when you'd wish for a better wireless

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powerdog

Veteran
Still trying to decide between a little financial pain (Senn G2) and a lot of pain (Lectrosonics). Would like to know typical situations you might encounter with a cheap wirelss that you'd feel more confident about with a better system.

I know distance is one variable, and walls between transmitter/receiver are another. What about things like:

Large motors
Lots of metal equipment and supplies in a room
Having people turn so their transmitter antenna doesn't face the receiver.

These or other situations that can spell trouble??
 
Having been an owner of two Lectrosonics UM100/UCR100 systems I feel I can provide valid feedback related to those systems that I owned.

They are built like nails. Or, out of nails.. I'm not sure. Military grade stuff. They're heavy.. and, they have the most insanely archaic way of changing frequencies: with a tweek screwdriver. They aren't very user friendly and they consume 9-volt batteries like it ain't no thang. The sound is just okay on the 100's. Really good on the 200's (yes, there is a big notable difference with a tracking front end receiver) and out of the world sound quality on the 400's.

I had the opportunity to work on a CMT Network show that is actually debuting next Monday night--it's called Popularity Contest. The show employed ten sound guys and we all provided our own gear--most of the guys were using 201, 205, or 210. One guy had the other 185-series VHF stuff and two guys (me and another) used the 100's. A couple of people (surprisingly) had G2 Sennheisers with them either as backups or just additional radios since they are soooo affordable.

We never had the chance to try to same mic using a G2, a 100, and a 200 for comparison but in using the 100 and the G2 side by side with the similar mic's, I honestly, for what it's worth, thought they sounded the same with the same range. I liked the user-friendliness of the G2 a little better as well since the controls were beneath a door and were on a digital-lcd screen instead of requiring a screwdriver and being inconveniently located. The G2's also ran on cheap AA batteries and last a good while.

So, considering I sold my Lectro's a month ago and still have three lav mic's, I am actually in the market for something else. Right now I would either spring for the Digital Hybrid 400-series stuff -or- the Sennheiser G2 and probably not anything in the middle--I think the G2 would be just fine for practically any situation I would come across.

Hope this helps. . . and check out my show next week on CMT, will ya!?

brian wells
 
I've used Lectro 200's and Senn G2's, and I'd have to say that the Lectro's did sound a little better. It may have been because of better mic's though, because the equipment was rented.

I own 3 G2 systems and they have performed very well. I think the best feature is the auto scan for a free frequency. Also I like the AA batteries. I use rechargeable batteries so that I always have a full charge at the beginning of a shoot.

I've never been in situations with motors or lots of metal, but having the transmitter face away from the receiver is absolutely no problem. The lav's that come with the system isn't all that great, so you may want to invest in some good lavs.
 
Some of my favorite lavs are:

1. Sanken COS-11 (unique design, sounds excellent, easy to conceal)
2. Sonotrim (flat mic, as used on judges on the american idol auditions)
3. Countryman B6 (this is what i used on pop contest)
4. DPA lav (my brother uses these and raves about them; i have never used them)


Of the mic's on this list, I currently own two Sanken's and one Sonotrim. My brother has two Countryman's and who knows how many DPA's... maybe eight I think.
 
I didn't see much difference in various wireless until I shot at the airport. Senn kept getting hits, 100 kept getting hits. Pulled out my 195D lectro and no more hits for the 2 hours we were there.
Distance should be better with 200 & 400 Lectro over others also.
 
I also just read in a book on video production that the more stuff in a room, the more likely a non-diversity system will have dropouts because of reflected RF signals.
 
Gotcha..OTA=Over The Air. Like that HD receiver with OTA.. Yup, I like OTA.

Xort--good points. The range sucked on my 100's in a bigger city as well. The main gigs I used them on were in very little towns. Yeah, that tracking front end seriously helps with range, too.

brian wells
 
Sorry--I just realised you mentioned an OTA in reference to television. For some reason I thought it was in reference to a radio mic system you had.. or that you could only use Over The Air systems as opposed to some other type of radio mics. Sorry. That one went way over my head. (!)
 
I don't see this mentioned much, but my need for wireless really comes down to me being a one-man show. I have no crew or assistant, so right now I'm limited to static shots if I want sound. (Can't operate the camera and a boom at same time.) So I"m thinking the wireless system I get should be very reliable, because I'll probably rely on it a lot!
 
