Advice wanted on microphones and audio stuff for hall

[dhicks]

I was really after something very basic - several input all mixed to the amp - and a volume control for each input - nothing else really

 

We've been using a Chord 4-way rackmount unit for the past 2 and a bit years:

 

http://www.edugeek.net/forums/av-multimedia-related/113765-rackmount-wireless-microphone-set.html

 

Available for around £400 on Amazon, comes complete with four mics and an all-in-one mixer that lets you output either individual mic channels or a single mixed output from all four. Can be bought as a set with either hand-held or headset mics, plus you can get individual mics / headsets (Premier Farnell had reasonable prices the other week when I looked). We actually bought two sets, one of handheld mics and one of headsets, so we can swap between the two.

 

We often use the above with a small, portable mini-amp:

 

https://www.studiospares.com/Headphones-and-Speakers/Portable-PA/Studiospares-Trojan-iPA800---Mic-Stand---Bag_250212.htm

 

That lasts well on battery power, although you can plug it in, and has a proper output that you can connect up a second speaker to if you need more coverage. Again, nothing fancy, but it provides an input for both your microphones and a PC / iPhone or similar (it has both an iPhone cradle on top and phono inputs). It'll stand on a standard speaker stand, and you can put the rackmount wireless mic receiver in a 2U stage box and have a nice compact, portable, plug-in-and-away-you-go setup for somewhere under £600.

 

Chord now do a six-way mic set which I'm tempted to get but haven't actually tried yet. The Chord systems are probably at the lower end of the audio quality scale, but I find they are excellent value for money for the perfectly servicable equipment they produce. Do be wary of some of the even cheaper units available on Amazon and eBay - some of them use frequencies that aren't legal for us to use in the UK.