recommend a wireless lav mic?

J

J5 squared

Well-known member
Looking for a wireless lav setup in the 200-400 dollar range. Can someone recommend some models for me? I'm not sure of the difference between uhf and vhf either of that could be explained that would be fantastic.

Thanks, Jon
 
Jon,

I have a very simple answer for you (and one you would have found if you just did a basic search in our friendly happy forum here): There is no acceptable wireless setup in that price range. The minimum for the wireless set is ~$500 and another (minimum) $150 for a lavaliere mic that actually works. (In this case the EMW, though for another $150 you can get a B6 or a COS-11). Notice, I'm not telling you which wireless kit you can get for $500. You need to do a little work on your own. I assure you the answer is in the archives.

Phil
 
I did a search and only pulled up two posts that weren't people selling systems. Neither of which had any solid answers for my question, especially on what UHF vs VHF actually means and which system i should be looking towards. One of the names i did see thrown out alot was the Audio Technica pro88, but bh sells that for $169 and since you can't get an acceptable mic for less than $400 according to you i'm all ears for your other recommendations.
 
well i'm not about to go out and waste money on a lav setup that is worthless so i appreciate your recommendation alex. I'm going to be recording an event soon that is a lecture. There is no PA system in the building so i was hoping to use a wireless lav for it. I've been wanting to get a shotgun mic for awhile and had been looking at an NTG-1 and had heard good things about them. Perhaps i could skip the lave for now and go with a good sennheiser shotgun mic, although i'm curious as to wether i'd get good audio from the speaker with a shotgun mic in the back of the room...
 
J5,

I'll break down and answer your questions for you even though I found 5 pages of answers around wireless mics and the best ones, etc.

For what you're trying to do, buy an Octava, set it up on the podium and wire it into your camera (may need a lot of wire to do it, but you'll still come out under $500 (way under) and you'll have a very good mic to add to your collection. Or, just rent if you're not going to be doing this on a regular basis. You can probably rent a good Lectro wireless with a B6 or COS11 for around $100 for a weekend (just a guess, I haven't ever rented).

Phil
 
In this price range, the Evolution series from Sennheiser has the best reputation for sound & performance : cost ratio. They are frequency agile with 1440 frequencies to scan, and UHF.

You can get the ENG package as was referrenced in a previous post from us for less than B&H, but MAP policy restricts me stating the price on a forum thread. Email/pm me if interested.

We also have a special running on the Generation 1 series for those interested (scroll down to Sennheiser):
http://www.fullcompass.com/specials/categories/AU0002/index.html


All first time orders from forum members will get free shipping.
 
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I hate to change the subject, but am I the only one who is somewhat bothered by brazen advertising in this forum?

I am only halfway through film school, but also trying to get a project started on my own and have found this site to be an invaluable source of opinion and advice. So as a newbie, I'm more than happy to take my lumps on this one, but personally speaking I just don't dig on people advertising here. (Barry's book is different as it is exclusively about the VDX, which is why we all come to this site in the first place.)
 
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AstaProd said:
I hate to change the subject, but am I the only one who is somewhat bothered by brazen advertising in this forum?

I am only halfway through film school, but also trying to get a project started on my own and have found this site to be an invaluable source of opinion and advice. So as a newbie, I'm more than happy to take my lumps on this one, but personally speaking I just don't dig on people advertising here. (Barry's book is different as it is exclusively about the VDX, which is why we all come to this site in the first place.)
Click to expand...

As long as they are contributing to the ongoing discussion, then I have no problem with people advertising their services and expertise on this site. A lot of the regulars around here have made tons of contacts from the offers as well as experience of other community members.

I don't care if people pimp their **** but that is because I know enough to sort through the bullshit and get to the meat.

Back to the topic, as Phil said, this topic has been beat to death. There are wireless setups from $200 all the way to $5000.

At the lowend you are looking at Azden. Do a search and you will find that the opinion on Azden wireless is that it is crap. The range is nil and the quality is worse than the range. Imagine recording audio through a telephone and you're two or three steps above the Azden. The one exception to this is their top of the line model, but that is still shitty.

The lowest (ie: Cheapest) level of wireless audio that is acceptable is the Sennheiser G2. I have used these and have gotten good results. Read my sticky at the top of the audio section and you will see that my wire will always sound better than your wireless.