The Lectrosonics Venue system is doing just that--
seriously dropping the price for multiple wireless systems.

A six unit Digital Hybrid Venue System comes in around $5,000.00 with LM transmitters.
Compare that to the traditional pricing structure of $2,500.00 per unit and it is a very good deal.

brian wells
 
Fortunately, I'm shooting one person at a time, or at most two who can stand close together. So one good receiver/transmitter/mike should work.

Wish the other Lectro systems would come down in price, but I don't see any sign of it. Of course, if you start to go broke from your equipment investments, I bet those 411 systems keep their value in the used market!
 
Do consider *wired* lav mics as well as wireless systems. A decent XLR cable will sound better than the Lectro wireless TX/RX and will only cost a few dollars.

A lot of my shoots are "one man band" shoots where I'm doing both the camera and the audio. I have a couple of Coutryman EMW lav mics with XLR connectors and they come in really useful for interviews. I default to a wired config unless the shot calls for wireless. You can really tell the difference between a wired config and my Sony wireless system (it's not a great wireless system though).
 
I'm not a big fan of the LM transmitters. I had a 100 series Lectro with LM and I didn't find it to significantly outperform my G2s. UNLESS you're digital... the LM is only about 20% better then the G2. For non-digital Lectro 100 systems they must use the 100mw transmitters to show significant gains over a G2.

The 195d on up is another matter. They sound better and are significantly more reliable. If you're doing gigs for real sound-guy pay, like $400/day or more, then you should be showing up with Lectro 2XX or higher. No doubt.

It really comes down to that. If this is a professional thing for you then 1) the gear should be commensurate and 2) the gigs should be paying for the gear.

I've done jobs with Lectro and I've done them with G2. People get what they're paying for. At least in STL soundguys get paid based on themselves and separately based on a gear package. Having multiple Lectro 2xx series (or 400) is worth $150/day JUST FOR THAT ALONE.

If you're showing up with $14K or more on your person then you should be making $400/day or more (for a full day).

If you find yourself doing gigs for $250 (or less) per day then the G2 is fine and nobody should expect anything more.

Lectro has higher SN, sounds better overall, and from 2xx and up the chance of dropouts is very very low.
 
I'm pretty unhappy with the sound of the G2's stock lav mics. They seem to have a pretty serious lack of high end. I've just ordered a pair of Countryman B3s which I hope to hear a good improvement from. They're also a good deal smaller than the G2's mics, and I ordered them in biege so they'll be stealthy against skin.

The G2 transmitters are excellent, but it's too bad they don't sell them separately since the mics seem to be well below that standard sonically. Maybe I can get something for them on Ebay...
 
The G2 lavs are almost disposable. You may want to keep them in case you ever want to lav somebody with the mic exposed to danger... as in driving rain or something. Other then that I don't think you're actually paying much of anything for them as part of the package... that lav probably accounts for $10 of the total price, at the most... from a seller's viewpoint... considering you can buy a wired lav (a junk one) for as low as $20 retail... it may not even be that much.

I like the Countrymans as an alternative... and if you have the cash then Sanken cos11.

That still won't raise the SN though... which isn't bad, but it's not like a Lectro SN. Pot 'em both up and you'll hear what I mean.
 
MattinSTL said:
The G2 lavs are almost disposable. You may want to keep them in case you ever want to lav somebody with the mic exposed to danger... as in driving rain or something. Other then that I don't think you're actually paying much of anything for them as part of the package... that lav probably accounts for $10 of the total price, at the most... from a seller's viewpoint... considering you can buy a wired lav (a junk one) for as low as $20 retail... it may not even be that much.
Click to expand...

Well, like the old joke goes: "Sure they're crap quality, but at least they're overpriced"...

So, while Sennheiser doesn't sell the nifty transceivers separately, they do sell the crappy mics (ME-2), for $123 a pop at B&H:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/217474-REG/Sennheiser_ME2_ME2_Lavalier_Mic_for.html

I think I'm going to give eBay a shot. If I can sell a pair of ME-2s for (almost?) enough to buy one more decent lav, I'll at least have something else I can use without cringing. On the other hand, the next time I want to get a nice, intimate sound on something I plan to fire live ammunition at, I might wish I hadn't....

:kali: :Drogar-Mark-10(DBG)
 
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