Does anybody have experience of JTS wireless gear?

[Nocastus]

Hi all,

 

My local amateur dramatics group has asked me to advise them on buying an 8-way set of Ch 38 wireless mics. When people have asked me this in the past, I've pointed them at Trantec S5.3 systems - my church has four of these and several bands I've worked with have also bought them, and I've never heard any complaints.

 

They're too expensive for my am dram friends though. Looking around the internet I came across JTS, a manufacturer I'd never heard of before, and their US 903 DC Pro system. Normally I'd run a mile before recommending anything with 'Pro' in the product name, but the specs look OK and the price is definitely better. Does anyone here have any experience with them? Another option might be a set of 8 Line 6 XD-V55HS, plus an antenna dis box and some remote paddles. Assuming they want to spend about £3000, does anyone have any other ideas on what I could recommend?

 

Thanks,

Gerard

[Stuart91]

One option might be FBT. I've been quite impressed by their mid-range models. They retail above the £300 mark, but with quantity discount etc. you could probably get a set of 8 good to go for around £3000. Worth getting a demo maybe and see what you think.

 

(Full disclosure here - I've got an FBT dealership but would recommend them ahead of similar priced offerings from other brands we sell. However there will be other dealers far closer to the OP should he want to take things further)

[dbuckley]

There are several Blue Roomers with JTS experience, and this kit has been discussed several times, but unfortunately the brain-damaged BR search won't find anything that useful. Or anything with just three characters in the search term.

 

However, google is your friend.

[paulears]

Derek Acorah tours with a JTS handheld system that has four mics that get passed around the audience, with some paddles and I've always been quite impressed with the build quality, and the performance. If presented with one I wouldn't worry. I've also got some of the Line 6 systems and although they're a little plasticy - again performance has been excellent. The rack mounting system with interlocking extrusions is also very tough and solid, and you can loop through the aerials without extra gubbins. Just add external aerials, and depending on what you need, with 2.4GHz, there are plenty of different ones available.

[cedd]

Long time JTS user here. They've recently been replaced with Trantec S5.3's, but still get use as my B rack for schools and church stuff.

 

Great performance, never once in 6 or 7 years of owning them have I had a problem. Battery compartments are a little fiddly and I never liked the idea that you have to unplug the capsule from the handheld to get to the battery compartment - always seemed a recipe for wear.

 

The beltpacks are really quite large, so they're quite tricky to conceal and are quite weighty. But I like the wrap around aluminium case on mine (US-901D).

 

As Paul says, wouldn't sniff at them, aside from the minor mechanical observations above. I also much prefer 4 pin mini XLR's to locking jacks, hence why I went for Trantec.

[Nocastus]

Thanks everyone, looks like I wouldn't be doing them a terrible disservice if I suggested either the JTS or the Line 6. Thanks also for the google tip - I tried the forum search first but it returned nothing, lots of discussion from the Google link though!

 

Cheers,

Gerard

[paulears]

The search function has been broken since the last major update, a subject that really annoys everyone, because in all fairness you can't tick people off for not using the search function when it can't find even the simplest topics you know are there. To annoy the mods, some of the behind the scenes functions don't work either.

 

On a video forum I use, I'm always amazed that the kit we use is always slagged off because it's too cheap and therefore MUST be rubbish. People recommending Sennheisers at three grand a channel, or lectrosonic because they're so good for the demanding film and TV world, and their assumption that what we do is much less demanding!

 

Any manufacturer who produces a range that is designed to run multi-channel really can't afford to have rubbish products, like we did see years ago - so it's practical stuff like connectors, ease of operation, repairs to damaged components - stuff like that, that really matter now.