Rackmount wireless microphone set

[john]

Must admit I used to have a set of 802s and never had a controller, fine those that are audio-geeks can hear the difference and you need to be a bit smarter on the settings and how you drive them but they work without.

[Andrew_C]

Wow. I've never considered myself "Golden Eared", but the difference with and without is really quite noticeable.

 

Maybe the reason people go all "Marmite" on Bose is that there are so many systems running without the Eq.?

[mjs_mjs]

Must admit I used to have a set of 802s and never had a controller, fine those that are audio-geeks can hear the difference and you need to be a bit smarter on the settings and how you drive them but they work without.

 

Wow. I've never considered myself "Golden Eared", but the difference with and without is really quite noticeable.

 

Maybe the reason people go all "Marmite" on Bose is that there are so many systems running without the Eq.?

 

the bose stuff does have controllers for all of their gear in that series, it's mainly a standard set of EQ settings and a crossover for subs/mono sub/other things. You can run them without the controller but you'll miss out 3 key functions,

1 EQ - to make it sound nicer/modify the sound to fit the room (sometimes to remove feedback issues)

2 crossover - to remove the frequencies that shouldn't be going to the 802's (sub 75hz maybe would be bad for the small drivers in the box)

3 limiter - to stop people over driving the speakers and amp with signal that is too hot.

 

if you can get hold of the preset data, a new digital loudspeaker management system would be a great idea to help protect the system into the future. (the folio is a great little series of desk - I have some in my hire stock and they've been going for ages (apart from the power connector that is))

[dhicks]

Must admit I used to have a set of 802s and never had a controller, fine those that are audio-geeks can hear the difference and you need to be a bit smarter on the settings and how you drive them but they work without.

 

Right, now I'm really confused. The whole reason we got a controller (and, again, many thanks, @Andrew_C) in the first place was because we had a problem showing a DVD in the main hall one evening - you could hear the soundtrack, you just couldn't understand what anyone was saying. Running the sound system without the controller yesterday with the new microphone set plugged in, the head actually complemented me on how clear the sound was. Maybe we just needed to reorganise the system, or just remove the equaliser that was originally part of the setup?

[john]

Right, now I'm really confused. The whole reason we got a controller (and, again, many thanks, @Andrew_C) in the first place was because we had a problem showing a DVD in the main hall one evening - you could hear the soundtrack, you just couldn't understand what anyone was saying. Running the sound system without the controller yesterday with the new microphone set plugged in, the head actually complemented me on how clear the sound was. Maybe we just needed to reorganise the system, or just remove the equaliser that was originally part of the setup?

 

If your EQ was badly setup / faulty it would have screwed the sounds so you would get poor sound.

[mjs_mjs]

If your EQ was badly setup / faulty it would have screwed the sounds so you would get poor sound.

 

Or a weird phase or summing issue in a bad cable possibly.... I've had a bad 3.5 jack to XLR on a (rather large) gig, which summed the L and the R's inverse inside the desk... sounded really funny but it was the only one on site at the time.

[Avonics]

Bose 802s must have a Bose 802 system controller, no ifs or buts. Otherwise they will sound awful.

The way the Bose Professional gear works relies heavily on EQ and processing. You can't use another manufacturer's EQ or simulate it with a graphic EQ as the curves are too complex.

You will need to get your controller fixed or get a new one.

Many DJs will tell you that they will work without EQ but most DJs are deaf as a post.

For repairs you will need to go to a Bose Professional Partner supplier, or look on Ebay for a second hand one.

[Andrew_C]

The way the Bose Professional gear works relies heavily on EQ and processing.

To expand on that thought a little:-

 

Traditionally, speaker manufactures did some calculations based on the Theile - Small parameters then made a prototype. They listened to them, tweaked the design a bit, listened, ....

 

Bose chose a shape they wanted, made the box, and tweaked the sound electronically to sound how they wanted.

 

They are the Marmite of the sound world!

[Avonics]

Some say BOSE stands for:

Bring

Other

Sound

Equipment

[mjs_mjs]

Bose chose a shape they wanted, made the box, and tweaked the sound electronically to sound how they wanted.

 

They are the Marmite of the sound world!

 

Alot of manufactures do this now to help improve there box, but andrew_c is correct. If you mention BOSE to a pro sound engineer or tech they'll usually shake their head in disgust. They have their good products tho, i'm thinking all the 70/100v line syuff and wave cannons in theme parks .

[dhicks]

Many DJs will tell you that they will work without EQ but most DJs are deaf as a post.

 

The speakers seem okay with our microphones and with a bit of music in assembly, but probably no-one is really paying much attention to the sound quality. I'll see how they get on with the end-of-term film tomorrow - if we can hear and understand the sound okay then that's fine, if not then we'll have to see about sorting it. I get the impression it's going to be easier to get a new set of speakers rather than get the Bose controller repaired.