You will also see that you can't get good audio from 4' away, let alone 50'.

Above the G2 you're moving into L* territory, and you don't have the bank for that.

It was either Phil or Wabbit who said, "whenever I grab wireless from my bag, the next thing I grab is a second wireless" (I can't remember now), but that is the most true statement yet. The only thing more useless than wireless, is one wireless.

For your needs, very simple: RENT!

You can get a high quality wireless unit for about $55 with a good lav. That will get you set up for this project. From that point, Sennheiser is the lowest acceptable range.

Wow... I haven't posted here in a while, ya'll missed me, right?

-Jeremy
 
On Azden

On Azden

I'm just another dumbass but from the For What It's Worth Dept, I've got an Azden 100-series wireless set up (8 channel, UHF) and it's really not that bad. The range is well over a few hundred feet, even between walls and while I'm certainly no audio expert, the sound quality is rich enough for my ear.
 
timapter said:
You were missing? :)

welcome back yo..
Click to expand...


I just haven't been around the audio section much... But I come back to see the same questions with the same answers :)

Very few people other than Tim, Phil, Matt, Oleg, & Wabbit will fully grasp the humor in that comment.

-Jeremy
 
QUOTE: I just haven't been around the audio section much... But I come back to see the same questions with the same answers

___________________________________________

At what depth underwater will the Octava stop working. Oh and i almost forgot will i need a windjammer!

What explosive will i use for a BOOM POLE:) :) :)
 
TheYankee said:
I just haven't been around the audio section much... But I come back to see the same questions with the same answers :)

Very few people other than Tim, Phil, Matt, Oleg, & Wabbit will fully grasp the humor in that comment.

-Jeremy
Click to expand...

There are days you just wish someone would program an answer bot for most of the questions in here. :badputer:

As for Full Compass, I heartily endorse them. They are not really focused on video/film production gear the way places like Trew, Coffey, and Gotham are but they have a lot of post production and music gear you can't find at the afore mentioned stores. Kind of a one stop shop for anything audio. Their staff is very knowledgable and friendly.

I am kinda annoyed that free shipping is only offered to first time orders...how about some props for the returning customer. :crybaby:

Cheers
 
AstaProd said:
I hate to change the subject, but am I the only one who is somewhat bothered by brazen advertising in this forum?

I am only halfway through film school, but also trying to get a project started on my own and have found this site to be an invaluable source of opinion and advice. So as a newbie, I'm more than happy to take my lumps on this one, but personally speaking I just don't dig on people advertising here. (Barry's book is different as it is exclusively about the VDX, which is why we all come to this site in the first place.)
Click to expand...


I don't see what's wrong with offering your business to people. Lots of people do this and it makes the forum better for it. Rush offered his DVD series which I bought and love , SpecComm offers their repair and HVX sales , Vidled offers his lights , Neil Rowe offers his Dollys , Focus This offers his Indifocus , Danny offers his DVRig products and the list goes on and on. If somebody is trying to get over there are enough knowledgable people on this forum to call BS. As long as your post or service contributes to the community all is good
 
I agree with Silverwolf. I do notice that all the members he listed contribute many more posts that contain only general advise versus posts simpy offer a service or product. To me, that's a key point. In general, I like the business involvement in the DVXuser forums and from what I've seen, those that do seem to keep a proper balance.
-Dan
 
It goes back to quality of participation in the group, and how the offers are made. If he/she uses a signature that points to their offering, that's fine, but someone that is constantly answering questions with: "Call me and we can sell you exactly what you need" is not welcome. (I'm not saying that anyone is actually doing that consistently...).

What I whole-heartedly approve of is members of the forum recommending places to purchase stuff. For example, how many of us would have missed the 5% discount from Sound Room if Matt hadn't talked with them and gotten it for us. (And if you don't know how to get it, I'm not telling, search the archives).

So, my attitude towards this is. Do a good job helping people, and your recommendations will come naturally.

(This is why I'm glad I don't sell sound equipment...much more fun to tell people to read the archives than be nice and repeat what has been said here hundreds if not thousands of times. ;-)

Phil
 
I am thankful to be a part of this community, and will continue to offer what I hope to be useful information where I can.
 
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