Lectrosonic recommendation please

V

Victor Nhat Nguyen

Well-known member
I'm looking to buy a lectro wireless system but know nothing about it. Can someone please explain what I should know when trying to buy one? One of my friend is recommending Lectro UCR211/UM200C with Sanken COS-11D lavs is that a good idea?
 
The Lectrosonics UCR411 receivers are great and will also work with older (same block) 200 series transmitters. They eat batteries though so external power should be considered. If you need multiple channels, the SR series receivers may be more economical with a slight quality hit. Like all Lectro products, the Venue system is good for fixed installation or a cart.
Zaxcom systems are definably worth a look as well, especially their 'recording' transmitters. They also offer an integrated IFB system.
Pick appropriate frequency blocks for your area of work. Almost as good as a $10 cable.. on a good RF day.
 
Rick R said:
The Lectrosonics UCR411 receivers are great and will also work with older (same block) 200 series transmitters. They eat batteries though so external power should be considered. If you need multiple channels, the SR series receivers may be more economical with a slight quality hit. Like all Lectro products, the Venue system is good for fixed installation or a cart.
Zaxcom systems are definably worth a look as well, especially their 'recording' transmitters. They also offer an integrated IFB system.
Pick appropriate frequency blocks for your area of work. Almost as good as a $10 cable.. on a good RF day.
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Thanks for replying Rick. I still want to learn more about lectrosonic equipment but I haven't found any good source yet. Do you know any website where I can learn about them?
 
Rick R said:
If you need multiple channels, the SR series receivers may be more economical with a slight quality hit.
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Sound quality is the same. The RF front end is tighter on the 411 but now with the SRb upgrade it's getting pretty close.
Personally, The SRb is the way to go. Cost, weight, bag space etc compared to the 411 all makes it a better choice in my opinion.

(I used to own 6 411's before the 700mhz fiasco. Replaced them with SRa's, upgraded to SRb's and couldn't be happier)
 
Local sound guy told me these were good to look for: yes. 210d/um200b or 211/um200c. also the LMa transmitters can be set to be compatible with those

numbers above refer to transmitter/receiver set. The sets will probably run you $800-1000 used via ebay.
 
If I remeber correctly lectro 201, 210d, 211 take internal batteries and the 205 needs external power. 211 have front end tracking, the internals on 210d and 211 are the same. 195d/ sounds good but you are limited to one channel. Some well maintained 195 sets can be had for $300/$400 or less.
 
lambert said:
If I remeber correctly lectro 201, 210d, 211 take internal batteries and the 205 needs external power. 211 have front end tracking, the internals on 210d and 211 are the same. 195d/ sounds good but you are limited to one channel. Some well maintained 195 sets can be had for $300/$400 or less.
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This is the type of information I need, the difference between all the models number. Can you please expand more :)
 
Talk directly to someone at Lectro. Real live people actually answer the phone there and are very nice. A technician or management personnel would be happy to explain anything. You can even talk to President Larry if you prefer.
 
victor if you buy 211/200c my guess is you will be very happy (if not you will be able to sell them for close to what you pay for them if purchased correctly). Very little difference between the 200b and the 200c tx. The 201 were originally designed as camera hops for eng but can work fine in a bag. cos11/dpa's are great lavs but if you are doing a lot of reality shoots you might want a less expensive lav that still sounds very good (along with backups). OST would be the cheapest good lav. Tram, mickey mic, countryman are good but a little more expensive. Lavs are very expensive expendables meaning they break and get ruined frequently and can change the way they sound over time (makeup,sweat, heat,cold). Of the 200 series the 211 are the best at filtering rf interference because of the front end tracking. 400 series lectro tx like the sm can work with the 200 series rx. Sennheiser g3/g2 texts can work with lectro 200 series (if in the correct block).
 
Rick R said:
Talk directly to someone at Lectro. Real live people actually answer the phone there and are very nice. A technician or management personnel would be happy to explain anything. You can even talk to President Larry if you prefer.
Click to expand...