[john]

Some say BOSE stands for:

Bring

Other

Sound

Equipment

 

I like that one not come across it before but agree.

 

As has been said they do seem the Marmite of Audio kit, I personally am not a fan its over-priced and too fussy at times for my liking, I do like EV products both my halls and drama studio at my last place were rigged out with EV kit and it was excellent quality sound and worked well (and no over-priced / complex controllers!)

[Avonics]

EV is good, Even Behringer would be good and economical.

Would be a shame to scrap the Bose, would almost definitely be worth getting the controller repaired.

[soveryapt]

EV is good, Even Behringer would be good and economical.

Would be a shame to scrap the Bose, would almost definitely be worth getting the controller repaired.

 

I agree .. whilst the statements about BOSE kit being frowned upon are true (personally I think their zone systems (cubes etc) for background music or home entertainement systems are great, but the "pro" kit .. well) for the cost of either replacing a fuse (likely candidate) or even buying a reconditioned one on eBay, it'd be cheaper than getting in a new system .. It might be worthwhile seeing if someone has a controller you can borrow to double check that is the issue though before you head down that route ..

[dhicks]

Would be a shame to scrap the Bose, would almost definitely be worth getting the controller repaired.

 

Another issue to consider: for some reason our new 4-unit microphone unit didn't work with the Bose controller plugged in, although it seems fine now with the output from the mixer going straight to the amp. Does the signal processing done by the controller intefere in some way with what comes out from the microphone, or was it simply that the controller was on its way out anyway (it failed the next day after we'd been trying out the microphones)?

[dhicks]

Has anyone come accross Chord microphones before, does anyone have one of these sets, are they okay?

 

Just to update this thread: 2 years on, and we have 2 of the Chord 4-way systems, one with handheld mics and one with headsets, that have worked very well for everything we've (sometimes literally) thrown them at. They are good, robust bits of kit, well worth the £250-odd each we spent on them. I see a 6-way version is now available:

 

https://www.studiospares.com/Microphones/Mics-Wireless/Chord-Hu6-UHF-Combo-6-Way-CH70-System_476630.htm

 

£400, not bad, and seem to be available in handheld / headset / combination sets. Has anyone used one of these 6-way units - are they as good as the 4-way units?

[dhicks]

Another update to this thread: 5 years on and the wireless mics are still working just fine, but we have a new stage area to kit out and the drama teacher fancies having more channels available. I've just seen these on the Studio Spares website:

 

https://www.studiospares.com/new-in/Studiospares-dual-wireless-systems.htm

 

That would seem to be around £1,500 for a 16-mic setup - does that seem right?

[Andrew_C]

Plus a rack?

 

And with aerials that look fixed, it may be a challenge to rack mount.

[AlanPartridgeAhaa]

They look cheap and cheerful, and delicate...

 

Having said that, they appear to be a rebadged version of these Trantec's . Trantec used to be a half decent mid-range name , I'm surprised to see them using this rebadged stuff.

Edited October 15, 2018 by AlanPartridgeAhaa

[mjs_mjs]

So your old 4 channel's are UHF, and these will be in the Wi-Fi band, just be aware that that band is heavily used for all sorts, they're certainly not something I would spec on a job, purely for that RF aspect - but as with all things, they may actually be fine in your use case, and if they're stable RFwise, the value for the school will be very good, and hard to beat.

[dhicks]

And with aerials that look fixed, it may be a challenge to rack mount.

 

Good point - I phoned Studio Spares today, I didn't ask the chap who answered the phone if they were fixed arials, it's something to check up on.

[dhicks]

they appear to be a rebadged version of these Trantec's .

 

The specification for which, I now notice, says that you can use 8 channels out of an available 16. Okay, 8 channels is still better than 4, but I was looking forward to being able to wire a whole class (private school) up with mics in one go.

[dhicks]

So your old 4 channel's are UHF, and these will be in the Wi-Fi band, just be aware that that band is heavily used for all sorts

 

It's a good point, and when I phoned Studio Spares today the chap on the phone reckoned they manage to co-exist with WiFi systems with no problem. In this particular case we should be okay as the hall should hopefully just have the one point-to-point wireless link over to the main school which is then linked to a wired network.

[SamanthaD]

I was looking forward to being able to wire a whole class (private school) up with mics in one go.

a) Go outside and have a word with yourself. Unless you have an automixer that sounds like a nightmare - not something I would be looking forward to!

 

b) Private school? I'd be pushing for a Ch 38 / 39 system and having proper RF transmitters. If you really want 16 channels this is the way to go IMO!