Budget friendly wireless...

Re: Budget friendly wireless...

I have the Beyerdynamic units as well (for when rider issues are involved) and they do interchange. The receivers are identical (except the badges). The transmitters are different and have Beyer capsules. Great units as well but lots more money. The Beyerdymic SCM 930 M is the best analog wireless mic I have ever used on many vocalists but it is expensive. It is interesting that most all of us who have tried the better Mipro stuff have been impressed but the masses have not caught on yet. I tried it on the recommendation of a user and have never looked back. As it has been said you really have to go way up the line in the other brands to get something I would even consider acceptable.

The biggest barriers for me are
1) that the mic connections don't match shure, so I would have to modify or get adapters for all of my countrymans and lapels
2) the antenna connections aren't BNC

other than that I'd be all over it. most of my customers don't know or care what brand of wireless they're getting as long as it works and sounds good.

Jason
 
Re: Budget friendly wireless...

Our singer has a PGX D2/D4 combo with the Beta 58 head. One gig we did where there was too much cross interference and had to go to a wired 58. We then learned you need to set the channel to the least interfering before the gig, it resides in a bandwidth territory that seems to pick up digital cell phone interference if you are not careful setting the frequency. It only happened in that one place*, everywhere else I am happy with the performance; although would like to get him on a ULX system eventually. The digital seems to be better sound quality translation than the analog PG systems I've worked with, but I have very limited experience with wireless in general.

*When we went back to the same place for another gig, the problem was not there.

Thanks Rick for the input!

Doug
 
Re: Budget friendly wireless...

The biggest barriers for me are
1) that the mic connections don't match shure, so I would have to modify or get adapters for all of my countrymans and lapels
2) the antenna connections aren't BNC

other than that I'd be all over it. most of my customers don't know or care what brand of wireless they're getting as long as it works and sounds good.

Jason

I am not sure which Shure connections you are referring to because the connections on my ACT707 bodypacks are the Shure 4 pin mini XLR's and all my receivers use BNC antenna connections.
 
Re: Budget friendly wireless...

I am not sure which Shure connections you are referring to because the connections on my ACT707 bodypacks are the Shure 4 pin mini XLR's and all my receivers use BNC antenna connections.

although the connectors are both TA4F the countryman wiring chart shows different configurations for each brand of wireless, so I took that as a sign of caution..

And the antenna thing came about when I ordered some replacement antennas for someone else and the connector on them was definitely not BNC. maybe they've changed?

Jason
 

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Re: Budget friendly wireless...

although the connectors are both TA4F the countryman wiring chart shows different configurations for each brand of wireless, so I took that as a sign of caution..

And the antenna thing came about when I ordered some replacement antennas for someone else and the connector on them was definitely not BNC. maybe they've changed?

Jason

I did not know about the pinout. I will research it a little more. I had just ordered a Shure 1/4 inch to mini XLR for use as a wireless guitar for one of my bodypacks. I hope it works. I will try it out and let you guys know. You and Tim are correct about the antenna connection being a TNC. I just looked at the back of my rig and it is the threaded version.
 
Re: Budget friendly wireless...

I wouldn't worry too much about the 1/4" adapter, guitars should be fine. it's the sensitive mic elements that need bias power that can get cooked easy if they're wired up wrong.

Jason
 
Re: Budget friendly wireless...

Always remember-If you buy the most expensive-highest quality wireless mic made-It is almost as good as a $20 cable..

So don't complain when the sound is not "quite right".
 
Re: Budget friendly wireless...

Always remember-If you buy the most expensive-highest quality wireless mic made-It is almost as good as a $20 cable..

So don't complain when the sound is not "quite right".

That is painfully true but the technology has gotten much better in very recent years. The Mipro's I would put up against anything wired up to about $100. You still hear the compansion but it is musically usable and sounds more like slight compression rather than that crazy modulation my earlier Shures used to have. I prefer them over a wired SM58. They dont have that 200hz proximity bump and are much more transparent and articulate on the mid and top. Way better gain before feedback as well. The better wireless is still somewhat of a compromise but at least it is now, in my humble opinion, useable and not annoying like the stuff only a few short years ago was.
 
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Re: Budget friendly wireless...

Always remember-If you buy the most expensive-highest quality wireless mic made-It is almost as good as a $20 cable..

So don't complain when the sound is not "quite right".

What $20 cable do you know that is 100 yards long?

All I mean is that whether or not to use a wireless vs. a cable isn't always about sound.

That said, the top wireless products from a handful of manufacturers now are, for all practical purposes, indistinguishable from a cable. Yes, there are differences between systems and indeed one of our selling points is Digital Hybrid Wireless - a compandor-free audio path. Digital systems from Zaxcom, Shure, ours, Line6, AKG, Mipro probably can not be distinguished by ear from a cable in most circumstances by most people.

Yes - I and others like me in wireless manufacturing companies will actually tell anyone who listens: "If it doesn't HAVE to be wireless, use a cable." But in countless situations in our business, it does HAVE to be wireless.