Digital Vs. Radio wireless mics

[kong]

I'm Looking at adding a new rack of wireless mics into the venues system and am trying to decide at this stage about whether or not to go down the digital wireless route.

My two current options for the price range would be either the Line 6XD V75 or else Sennheiser XSw 35.

The advantage with the digital being the 24bit resolution and no need for a licence but the disadvantage of potential latency issues which can also be exacerbated by using a digital console.

Any thoughts or ideas on this subject?

k

[Bobbsy]

There's a long topic on the Line6 offerings HERE. There have been some issue but latency isn't one of them.

 

Out of curiosity, what digital consoles are you thinking of that have latency issues? All the Yammies I've used and also the Midas I have some experience on have latency of under 2ms worst case. Two milliseconds is equivalent to moving the mix position just over 2 feet farther from the FOH speakers--i.e. negligible.

[kong]

There's a long topic on the Line6 offerings HERE. There have been some issue but latency isn't one of them.

 

Out of curiosity, what digital consoles are you thinking of that have latency issues? All the Yammies I've used and also the Midas I have some experience on have latency of under 2ms worst case. Two milliseconds is equivalent to moving the mix position just over 2 feet farther from the FOH speakers--i.e. negligible.

 

From reading up on the usage of Digital wireless mics it seems that adding a suggested 2ms from the mics to the already existing approx 2ms from a digital console it all starts adding up. May be being pedantic but just something thats been on my mind.

[GR1]

If the person using the mic stands more the 4 feet upstage of the PA you should theoretically add delay even given your worse case scenario of 4ms latency. In the real world most people don't add any delay below 10ms unless it's a West End show with a lot of set up time. If the user is in front of the PA the timing will be wrong anyway so don't worry about it. At the lower and of the market for radio mics the single most important thing is to get the best quality and not worry about analogue or digital. I've never used line6 but Sennheiser wouldn't attatch their name to rubbish so I would go with them. Latency of 2ms through a desk isn't worth worrying about as long as the desk is designed for it to be consistant and most desks are.

[Alec]

My two current options for the price range would be either the Line 6XD V75 or else Sennheiser XSw 35.

 

I'd also suggest taking a look at the Sony DWZ-M50, which appears to be in the same price range, and which I only came across this morning. No idea if they're any cop, looks like they're pretty new, but the higher end Sony kit is popular in pro circles.

[paulears]

The latency really doesn't seem to be an issue at all - and as we've mentioned in the other topic, the latency actually seems to help a little with feedback, so in practice, when I've got my Line6 and my Sennheiser racks in the same venue, I really can't tell which is which from the sound. I'm using them with an X-32, if that helps.

[Matt Riley]

Yeah - I wouldn't really worry about the latency issue - I've only ever heard of it being an issue when people are using in ears. Having said that, the sennheiser stuff would be where I would be spending my money at the moment as it will have a higher resale value and will be more attractive to potential hirers, with the only disadvantage that you would need a ch 38 license.

[kong]

Cheers for all the advice, much appreciated.

 

Whilst I'd like to be going the digital route I am concerned about the battery casing on the Line 6 mics so I have purchased the sennheisers.