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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

Rode Wireless go anyone?

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Joe Cage

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Hello,

So im looking into buying a wireless lav set. Now at NAB these 2 small wireless sets have hit the market the rode wireless go and the sony xsw. Im intrigued about the small size and batterylife(charging options) of the Rode wireless go. Would you guys use this for professional audio? Or do you recommend getting a bigger and more expensive set with more options like antenna's other channels? Im prob never going to use it it in conditions that are over 20m away or something.
So basicly the question is, audio qualitywise will the wireless lav set in combo with a decent lav. Get me pro audio quality, or would one hear a drastic difference saying against a sony upw-d11?

Thanks!
 
No first hand experience, but I've also been looking at the Rode. For $200, I will probably just try it. 4ms latency is good, digital transmission should provide comparable quality to hard wired (as their previous kit did), frequency range works world wide and requires no license. The mics will not be top quality, but you can plug in any 3.5mm third party mic. Range and max units supported are less than some other systems, but still enough for most situations. No locking connector is disappointing, but not a deal breaker for my use case.
 
I can’t speak to the audio quality(or anything else about those systems) as I’ve never used or heard them. I’ve never personally owned anything except Lectro wireless. But I would not want a system with non-removable rechargeable batteries as the only powering option.
 
jordan levy said:
this might be a dumb question but what if you are recording two people? can you go into on receiver, or do you need two setups with a splitter into camera?
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You need two wireless mics, transmitters, and receivers (or perhaps a stereo receiver). There's always the chance that one person will be much louder than the other. I also wouldn't use something as cheap and crappy as the Rode wireless. Even a used Lectro or Zaxcom will be a better value in the long run.

Wireless mics are tough to use, because you never know what kind of interference is going to be in the area, what distance the actors/interview subjects will be from the sound recorder/camera, and so on. It's just a "just turn it on and go" device.
 
Marc Wielage said:
You need two wireless mics, transmitters, and receivers (or perhaps a stereo receiver). There's always the chance that one person will be much louder than the other. I also wouldn't use something as cheap and crappy as the Rode wireless. Even a used Lectro or Zaxcom will be a better value in the long run.

Wireless mics are tough to use, because you never know what kind of interference is going to be in the area, what distance the actors/interview subjects will be from the sound recorder/camera, and so on. It's just a "just turn it on and go" device.
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thank you, makes sense. i guess this could be cool for like b roll walk and talks and things. but yeah a sit down interview btwn two people hard wire would be much safer. whats the minimum good set up for two lavs going straight into camera, wired?
 
jordan levy said:
thank you, makes sense. i guess this could be cool for like b roll walk and talks and things. but yeah a sit down interview btwn two people hard wire would be much safer. whats the minimum good set up for two lavs going straight into camera, wired?
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I always went wireless (Lectro 400 series), but also used a boom (and sometimes 2) whenever possible. I gave the post department as many choices as I could. The lav isolated the person but "sounded like a lav" -- that is, a microphone 6" from the person's mouth. The boom had more room ambience, plus it was a $1500 mic, and it "sounded more real." There's pros and cons for either approach. Given a really quiet room and controlled conditions, I'd toss the lavs and use 2 booms and something like 2 Sennheiser MKH 50s or Schoeps 641's. 2 Schoeps CMITs would be another approach.
 
Marc Wielage said:
I always went wireless (Lectro 400 series), but also used a boom (and sometimes 2) whenever possible. I gave the post department as many choices as I could. The lav isolated the person but "sounded like a lav" -- that is, a microphone 6" from the person's mouth. The boom had more room ambience, plus it was a $1500 mic, and it "sounded more real." There's pros and cons for either approach. Given a really quiet room and controlled conditions, I'd toss the lavs and use 2 booms and something like 2 Sennheiser MKH 50s or Schoeps 641's. 2 Schoeps CMITs would be another approach.
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thank you! all makes sense, i was trying to come with a simple one man band approach, but i see what you are saying for sure.
 
Looked at Deity, but the latency for their system is allegedly quite high. Be prepared to adjust your audio timing in post.

Marc, you called the Rode system "cheap and crappy". Zaxcom and Lectro are great, but they are orders of magnitude more expensive and use licensed spectrum that is rapidly being lost, filling up, and doesn't stay consistently usable internationally.

