.
 
Last edited:
mizzar said:
I use a Lectrosonics LR/LT combo with the C200's XLR line input. Performs very well! Non-Affiliate link:

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...nics_zs_lrlt_a1_lr_receiver_belt_pack_lt.html
Click to expand...

I would also suggest the LR/LT combo. Or you could replace the LT with an SSM or SMWB. You will see a lot of G3/G4 Sennheiser as basic entry level camera mount receivers, but the really nice thing about the LR is that it gives you much more information about open frequencies, sound levels, and it can send tone to the camera to let you know what you your preamp gain needs to be for proper gain staging. You also get IR sync and you can change the gain on the transmitters with your phone. I've also had better luck with the Lectrsonics over the Sennheisers for weird interference issues.
 
Wireless sucks. Always has, not sure if it always will. If you have money, Lectro is the Gold Standard. If you're cheap like me who usually likes to hire pro sound mixers who have a raft of Lectros but sometimes has to do it myself, the Røde Wireless Video Mic is amazing for the money. I've used a friends Sennheiser G3 three times this year and even with scans, it has screwed me three times with blasts of white noise, mosquito hits, just terrible. I've told him next time he makes me use it, I am throwing it into the ocean. My Røde, OTOH, has been amazingly good, with clear, clean sound almost everywhere. Sure the transmitter is too large and the system is too plasticky but the results are great.
 
Lectro, Lectro, Lectro. It's all I own and all I've ever bought. Look at their newer wideband systems that cover three "blocks" worth of freqs. The RF spectrum is getting increasingly and ridiculously crowded and you want the flexibility. Especially if you travel and don't know what you're walking into, RF wise.
 
Last edited:
I don't have money for Lectrosonics and my use also doesn't deserve it. I have a Sennheiser G3 and a Sennheiser AVX. The Sennheiser AVX really makes it easy.

I also have DPA4060 lav which I can connect to the XLR cable. The challenge is I fear the interviewee will suddenly get up and pull and break my lav. Given a choice do you guys use wired lavs?
 
Since this a c200 thread, i assume you will not become a full on audio guy, i would go cheap with the rode filmmaker kit - cheap, works and is very easy to use. Sennheiser g3 is the other option.

If your going big budget, the zaxcom that also record internally in a micro sd(in the transmitter) are by far my favorite choice, since you have a backup in case of interference.
 
indiawilds said:
I don't have money for Lectrosonics and my use also doesn't deserve it. I have a Sennheiser G3 and a Sennheiser AVX. The Sennheiser AVX really makes it easy.

I also have DPA4060 lav which I can connect to the XLR cable. The challenge is I fear the interviewee will suddenly get up and pull and break my lav. Given a choice do you guys use wired lavs?
Click to expand...

If the situation allows it, like a sit-down without a super wide shot that would show cables, I've always liked to be hardwired for safety. But I have some audio guys who will use wireless beltpacks/lavs regardless, if we're using lav's. The vast majority of the time, we run booms on sit-downs, especially with just a single subject or single subject with single reporter/correspondent.
 
Run&Gun said:
If the situation allows it, like a sit-down without a super wide shot that would show cables, I've always liked to be hardwired for safety. But I have some audio guys who will use wireless beltpacks/lavs regardless, if we're using lav's. The vast majority of the time, we run booms on sit-downs, especially with just a single subject or single subject with single reporter/correspondent.
Click to expand...

This is actually my perspective. Anytime you could be using a wired lav, it would almost always be better to just be booming it. With regular interview framing, you should be able to get a boom mic just as close as a lav and it will be directional and sound much better. A boom mic on a stand takes up a bit more space, but it saves time and hassle on having to wire up the subject. For some reason, producers just expects lavs so what are you going to do?

I've also heard people loving the new digital TR/RX like the Rode and Sennheiser so I would probably just suggest somebody pick up on of those even though I have never used one.
 
puredrifting said:
the Røde Wireless Video Mic is amazing for the money. I've used a friends Sennheiser G3 three times this year and even with scans, it has screwed me three times with blasts of white noise, mosquito hits, just terrible. I've told him next time he makes me use it, I am throwing it into the ocean. My Røde, OTOH, has been amazingly good, with clear, clean sound almost everywhere. Sure the transmitter is too large and the system is too plasticky but the results are great.
Click to expand...

I just got the Rode Reporter version with the plug-on transmitter. I don't like lavaliers and avoid using it as much as possible. So for me it's great that I can screw a lavalier into the plug-on transmitter if I absolutely need it. So far it has worked pretty well. A few snafu's. You can't power off the receiver to save battery because it will cause the transmitter to also power off eventually. The transmitter is so big it's hard to balance it with a mic on a shock mount. I actually mount it backwards so the body of the shock mount supports the transmitter, not the microphone. And I had it once fail pretty miserably with audio continually cutting in and out. I might have had the receiver too close to cellular modems, or it may have been a fluke. So far it hasn't happened again.

Also it adds a bit of delay, so if you have to mix multiple channels it will add some crazy phasing.
 
Last edited:
brettsherman said:
The transmitter is so big it's hard to balance it with a mic on a shock mount. I actually mount it backwards so the body of the shock mount supports the transmitter, not the microphone.
Click to expand...

You should not ever ever have the shock mount supporting the transmitter's weight!! Mount the TX to the boom pole, and run a cable to the mic.
 
I've had very good luck with the Rode wireless lav mic setup. Talking heads type stuff. Never really any issues to speak of. Even used it with a NTG4+ in a blimp on a boompole and again, no issues. I'm not a full on sound guy, but I have been pretty impressed with what it has delivered.
 
If you're not a dedicated sound professional, then the Rode Rodelink wireless lav kit is great. No fuss, sounds fine, inexpensive. The only con is that the transmitter is enormous compared to other systems out there.

But I agree with everyone else here... a wired microphone will always sound better.
 
Jaime Valles said:
If you're not a dedicated sound professional, then the Rode Rodelink wireless lav kit is great. No fuss, sounds fine, inexpensive. The only con is that the transmitter is enormous compared to other systems out there.

But I agree with everyone else here... a wired microphone will always sound better.
Click to expand...

After my second critical failure with this kit I can not recommend at least the plug-on version of it. For the second time with a group of say 150-300 people and distances of about 20 meters it failed to maintain a consistent connection. It has worked well in close proximity and in situations were there aren't crowds, although I'm not sure I'd consider 150 a crowd. My guess is there is too much RF noise from cell phones and Wifi networks for it to handle. I'll probably contact Rode to see what they say, but I'm rather disappointed. This is a situation any wireless mic should be able to handle. Mine can't. I'll probably replace it with the G4 system.
 
Seconding a negative vote on the Rodelink stuff- they’re really unreliable in WiFi congested environments and I’ve also had no less than three of the receiver cables fail on me, to the point that Rode sent me three replacements for a single failure to basically get me off their case lol
 
We've had the same issues with the AVX units dropping out in wifi-dense environments. It's been pretty rare though. Switching to the old G3 was the workaround at the time. I guess that's the tradeoff for the simplicity.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top