Thanks Rick, I'll call them tomorrow. Hopefully they won't get annoy by a total newbie
 
lambert said:
victor if you buy 211/200c my guess is you will be very happy (if not you will be able to sell them for close to what you pay for them if purchased correctly). Very little difference between the 200b and the 200c tx. The 201 were originally designed as camera hops for eng but can work fine in a bag. cos11/dpa's are great lavs but if you are doing a lot of reality shoots you might want a less expensive lav that still sounds very good (along with backups). OST would be the cheapest good lav. Tram, mickey mic, countryman are good but a little more expensive. Lavs are very expensive expendables meaning they break and get ruined frequently and can change the way they sound over time (makeup,sweat, heat,cold). Of the 200 series the 211 are the best at filtering rf interference because of the front end tracking. 400 series lectro tx like the sm can work with the 200 series rx. Sennheiser g3/g2 texts can work with lectro 200 series (if in the correct block).
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Thanks for your comment Lambert, this was very useful. How often do you buy new lav?
 
"How often do you buy new lav?" I'm not an expert but it really depends on many factors. Shooting corporate interviews you might get years (maybe a decade with proper care and luck) out of them. Reality shows near salt water might be weeks or days (in extreme circumstances). Actors have a bad habit of dropping tx and lavs in toilets and ripping them off at wrap. Trams have been reality show staples because of their heartiness and moderate cost. Depending on what your doing you may not notice the difference between a $400 lav and a $100 lav (most producers and audiences won't). Also you might want to own lavs that are of various colors that will conceal better with variety of costumes. In a perfect world one would have lavs from several manufactures so you could choose what sounds better on different voices.
 
You might give them a call they have 2 locations and tons of connections.

Also, if you are unsure of which model Lectro would best suit your use, are you even sure that a Lectrosonics system is right for you?

There are other 100mW options available which might offer a better price point depending on what you are doing.

For example… You could purchase 2 Sennheiser SK2000ENG kits for the price of one Lectrosonics UCR411 kit.
 
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A couple of thoughts for the OP.

The UCR211/UM200C package was the top of the analog heap when it was new, and is still a very fine radio set. The UCR211, like the 210 and 205 before it, has a receiver front end featuring tracking filters and a very robust radio (high IP3 among other things). This equipment is still considered pro level.

The UCR411 followed by the 411A replaced the 211 as a receiver. The newer one is very similar in terms of the radio design and general functionality, but the audio was upgraded using the newer Digital Hybrid Wireless platform. This means that instead of passing through an analog compandor system (as most radios do, including the 211, 210, 205, etc.) the audio is digitized, processed, and transmitted over an FM link then is re-constructed for the output. Doing so avoids the typical analog/companded noise and distortion, particularly on high frequency transients information. That said, even the 211/210/205 used a dual-band compandor that was very very good.

Similarly, the UM200C was an analog transmitter, 100mW, using the dual band compandor for the audio processing. The UM400 followed by the UM400a replaced it but is functionally very much the same but again with the Digital Hybrid audio processing.

One nice feature that the 400 Series has is Compatibility Modes: this allows a 400 Series device to be set as a 100, 200 or 400 Series unit, depending on what you need. So, in other words, you can use a UM200C with a UCR411A by setting the receiver to 200 mode. You can use a UM400a with a UCR211 by setting the transmitter to 200 mode.

The next class down in receivers is the UCR201 and UCR401. They lack the tracking filter front end, so they are not quite as good in high-RF environments, but they are still good radios. The same differences are there between 200 series (analog) and 400 Series (Digital Hybrid).

The SRb is just a bit better than the UCR401, since it is a newer design, but as others have pointed out it is not quite up to the performance of the 411A. In many circumstances, you would not notice any difference at all. But in high-RF environments where there are a lot of channels being used, and maybe some IFB, etc. you might notice that the UCR411A gets greater range. The size and 2-channel ability of the SRb give it a real edge in many ways.

Another alternative for transmitters, if you don't think you need 100 mW is the LMa. It is like a UM400a except that it is "only" 50 mW (most are between 50 and 70 mW actually) and costs half as much. Then, in the other direction, you can look at the SR series: in the US they offer settings at 50, 100 and 250 mW, and are 2/3 the size of the LMa or UM400a. They are also more expensive than the SMQV.

So, in summary, probably the "best" system available from Lectrosonics currently is the SMQV + UCR411A. A very popular system is a pair of SMQV with an SRb. To start cutting costs, perhaps consider a pair of LMa with an SRb. A single LMa with a UCR401 is a dynamite setup and not too expensive (maybe around $2000 street new). The used radios particularly the UCR210 and 211 are very fine systems and are less expensive still.

Cheers,
 
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