What budget for production quality wireless mic?

youngindiefilms

youngindiefilms

Well-known member
I'm looking to buy a wireless mic setup (1 receiver, 1 mic is enough).
What budget do I have to factor in for a new or second hand set? Any recommendations?

edit...
How about a Sony UWP-V1 kit. Priced quite reasonably, around 450 to 500$ street price.
How does the sound quality hold up?
 
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Sennheiser G3 systems run around $600, then add $200-300 for a quality lav to replace the stock one. Search for wireless here and you'll get about a million results that pretty much say the same thing.
 
Define "production quality."

The Sennheisers are great. I have two systems and I really love what they do for the money.

That said... if by "production quality" you mean what's reliable on a budget for indie film, get the G3. But for true high-end production, Lectrosonics and Zaxcom and Audio Ltd. and occasionally the high-end Sennheisers are pretty much it (Lectros in the States are the most common). And there, you're looking at $2k per system.

As for the Sony, if you are looking in the sub-$1k range, I was not impressed with the set that I tested. There was a self-noise floor that I couldn't get past. The Sennheisers are much quieter.
 
Define production quality, good question. I intend to do some freelancing work, some of it may be for tv, some corporate work.
I am simply assuming here and thought they most certainly will require high quality sound.
I couldn't live with the self-noise you mentioned for example.

What G3 setup do you have exactly?
 
youngindiefilms said:
I intend to do some freelancing work, some of it may be for tv, some corporate work.
I am simply assuming here and thought they most certainly will require high quality sound.
Click to expand...

That's a safe assumption to make. The G3 will be a great place to start if you cannot afford to purchase a $2k system. Of course, if you find yourself in a situation where the client requires something bigger/better, you could always rent.

I have the G2 system. The major improvement on the G3 is that it now offers diversity reception. You won't find the G2 unless you buy used, find a Chinese counterfeit model on ebay (avoid those), or have a dealer that is selling off their old stock. The G3 is the replacement and is slightly more expensive.

My setup includes two Sennheiser G2 systems with Countryman B6 lavs. If you go with the G3 system, I'd highly recommend getting a new lav from Countryman or Sanken or Tram or DPA to go with it. The stock lav that Sennheiser packs in the box is not the best. Passable in emergencies, but not much more than that. (Of course, the human voice is just plain weird and there is no one mic that suits everything... my boss's voice actually sounds great on the stock lav.)
 
That's great advice, I appreciate it! I've seen a best of list in one of my video magazines, the Sennheiser G2 kit got a very good mark but back in 2006. They tested the Sony I have mentioned recently but I don't have the test on hands now, just the best of list where it gets same marks as the Sennheiser.
Anyway, sounds reasonable and safe to go with the G3 first, 2K$ budget is more than I'm willing to spend at the moment. I don't know if I will stay in this line of work forever, I'm just doing it to finance some bigger film projects.
I found some offers for a G3 kit (receiver, transmitter, lav) for around US$ 600 and a Countryman B6 lav for US$ 330. Would you say these are good prices? Or better even, can you recommend a good shop (other than B&H since I had trouble with them).
 
Give Guy Cochran a call up at DVCreators. Be sure to tell him that you're on DVXUser. I've personally never had problems ordering from B&H, but I've never gotten customer service from B&H like I have from DVCreators. Guy and his staff are great folks, and a it's a company that is run by folks who do this stuff professionally and understand what the rest of us are trying to do.
 
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