Wireless mics - your opinion please

To many ads? Support ODJT and see no ads!
Here is a little technical background about the channel separation that Bob brings up. The more transmitters in one space, the more intermodulation distortion (IMD) products you will get in the spectrum. IMD products are unwanted interference. They are blocked in receivers using band-pass filters. When channels are close together, the band-pass filters need narrower pass-bands. This require a more complex filtering topology (additional poles). However, this complexity introduces greater phase shift in the signal. The digital signals are often encoded using quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) modulation. The receiver needs to decode phase shifts in the received signal. If the band-pass filter is introducing phase shift, the job gets tougher. All in all, you don't get something for nothing. It takes good engineering to get the job done right. I can almost guarantee you that companies like GTD don't have RF engineers on staff.
 
For what it's worth, I have 3 systems that all use 4 Audio Techinica Pro 10s in 1 rack space - 2 lavs, 2 handhelds. I never have to scan for an open frequency and I never get drop outs. I use them mostly for ceremonies.
For MY main mic and for toasts, I use a Seinheiser G4 because it's great at surpressing feedback and built like a tank. The AT Pro 10s are not the Crème de la Crème of mics but they get the job done. Again, 4 mics in 1 rack space..never drop out.
 
I have a dual AT System 10 Pro that I use for karaoke at home. It has a great RF section that uses multiple simultaneous transmissions and they hop around as needed. The downside of the system is the mic capsules themselves. You are stuck with what it comes with. You can't screw on a better mic element. It isn't bad but I was expecting better for the price point.
 
For what it's worth, I have 3 systems that all use 4 Audio Techinica Pro 10s in 1 rack space - 2 lavs, 2 handhelds. I never have to scan for an open frequency and I never get drop outs. I use them mostly for ceremonies.
For MY main mic and for toasts, I use a Seinheiser G4 because it's great at surpressing feedback and built like a tank. The AT Pro 10s are not the Crème de la Crème of mics but they get the job done. Again, 4 mics in 1 rack space..never drop out.
For what it's worth, I have 3 systems that all use 4 Audio Techinica Pro 10s in 1 rack space - 2 lavs, 2 handhelds. I never have to scan for an open frequency and I never get drop outs. I use them mostly for ceremonies.
For MY main mic and for toasts, I use a Seinheiser G4 because it's great at surpressing feedback and built like a tank. The AT Pro 10s are not the Crème de la Crème of mics but they get the job done. Again, 4 mics in 1 rack space..never drop out.
location will play a major role in this. I was in jersey city Thursday by the water and that location is a nightmare for most wireless systems.
 
location will play a major role in this. I was in jersey city Thursday by the water and that location is a nightmare for most wireless systems.

I wonder if this is a situation where Infrared Technology would be more beneficial to use. I remember a number of manufactures utilizing infrared about 10+ years ago. It never really caught on though. I don't think any manufacturere currently makes IR microphones. Those systems had crystal clear reception, The draw back is that if the "laser" was blocked then the signal would be lost. You also only had about a 75 foot range or so with those microphones. Unfortunately, IR is relatively short-range, cannot penetrate walls, and is line-of-sight.

I used one once a long time ago. Crystal Clear Sound the entire time, but I was in a small room, and while using, I was no more than 20 feet from the receiver.
 
For what it's worth, I have 3 systems that all use 4 Audio Techinica Pro 10s in 1 rack space - 2 lavs, 2 handhelds. I never have to scan for an open frequency and I never get drop outs. I use them mostly for ceremonies.
The AT Pro 10s are not the Crème de la Crème of mics but they get the job done. Again, 4 mics in 1 rack space..never drop out.

For what and where you use them (banquet halls, restaurants, wedding venues, etc,) you're probably in good shape. If you start to get more intense with the number of mics you are using, or end up in a place where there's loads of people and WAP (Universities, Convention centers, high density POS commerce) more troublesome mic issues will start to show up.

