Radio Mike Purchase

[Seithennin]

Hi All,

Im hoping that someone here can help me. I'm a member of a local am dram group and we are looking into buying some radio mikes. They need to be pretty good all rounders for both speech and singing. We usualy play in a theatre with 350ish capacity to give an idea on size. We are looking to buy between 4-6 to start with but may want to increase that numebr at a later date when more funds become available. Were not looking for top of the range but more a good solid piece of kit that will see us through panto's and shows into the future. Budget is a bit on an issue as it always seems to be but any and all advice/recomendations would be greatfully accepted and appriciated!!!

 

Many thanks, Matt

 

p.s. It needs to be a hands free system, seen: http://www.proaudiosystems.co.uk/product-168-2-15-77.html on offer at £130ish is it any cop or a waste of money for what I'm wanting to do?!?

[Rob_Beech]

Hi Matt,

 

By the sounds of things you are wanting to use alot of channels together. This is very important to note when purchasing radio mic systems as some of the cheaper systems will not allow that many systems to work at the same time.

 

The other important thing is licensing. You WILL need a license to run more than 4 of these (and it's always a good idea to use the licensed channels anyway with only 4 as it leaves the free band free for those who do not have a license. This section normally gets quite cluttered)

 

You don't say whether you want handheld, lapel, or headset but prices don't tend to differ too much between them in the same range.

 

I'd have a look at the Sennheiser 300 series (G2). These are a little over £400 a piece excluding the vat so £70 or so more than the 100 series but IMO they have a few features that become life savers when using lots of channels together (multi colour display, battery readings etc).

 

For hand helds it depends which head you want. The 65 heads are what I use although they're a little bit strict on mic technique. A little too far off axis and the level drops. If the people using them do not have good mic technique then I'd suggest the 45 head instead. The lapels also have 2 different capsules which are directional or not so to speak. There is a small price difference between the different models.

 

All the extras are available to neaten up racks etc. ASP 2 for antenna distribution and the likes.

[Shez]

Hi Matt,

It's been said here many times before, but I'll say it again. Cheap radio mics are REALLY not worth the hassle.

I'm currently looking after sound for an am dram panto, using Sennheiser G2 500 series mics. In many ways, these are identical to the 300 series that Rob mentions, just offering a few extra facilities that are by no means essential. The 300 series are the lowest spec that I would be happy to work with in this scenario.

To put things in perspective a little, the microphone capsules I'm using with the system cost around the same price that you're hoping to get a capsule AND radio transmitter AND receiver for.

It's a hired system and it works flawlessly. Lesser systems WILL give you trouble at some point. It's also worth bearing in mind that the future of the available radio spectrum for these mics is still up in the air. Anything you buy now may become illegal to use in not very many years time.

 

Shez

[Rob_Beech]

It's important to note that the edit in the OP was the last paragraph with some possible indication of what budget was in mind.

 

Bear in mind that only 8 simultaneous mics can be used at once. From experience, if someone wants to advertise a product figures are sometimes a little ambitious. Take budget lightweight amplifiers for example. 2500per channel at 4ohms. Yes, for 10mS, then only 900watts. SO, generally speaking on a BUDGET system like this. 8 systems might be pushing it. Given that you want 6 already and may want to expand when more funds become available I'd certainly consider looking elsewhere. That's BEFORE we look at how good that system really is.

[Bobbsy]

This has probably become the most-asked question in the Blue Room Sound forum.

 

You've already had some worthwhile responses, particularly to consider the ability to use multiple channels together on easily licensed frequencies, something often lacking on cheaper mics. I'd also throw in that you need to watch the capsule size for the theatre use you want....cheap often equals big capsules which makes things awkward for hairline or cheek mounts (though use of the inexpensive CPC capsule might be the solution to this).

 

However, for specific recommendations, rather than go through it all again, if you search on "radio mic purchase" you get THIS LIST which is worth reading through.

 

I'll close this topic now but if you have any specific questions after going through the old topics, please feel free to start another topic.

 

Bob