Daan opts for Sony digital wireless.
26-11-2013
For years, Daan and his FOH engineer Bert van Roy have been using Shure UHF handhelds with Beta87 capsules. With this system reaching a certain age, they started looking for a replacement and tested different wireless systems and capsules available on the market today.Some listening tests in Bert’s studio immediately revealed that digital systems offer a superior frequency response and dynamic range over analog UHF systems.
Analog UHF systems use a compander where the signal gets compressed in the handheld transmitter, and expanded in the receiver which results in less dynamic range. Also, a certain balance needs to be found in setting the gain as overdriving the signal, or having too little level will in both cases result in a bad sounding audio transmission.
Besides these dynamic range issues, analog systems also use low-pass and hi-pass filtering which was very audible in the hi-end spectrum during the listening tests.
When we showed Bert the specifications of the Sony DWX system, he took it on a test drive on a couple of summer festivals and rehearsals with recordings for the upcoming theatre tour of Daan.
Both Bert en Daan appreciated the ruler-flat 10Hz-22kHz frequency response, linear phase response, and a huge “real” dynamic range, even over longer distances, all this in a true-diversity system.
Transmitting audio over wireless modulation is a challenge, and will be even more in the future. So digital modulation offers some serious advantages here too.
No third order intermodulation problems mean you can use 16 channels in a TV-channel, even in a polluted environment thanks to QPSK 2-bit modulation.
As a companion to the Sony DWX system, the DPA d:facto II head was chosen because of the natural sound and very neutral and phase-correct off-axis response.
The capsule can take an SPL of 160dB, performs at a real 48V and has an integrated shockmount and 3-stage popfilter which minimizes handling-, wind- and pop-noise to the absolute minimum, while giving a full but intelligible sound.
https://pro.sony/en_be/pro-audio-explained
Contact dany.meeuwissen@amptec.be for more information.