Wireless Microphones

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MikeD
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Wireless Microphones

#1 Post by MikeD » Tue Oct 05, 2004 1:40 pm

I'm looking at investing in some wireless microphones/headsets. The headsets would be used for teaching and the microphone would be used for making announcements.

Anyone have any suggestions or recommendations?

Thanks,
Mike Dancel

Toon Town Dave
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#2 Post by Toon Town Dave » Tue Oct 05, 2004 10:07 pm

A well known instructor commented on how comfortable the Shure wireless headset mic I rented was.

I think with Shure, you buy the actual headset separate from transmitter/receiver. They are pretty expensive to buy. Worth it if it's going to get a lot of use. My only complaint was the sound got muddy when the batteries started to die but that's common among any wireless I've seen.

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Drew
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#3 Post by Drew » Tue Oct 05, 2004 10:14 pm

Ditto on the Shure mics. I think the ones the CSDS had were in the ballpark of $300, but I am not sure because I wasn't around when they were bought. Take good care of them and they will last a long time.

be sure to have plenty of 9V batteries on hand. The Shure mics we used at CSDS sucked them dry in 2-3 hours, IIRC.

Toon Town Dave
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#4 Post by Toon Town Dave » Tue Oct 05, 2004 11:18 pm

The unit I had used 2 AA's, a little cheaper. You could probably substitute a pair of Lithium batteries or just keep a few rechargeable Alkaline AA's around.

JitterbugJunkie
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Wireless?

#5 Post by JitterbugJunkie » Thu Dec 02, 2004 8:29 am

I chose the EV wireless because it offered some features I wanted. I'm not sure there is all that much difference in sound quality from one to the next though. Many of the instructors around here have the Audio-Technicas and they seem to sound about the same after EQ. One sound guy pointed out that there are severe limitations inherent to these mikes just due to the size/type of mike involved.

I would suggest that the most important thing might be to ensure that you have the ability to EQ your mike. I think that in your quest to not sound like you are inside a can you will find that there will be a couple ranges to pull down on a 10 band EQ, several on a 30 band.

The challenge is to do a good job of EQ on the mike without affecting the music channels. Many mixers offer low/mid/high control on the mike channel(s) which just isn't enough in most (wireless) cases. I guess it depends on how picky you are.

JitterbugJunkie
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Rechargeable?

#6 Post by JitterbugJunkie » Thu Dec 02, 2004 8:34 am

I didn't have much luck with rechargeable batteries in my wireless. :-(

Back to alkaline I went...

northbayclay
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#7 Post by northbayclay » Thu Dec 02, 2004 1:08 pm

We use Sennheisers- excellent quality, good battery life- all 9 volt, and modular. Usually a package comes with a base unit (receiver) and either a handheld wireless or belt-clip sender and either lapel or headset mic.
I've used my handheld mic at ranges of 250-300 feet with no problems- and the Sennheiser headsets are comfortable.

But they are not cheap.

Ditto on the EQ-ability-makes a difference. On the other hand, if you have enough bass reinforcement on the sound system, usually the sound is much improved. I've noticed that alot of venues have systems that sound tinny simply because they don't have enough quality bass to fill out the sound.
Sorry about the tangent from microphones..but I think it applies somehow.
"If you can't hear it.... you'll never understand it." -Satchmo

JitterbugJunkie
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#8 Post by JitterbugJunkie » Sat Dec 04, 2004 10:57 am

I wonder if the better sound you are experiencing in rooms with "bass-reinforcement" may actually be because the crossover is limiting the amount of voice headed for the bass speakers. That will keep things from getting real muddy due to over bass-ing. Sound guys tell me that normal voice sounds best if you keep most of it out of the subs on the bottom and the horns on top.

These wireless mikes have some inherent EQ issues I never seemed to have the ability in bars/ballrooms to get to the bottom of them. Who wants to spend an hour saying test-test-test into a mike in a bar? I don't imagine anyone else really wants to listen to that for long either. I finally set up one of my PAs at home and went to work. Much better... :D

szarka
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#9 Post by szarka » Tue Dec 14, 2004 8:10 pm

For a headset I use a Gemini VH-101. I've seen/heard much nicer ones, but not for anything close to its <$100 price.

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