2.4GHz is very crowded and the predominant devices are WiFi routers ISP switches that jump around the 2.4GHz spectrum and don't transmit continuously. They can do that because the packet transmissions are not really time sensitive. To some extent your AT Pro 10 does some of the same frequency hopping though the transmission needs to be (seemingly) continuous. This eliminates the need for RF frequency planning - but at the cost of higher latency than the UHF counterparts that stay locked on one frequency. This similarity in frequency hopping is why the receivers are detachable - so (like a WiFi router) you can move the receiver closer for better performance in tough areas.
 
Last edited:
I wonder if this is a situation where Infrared Technology would be more beneficial to use. I remember a number of manufactures utilizing infrared about 10+ years ago. It never really caught on though.

It's best application is a classroom because it's short range, line of sight, and van be affected by sunlight or other ambient light containing infrared.
 
  • Like
Reactions: DJ Ricky B
I’ve found the sennheiser ew g4’s to be a great balance of effectiveness and cost for what I need.

I tried the sennheiser ew D1 2.4ghz. Seemed more susceptible to interference and went through batteries twice as fast. I don’t recommend this one.
 
To some extent your AT Pro 10 does some of the same frequency hopping though the transmission needs to be (seemingly) continuous. This eliminates the need for RF frequency planning - but at the cost of higher latency than the UHF counterparts that stay locked on one frequency. This similarity in frequency hopping is why the receivers are detachable - so (like a WiFi router) you can move the receiver closer for better performance in tough areas.
The system 10 Pro has just about 4 ms latency. This is pretty standard for digital mics. I believe my Line 6 mics were 5 ms. Analog mics have no appreciable latency. I say "appreciable" because these days, many do some digital processing internally on the audio signal. To put it in perspective, 1 ms latency is about the time it takes your voice to travel 1 foot.

The detachable nature of the System 10 Pro has nothing to do with frequency hopping. It has to do with the fact that one can make a really small receiver since you are using such a short wavelength. The Cat 5 cable has 4 twisted pairs. They probably use one pair for voltage supply, one pair is probably for audio and the third pair is probably for digital control. BTW, Cat 5 is great for balanced audio signals because the twist is so consistent and molded in place.
 
So, look and shop elsewhere.
Wow... hard to conceive the level of lazy expectation in this thread.

Ya know, the phrase: "you get what you pay for" is completely wrong. The reality is: "you get what you're willing to work for."
Cranky much? I was stating that you stated the price was $X.XX but the link YOU provided was showing different. You are right thought, it is hard to conceive the level of trustworthy resources in this thread.
 
One of my recurring clients (a municipality) recently gave me a set of 4 SLX mic systems, (4 Receivers, 4 HH, Quad Power and Antenna distribution.) The stuff was pristine and barely ever used. They had a new conference room installed during Covid so this was no longer needed and they asked if I wanted it. It's just under $3k worth of wireless - so, yeah, I guess I can help clean out that closet. :)

I racked it all up in a 5 space rack bag and have been using it at lower profile events. The frequencies are in the 500MHz band and still fine. While most locations have only about 8 recommended frequencies for these - I've had no issues and they are performing really well. I've even started using them outside of the recommended group and channel assigns and have not run into any interference at all - indoors or outdoors. These must have been a popular product for theater users because it's really difficult to find used body packs for these, and the few that are out there are priced ridiculously high for a discontinued product line.

I currently have 10 QLXD combo systems (HH & Lav), 8 ULX (HH), and now 4 SLX (HH). Over the past year I sold off about 12 ULX (HH & LAV)

I also added an RF scanner so I can do on site spectrum scans in troublesome locations.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jeff Romard
Update: My trusty old GTD finally died last week. I was going to order a Shure system but there are none to be found anywhere. I'm headed down to Guitar Center tomorrow where they'll hopefully still have a Sennheiser XSW2 in stock.
Let me recommend KPODJ if you don't find something somewhere else.
 
Update: I went down to Guitar Center and bought a Sennheiser XS Wireless 2 ($429) and used it a the ceremony yesterday. It's a bit early to tell but I'm loving this thing. Not a hint of any drop-outs and the officiant asked me what kind of sound system I had, it sounded so good. This was paired with a Bose S1. I really only bought the Sennheiser because it was the only thing available but it's looking like a good purchase.