Special_K Posted June 12, 2001 Share Posted June 12, 2001 I am helping price systems for a choral group. We would like to buy 2 systems and maybe expand later. Since we travel to different locations I decided to go with frequency agile UHF to allow switching channels in case of interference. I am suffering from information overload since I have read about the following brands: Samson, TOA, Audio-Technica, Sennheiser, Vega, Sony and Shure. I have tried to list them by low-high quality/reputation based on my research thus far. I was leaning towards Sennheiser Evolution 100 series to save money ($431) but like the quality/reliability of Shure SC14 ($831). I might also consider the Audio-Technica ATW-7375. Comments and suggestions are welcome :-) Thanks!Dave Dave Knepper http://members.cox.net/dknepper/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GY Posted June 12, 2001 Share Posted June 12, 2001 I own a couple of Lectrosonics 250/205 systems and would not settle for anything less. Less expensive systems are prone to all kinds of problems. Sony would be my second choice if Lectrosonics were not available. http://www.lectrosonics.com/wireless/wireless.htm Good luck! GY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Special_K Posted June 12, 2001 Author Share Posted June 12, 2001 Thanks GY, I haven't priced Lectro but did a quick internet search and saw a used UDR200/UM200 system w/ lavalier mic for $1,500 from some rental place. If they can get that price for a used system, we can't afford them. The Sony is nice for fitting 6 receivers into one rack mount space but is also too pricey for us. I've heard that Sony lav. mics are better than Shure but the connector they use to attach to the body pack doesn't always make as firm a connection. A salesperson mentioned that Sony may have some service issues but I didn't follow-up on specifics. Dave Knepper http://members.cox.net/dknepper/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fantasticsound Posted June 13, 2001 Share Posted June 13, 2001 For what you want, buy the Sennheisser. If you need an XLR instead of TRS connection, upgrade to the 300 system. Why? Despite my good feelings for Shure, in the price ranges you're talking about, there products have been getting shoddier in an attempt to lower price to the consumer. The SC14 is a joke compared to the far less expensive Sennheiser 100. The Senn uses METAL construction throughout. It has a backlit LED that gives you useful info in large type. (Easy to see from afar, day or night.) They offer 1280 freq. in .250mHz steps, accessible as 4 presets. But most of all, the belt pack is built for humans to work! The one piece of plastic on the outside of the beltpack is a sliding door that protects the power, increment, decrement, and set buttons. They are inaccessible when the door is closed. No accidental power off with the system live, because the mute is the only switch accessible. It's located in a divot next to the door. This allows you to find the mute, even if it's located out of sight, without removing the pack. Very good ergonomics, in a field that either leaves too much control visible, or hides it in annoying places! http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/eek.gif These wireless are turning the tables on Shure and Sony. Very high quality, good sound, and unbelievable bang for your buck. Don't waste time on anything else unless you have to impress a client with a rider calling for ___. One caveat. I never had the chance to demo the lav. available for this system. Check it out before you buy. It's the only unknown for me. (If you can find a used Shure UHF, the pro model with the metal construction in rack and pack, that is a great model that used will bridge between the new SC14 and the Sony stuff. ------------------Neil Reality: A few moments of lucidity surrounded by insanity. It's easiest to find me on Facebook. Neil Bergman Soundclick fntstcsnd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Special_K Posted June 13, 2001 Author Share Posted June 13, 2001 Oops! Sorry Neil, I had a typo... I meant the Shure UC14. The SC14 is VHF (I found it for around $546) which I rejected over the use of UHF. The UC is one of the only models that have some frequency equalization built in to the receiver (only 2 band, but something). They have both XLR and TS. Hopefully, you will let me know how you feel about this choice. I know the 100 series Sennheiser has TRS instead of XLR and I think it's noise rejection is not as good as the Shure UC14 (nor the 300 series Senn). The Sennheisers (500 series is around $833, 300 around $638) come with a lav. mic but I also don't know how quality compares to Shure. Oddly enough (to me), the 100 series comes with a cardioid ME4 lav. mic and the 312, 512 are packaged with omni ME2 (I would much prefer a cardioid pattern to an omni). I would have to purchase the lav. mic separately with Shure and might go with the hypercardioid WL 184 which is around $92 over the cardioid WL 185 for $85. Dave Knepper http://members.cox.net/dknepper/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fantasticsound Posted June 13, 2001 Share Posted June 13, 2001 Originally posted by Special_K: Oops! Sorry Neil, I had a typo... I meant the Shure UC14. The SC14 is VHF (I found it for around $546) which I rejected over the use of UHF. The UC is one of the only models that have some frequency equalization built in to the receiver (only 2 band, but something). They have both XLR and TS. Hopefully, you will let me know how you feel about this choice. I know the 100 series Sennheiser has TRS instead of XLR and I think it's noise rejection is not as good as the Shure UC14 (nor the 300 series Senn). The Sennheisers (500 series is around $833, 300 around $638) come with a lav. mic but I also don't know how quality compares to Shure. Oddly enough (to me), the 100 series comes with a cardioid ME4 lav. mic and the 312, 512 are packaged with omni ME2 (I would much prefer a cardioid pattern to an omni). I would have to purchase the lav. mic separately with Shure and might go with the hypercardioid WL 184 which is around $92 over the cardioid WL 185 for $85. Actually, I'd prefer an SC14 to the UC14, although we both made the same gaff on the model #. http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/redface.gif The SC series was/is VHF, but very high quality, as many as 7 freq. available on one unit, and incorporated the Key Squelch. They sent an ultrasonic key-tone from transmitter to receiver along with the audio, instead of using a separate mute switch. When you turned the power off, no key-tone was present and the receiver automatically muted the output. Very cool feature, not sure why they never incorporated this into later units in UHF... hmmmmm... As I said, I've never had the pleasure with the Senn. lav's. Beware using the Shure 184. It is VERY directional. I had proble.. ...cutting out becau... eaker turned his head away fro... ouldn't keep a consistant outpu... (Have I gotten the point across??? http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/wink.gif ) The Shure mics are very good. The best way to go is omni, if you can limit bleed and feedback issues. ------------------ Neil Reality: A few moments of lucidity surrounded by insanity. It's easiest to find me on Facebook. Neil Bergman Soundclick fntstcsnd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Special_K Posted June 13, 2001 Author Share Posted June 13, 2001 Hmmm... your comments on the mics are interesting. The only thing that made me consider the supercardioid pattern was a comment by a salesperson that they would be better to limit noise/feedback. Prior to that, I figured a cardioid would be better than omni. I know that omnis would be more likely to have problems w/ feedback and/or a "tube sounding" effect if 2 users (a duet) get too close to each other (bleed?). Maybe the Shure omni patterns (WL 183) are tight enough that these effects can be controlled. In travelling, we sometimes have smaller locations where we keep our speakers (for the audience) near or on stage where this could be a problem. Sounds like I should demo the Shure and Sennheiser mics to compare them. Dave Knepper http://members.cox.net/dknepper/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Special_K Posted June 18, 2001 Author Share Posted June 18, 2001 I ordered 2 Sennheiser Evolution Series 100 systems with cardioid lavalier mics from Wireless First http://www.wirelessfirst.com/ I spoke to directly to Kevin Sanford (owner) and he seemed pleased with Sennheiser's service record and their mics indicating that they may be sturdier than Shure mics. I don't want to put words in his mouth by paraphrasing, but he seemed to think this system would work well for our group. Thanks to those who responded. I expect to have the systems today or tomorrow and should have a chance to do some testing so let me know if anyone wants feedback. Dave Dave Knepper http://members.cox.net/dknepper/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.