need profession opinion on wireless mics

[godd2]

Hello,

I need some profession advise/experience. I work in a high school so high school kids are using the wireless body pack microphones we have. There is an "argument" between a few of us and others to what we should do to purchase more mics. Some have suggested that all the high schools go in together and buy high quality mics and then share them in the district. I would assume they would want seinhauser so we are looking at 1000 to 1200 a unit for the receiver, transmitter and small microphone. My school in the past has bought shure slx series mics. these are running around 800 now. Recently I have bought a company call Mipro. I have really liked these. they have nice small mics and a good receiver. These go for around 450. Now I realize there is sound differences as you go up but from what I am hearing with the Mipro and Shure it isnt noticeable to a normal person.

 

So with all of that background, I guess I have a few questions and looking for opinions. First of all, are mics like seinhauser built to with stand more abuse than a shure type quality? we deal with high school kids so they are very bad on how they treat the connectors to the body back or crimping the cable so we get many shorts around that connection area. will a more expensive unit be able to handle that better? for me it is a numbers game, I can get 2 Mipro for 1 shure basically, so when they go down I have more. Am I looking at this right?

 

Are seinhauser's sound that much better than a shure or even this Mipro for a high school production for the money they cost and the beating they take?

or am I not realizing that the higher money units will actually last longer and take the abuse better?

 

In the end, I feel that most of our sound issues are not the unit but how the unit has been treated and how much knowledge I or the board operator have.

 

anyway, thanx for the suggestions.

[Bobbsy]

You might find THIS recent thread worth reading (ignore a few posts at the end which are about a specific UK licensing issue).

 

Basically, it seems that it's a bit difficult to compare Shure and Sennheiser. The cheaper Shure models don't seem to be as robustly built as the Sennheiser stuff--but cost less money. All the Sennheiser G3 kits have metal cases for example while the Shure stuff that sells for less than the Sennies are made of plastic. Jump up a model or two from the base level Shures and they may be tougher than the Sennheisers. Basically, it's not an easy decision.

 

One thing I'd suggest though is that you treat the actual microphones as semi-disposable goods. The electronics packs of any manufacturer should last a good while but the mic capsules, connectors and cables will all take a beating. Even if they seem to work, sweat and make up in the capsule change the sound and pickup characteristics faster than you'd think.

 

In the UK (this is a British-based site) many of our members are buying mics from a company called CPC rather than sticking to the brand names. In the USA I know quite a few are now buying mic capsules from MICROPHONE MADNESS though I have no personal experience down here in the wilds of Australia! However, when I say "quite a few" I'm even including some New York shows who swear by them!

 

If I were to stick my neck out, I'd say that, unless you can step up to a more expensive Shure, then I personally prefer the Sennheisers. However, you'll find that you'll get a variety of opinions. One thing I do like is the idea of several schools sharing a rack of radio mics--a very good idea I wish I'd though of!

[paulears]

I agree - when schools hire kit, the repair/replacement charges often come to more than the hire cost! In my area, the local college who do performing arts bought a 12 way rack, and then they hire them out to local schools and occasional amateur company. They use the CPC headsets because the kids wreck them. They also regularly break the transmitter packs - it's a hazard you have to live with.

 

The other thought is the Trantec rack and ready systems. The packs are smaller, and you can use the cheap headsets too. Price wise these are pretty cost effective and you can get them on ch 38 - which is what you MUST buy - and get a license.

 

For once a year, hiring is still best. If you have them, you'll use them much more. If you buy a system, it needs to be a proper system, not just a pile of kit - there are aerial distribution systems and power supply kit to think about. Packs will perhaps also be considered consumable too - dropped down the loo, smashed to bit when somebody stamps on them and usually bent when somebody rips off the mic socket. It happens - a lot. If you think £500 a channel, it probably nearer than your guesstimate. Have a look at those rack n ready systems, schools love them because they work straight away.

 

I assume you have the rest of the system already - PA wise - and the other schools do too? The sharing thing can work - but can go badly wrong if staff members leave, or heads change. Who would get the system in the case of a double booking? Easy if you're friends, tricky if the management get involved. How do you split the cost - VAT is involved, and somebody has to be responsible for keeping it going, buying new mics and re-charging them. My experience is that sharing is a great concept, but damn hard to make work. Just look how tricky any school consortia systems are!