Portable Dance Teacher's PA

[Jivemaster]

I'm looking for a portable dance teacher's PA rig.

Essential

Small 20w would be fine

CD player

Headset wireless mic.

Easy to rig

 

Additional plus points

Mic in

Line in

Line OUT

 

So Far

http://www.terralec.co.uk/audio_systems/pav8_portable_pa_system_with_dvd_player/33499_p.html

 

Comes closest (has two mics but use either not both)

 

Does anyone care to suggest a better system please? Better as cheaper, smaller, line out connections, 2 wireless mics use both.

[revbobuk]

I've used the Astra PAV8 - which may now be discontinued, but there are probably similar things around. Here

[Malcolm Gordon]

How about Coomber, well respected make in the education field?

[revbobuk]

Chayo and Mipro are brands to search for as well. Coomber are ok but (IMHO ) tend to be short on facilities and long on price!

[Jivemaster]

Scary! That Coomber unit is about double the price of the Adastra unit, and I thought red vinide went out with the Dansette.

[sam.spoons]

Coomber stuff is built like the proverbial concrete outhouse, well worth the money for long term use. Portagram is the other big name in the Dance industry.

[J Pearce]

Coomber kit is also very repairable, and somewhat modular.

[revbobuk]

Good units aren't cheap. The Chiayo Focus505CD is £400+ so don't expect bargain basement prices - they're not big sellers, so the price tends to reflect that. CD is also going out of fashion quite fast - you'll pay much less for one of the ion/alesis devices that run from an ipod/ipad/iphone - although most of those don't include radio mics. There are some good suppliers focussed on the aerobics industry - try here for example.

[TomHoward]

If a move from CD is a possibility the QTX units have USB/MP3 playback and wireless receivers built in - battery powered too like the first model linked - there a lot of models but they come in 8,10,12 and 15 inch flavours - they're criminally cheap as well. I've seen QTX models with 2ch receive but supplied with handhelds - you might be able to change them though

 

Just looking at the models:

 

http://avslgroup.com/en/search?qt=tree%3A211

 

1x QX8PAV, and replacement mics 178.852UK and 178.851UK (headword to replace the handhelds supplied) - plays CD, USB and Bluetooth received, 2x 8 inch boxes (you could leave the secondary at home) and 2x mic receivers, etc. Looks like the PA is in the region of £250 and the replacement mics are about £15.

[richardash1981]

Just don't expect too much out of the cheap VHF radio mics these things seem to always come with! They often can't cope with other users on adjacent channels, and have very short range (and noisy, but that probably doesn't matter). So fine if the transmitter is close to PA system and no other radio mic users are around, but be aware of the limitations!

[mojo filters]

Just don't expect too much out of the cheap VHF radio mics these things seem to always come with! They often can't cope with other users on adjacent channels, and have very short range (and noisy, but that probably doesn't matter). So fine if the transmitter is close to PA system and no other radio mic users are around, but be aware of the limitations!

 

This!

 

I often work in the voluntary/charity/non-commercial sector. We often get equipment of this type donated, or brought to events by participants who can't really be criticised for their choices.

 

Whilst in isolation these RX mics can work well enough, given the circumstances - my experience is that when a problem does happen (and eventually it will) it's nigh on impossible to fix, as one would be able to with more pro level kit.

 

I understand and have experienced many situations where I'm forced to make this kind of thing work. Thankfully it's never a critical situation, but if it were I've been burned enough times to know that caution should be advised.

 

Hence the above is very pertinent advice! However I sympathize with the situation where your job is to facilitate the progress of an event, with concerns of this type always at the back of your mind.

[Jivemaster]

OK the complete box that I want isn't on the market. SO

 

I'm looking at brand radio mics for a male voice. Nice headset mic for dance teaching (not energetic) spares available, Major brand name of repute, Likely but not essentially UHF, preferably licence free.

 

I'd like advice on your choice based on value vs quality please.

[richardash1981]

OK the complete box that I want isn't on the market. SO

 

I'm looking at brand radio mics for a male voice. Nice headset mic for dance teaching (not energetic) spares available, Major brand name of repute, Likely but not essentially UHF, preferably licence free.

 

I'd like advice on your choice based on value vs quality please.

The bottom end worth using is (in my view) Trantec S4.4 series (same thing as Sennheiser Freeport). The question then is "why move up?" and off the top of my head I'm struggling to work out a reason:

• 4 channels in Channel 70 UHF (congested, but you can set which channel quickly with a screwdriver)
• Locking 3.5mm jack on the beltpack (cheap and loads of headsets fit)
• Very widely installed and bought in the lower end market - probably the commonest radio mic I see in churches

The next step up is Sennheiser's EW100 G3 series kit, which is also common in churches, but almost exclusively where an installer has specified the complete system. Nice kit, very well built, but complicated menus that confuse a lot of the users! You'll need to spend a bit of time reading through the book! For music (bands etc.) or a hand-held mic the difference is obvious, but I'm not convinced that the step up will really benefit you for what you want from a beltpack system.

 

If it's likely to get dropped / stood on a lot the beltpack won't last, but I'm not sure I would recommend a Sennheiser EW100 G3 for that kind of treatment given the price they are.

 

Whatever way you go, you don't have to use a headset from the same vendor provided the plug is compatible, and there are lots of headset mic options around - the challenge is usually one that you are happy wearing and doesn't fall off, rather than sound quality these days.

[soundspider]

I have used the Thomann own brand radio mics quite a lot, and I have to say they are very good for the money. 16 frequencies in channel 70, pretty easily switched between, can be a bit noisy, but not critical for a dance teacher I imagine. You can buy the headset version without having to mess about with a lav and finding something compatible. And they're about 25 quid cheaper than the s4.4 (although they are also decent mics).

 

If you're looking above the Trantec but can't stretch to the g3 sennheiser, there's the sennheiser xsw range, which are excellent mics at the price point.

 

Hope that helps,

 

Alan.