Sennheiser XS vs EW G3 test (day 1)

[alangeering]

Hi,

 

As there still doesn't seem to be a huge ammount of information around about the relative merits of EW100 G3 vs XSW equipment I thought I'd get a couple of sets and test them. If anyone else has similar experience this would be a good place to post findings so others who want to know can find it.

 

Microphones:

EW100 G3 hand held with 835 capsule

XSW 35 (hand held with 835 capsule)

Both on Channel 38

Tests done with short antennas (not paddles and distro)

 

RF performance:

The first test we did was to take both radio microphones to the furthest points of the church and attached buildings. 40 meters and multiple walls were not enough to cause audio to drop out. Looking at the RF meter on the EW100 G3 receiver and the XSW reciever simultaniously they both tracked (i.e. saw peaks at the same time) and were giving similar indications. Within the church itself at a distance of 20 meters at all microphone orientations there were no problems at all.

With two XS systems on adjacent channels (Bank 1 Channel 1 and Bank 1 Channel 2) which should be safe to use together I had to use quite a bit of squelch as with only one microphone on the off channel would pick up pops/crackle. Once both microphones were on (or both off) there was no problem). This was at a distance of 5 meters from the receivers. I'm assuming this would be reduced as the mirophones moved away from the receivers.

 

AF Performance:

I've only had one vocalist to test with so far. There was very little difference between the sound of the microphones. I'd like to test with other vocalists before making a judgement.

Our stage can be a nightmare for feedback (speakers behind the stage) so I was very interested in how the microphones would perform - and I was impressed with both. No issues at all.

 

Physical feel:

I've not got the scales out but the XS transmitter is a lot lighter than the EW transmitter. Our vocalists like the lighter weight of the XS over a long service but neither is a problem. The all metal body of the EW certainly feels more robust than the more plastic XS.

 

Usability:

The EW100 G3 menu system is easy to use. All controls are hidden under a ring at the bottom so can't be inadvertantly changed. Channel selection can be made on receiver and synced to the transmitter, or set on the transmitter and receiver independantly.

The XS range is different in a few ways. Frequency slection must be made on the receiver and synced to the transmitter. This is something I'm not sure I like as much. Sure it's simple, but I come from a theatre background and I like the idea of being able to grab a spare transmitter backstage, set the frequency and put it into service... having to coordinate pushing sync buttons with FOH to swap in a mic sounds like it's going to be messy.

The squelch on the EW is set from the front panel, the XS is a knob on the back.

The XS microphone has a mute switch on the top (with included LED to show it's active). This is very easy to use - and I'm guessing designed for situations where there's no one mixing. It's a bit too easy to use for my liking as I worry about it being activated accidentally. Unfortunatly the XS does not show "MUTE" on it's display (the EW does) so as the guy on the mixer I'd have to spot the LED on the mic to know why. From 20 meters away this isn't likly.

 

Compatibility:

When tuned to the same frequency an XS Tx and EW Rx will work fine, as will an EW Tx and XS Rx, so they are compatible... except there is one annoying thing: The bank 1 frequeny presets are different for the EW and XS range.

One other thing to notice - it might be tempting to buy an XSW 35 transmitter as a cheaper spare in case one of your g3 hand helds go down - but ask yourself: how are you going to tune it? Without an XS receiver you can't tune an XS transmitter.

 

Other considerations:

Sennheiser sell a 2 way passive splitter to use two XS recievers in a 1u rackspace with antennas on the ends.

The EW G3 range is marketed with the ASA1 1:4 splitter/distribution amp and various antennae. The ASA 1 can power the receivers making for neater wiring.

I've not yet tested the XS with the ASA, but I will do in the future.

 

Price:

XSW: £299

EW100 G3: £499

 

Pesonal feelings:

Overall I'm satisfied with both products. The EW100 is certainly a more advanced system with some extra features (changable capsules) but you pay more for them.

I'd like to get to the bottom of the interference issue between the two XS sets and I wish Sennheiser had made the frequency banks on the two ranges the same for the purpose of interoperability.

 

For a church/venue that used equipment in Ch70 and just needed a couple of extra channels then the XS range is a cheaper way to get there with still decent sound quality.

For a larger church that has come from using many mics in Ch 69 then I'd suggest the EW range with its distribution system is a better way to go.

 

 

I hope this helps anyone who's looking into this and I'm willing to take questions and test things if people want.

[alangeering]

A couple more observations:

 

Sennhieser GAM 2 £176.07 (a passive two ways split and rack mounting for two receivers)

 

Sennheiser ASA 1 £402.22 (an active 4 way split with powering for remote antenna boosters/active antenna and receivers)

Sennheiser GA 3 £31.50 (rackmounting for two G3 receivers)

 

So to rack up 4 receivers:

For XS Range: 2 x GAM 2 = £352.14 (but it's a passive split)

For EW Range: 2 x GA 3 + 1 x ASA 1 = £465.22 (active split and powering)

 

I feel like Sennheiser should have aimed for around £100 to £115 to make the GAM 2 more attractive. XS microphones are 3/5 the cost of the EW100 yet the cost to rack up 4 of them is more than 3/5 of the cost of the superior ASA1/GA3 kit.

 

A quirk - the GAM 2 kit (with it's passive splits) is cheaper than an ASA 212 passive splitter - no details available yet to say whether the GAM 2 splitters pass DC for antenna powering though.

 

All prices taken today from a well known german store.

[minty]

Thanks for that! A concise and informative post; nice to know how these two options stack up.

 

Cheers,

 

Martin

[unLaXo]

Great post!

I like the passage about XSW/G3 compatibility. I was curious if I can buy lavalier mic with G3 transmitter and use it with my XSw receiver.

Now I see it is possible (but not practical). If you have not enough budget, it can work for a while.

Thank you!

[alangeering]

I was curious if I can buy lavalier mic with G3 transmitter and use it with my XSw receiver.

 

 

An update:

The 8 EW100 transmitters/receivers are in constant use and the XS units are just used every now and then in a 2nd venue when needed. I never did test the XS receivers with the ASA1 - everything is nicely racked up and reliable, I don't want to disturb it. I can't really add anything to the original post about XS range reliability as they're only used about 5 times a year. The EW100 range have been totally solid on the RF side of things. The only problems being microphone abuse leading to crackles from broken cables where the lead meets the capsule on the ME4.

 

One extra note:

I didn't think I'd ever really need the IR sync on the EW range - it seemed like a bit of a gimmic. That was until a very quic mic swap was required. Being able to raise the spare mic to the receiver, push one button and have it ready to pass on stage was simple and fast. The workflow on this was better than having a spare mic "live" on a spare channel - I'd rather the extra second to re-rune via IR than having to re-patch/adjust settings on the desk. Admittedly on the Behringer X32 this is very fast too.

[Bobbsy]

Build quality?

 

The extra weight you mention in one of your posts may also indicate a longer service life. If the EW100 lasts twice as long because it's a more solid construction, it suddenly becomes a better buy in cost terms. (And I'm not saying it will--I haven't had a chance to use the XS yet.)

 

But a very helpful and useful comparison...thanks.

[Bobbsy]

Build quality?

 

The extra weight you mention in one of your posts may also indicate a longer service life. If the EW100 lasts twice as long because it's a more solid construction, it suddenly becomes a better buy in cost terms. (And I'm not saying it will--I haven't had a chance to use the XS yet.)

 

But a very helpful and useful comparison...thanks.

[Bazz339]

Thank you for that Alangeering.

 

Can you tell me whether the XSWs switch on and off silently with a live mic channel? although having the mute function it is not that important.