older still legal Shure wireless

J

Jon Hoffmann

Freshman
Aug 2, 2012
26
0
0
Philadelphia, PA
Anyone still using the older Shure U4S/U4D wireless? Obviously still in the legal operating frequencies... Any downfall to using these if I can get a good deal on them? Gotta be better than entry level wireless. Old but good, or just old junk? If anyone has used them, can anyone comment on whether or not the KSM9 heads will work on the handhelds?
thanks!
 
Re: older still legal Shure wireless

We've got some UHF systems in the J4 band, and the big problem is that there's just not much of a tuning range. Things being what they are here in Chicago, it means that they're generally not usable in the city at all. They all still work just fine, usual Shure quality and durability.

The KSM9 cartridges should work just fine, but they do have a slightly hotter output than the other ones. So with a loud singer you might find that you can't pot the mic down enough to prevent distortion.
 
Re: older still legal Shure wireless

Wireless technology is something that is moving and advancing extremely quickly. While generally speaking, the older high end stuff is probably more robust than new cheap solutions, the fact is, the gap has narrowed quite a bit.

The downsides of older gear are sound quality (compared to new of the same class) and frequency agility. New systems can cover a HUGE range of frequencies that allow you to be far more flexible in frequency selection. The sound quality of higher end systems is going to be better than cheap gear, but even today's entry level digital systems offer amazing quality that can equal or surpass the high end gear from yesteryear.

An additional thing to concern yourself with is the availability of replacement pieces when you need them. If your old wireless dies and you need a replacement that fits into your system tomorrow, can you do that with an old discontinued piece? Current products can generally be overnight delivered from many suppliers.

If the price is extremely lean and you can get a spare unit or two, then older gear might be a good idea. If the savings isn't that great over a comparable new product, then I'd shy away from it.
 
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