I think it's great that others are innovating in this space. Cheap? Yes in a good way. Crappy? If you have first hand experience, definitely open to hearing it. The actual aural specifications for the Rode system look quite good.
 
The useable spectrum is rapidly becoming more and more crowded and also "disappearing", because of the FCC auctioning it off, but to be clear you do not have to be licensed to use Lectro wireless'(well, I'm getting mixed info on the new 941 block).
 
Tim Morten said:
Marc, you called the Rode system "cheap and crappy". Zaxcom and Lectro are great, but they are orders of magnitude more expensive and use licensed spectrum that is rapidly being lost, filling up, and doesn't stay consistently usable internationally.
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One answer is to rent the gear when you need it, and you can afford the very best Zaxcom or Lectrosonics wireless out there. That's assuming you're in an area that supports pro audio dealers. If the area doesn't have any good nearby dealers (or mixers who will rent you their gear), start saving your money. A couple of used Lectro wireless systems is not that expensive and can still work well, provided you pick a frequency band that works for you. My pick today would be blocks 19 and 20, and those have actually been around for quite a few years now.
 
I'd be curious to try it with a proper professional lav microphone rather than the Rode mid-tier that he used.
 
so essentially could you have to sets, then have a spliter that chains the two receivers into one output to camera? i guess each mic might be on separate channels, L and R.
which would also be good.
 
There's a cable to split the 3.5mm audio input on the camera to left and right. You could have two receivers, one into each channel, with that cable. There's a WC cold shoe mount that you could use to mount them.
 
There are two discussions going on here: a) how is the Rode system, and b) what's worth owning?

a) I can't comment on the quality of the Rode system-- would also be curious about how it sounds with a better mic. My concerns would be the rechargeable batteries (you just know that the battery will die in the middle of a shoot!) and that it appears there's not locking mechanism for the 3.5mm input, meaning a lav can easily shake loose from the tiny unit.

b) Speaking more broadly to an approach to owning sound stuff: if you're a sound person, I'd say that you shouldn't buy this as your main kit! Follow Marc's advice and rent better stuff while you save up. Same if you mostly want to do feature or other high end work, I'd think. But if you're a producer/shooter on the kind of low-budget corporate/educational shoots (for internal use or youtube) that I often do, decide if it's "good enough" for tier 1.

Tier 1: One man band, maybe one assistant. Flat rate for equipment, so more spent on rentals means no assistant or less pay. For these jobs, I bought a Sony wireless kit-- two transmitters (Sony UTX-B03) and a dual receiver (Sony URX-P03D). The sound quality is on par with Sennheiser G3/G4 with stock mics-- good enough, but not great. And it's reliable, with interchangeable AA batteries and locking mic cables. (Also goes into a Sony FS- or A-series camera cableless via the hot shoe-- huge convenience if you're shooting with one of these cameras.)
Tier 2: Step up production where I get a sound person. They typically bring their own quality kit (Lectro, Zaxcom, etc.). But even if they're using something less expensive, they are able to use their skills to get better performance from the same equipment (improved rigging of mic, more attention to monitoring, etc.) Zaxcom transmitters don't sound much better than the Sonys, if they're constantly rubbing against fabric. So if more money is being spent on sound, I'd rather spend it on a skilled crew member.

I decided it made sense to own something "good enough" for tier 1-- available on a moment's notice, pays itself off quickly, reliable--, and to leave tier 2 to a dedicated sound person. For me, I can't make a good personal case for buying Lectro.

All that said: I use a decent wired Countryman B3 lav when I can in order to avoid fussing with wireless at all. And I usually-- but not always-- have a quality boom mic (Schoeps mk41 or Sennheiser 416) as well.
 
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Rode can be powered via USB if the battery life is a concern (but the onboard batteries are at least anecdotally sufficient).

For those with higher budgets, no question that Zaxcom and Lectro are superior. These are definitely a budget choice, but possibly a good one.
 
Without even listening to them I already know they're inappropriate:

Limited battery life.

No locking connector.


The price isn't even that great, once you factor in the cost of a half decent lav then you're looking at a very similar ish price per channel as the new Deity Connect Wireless or a secondhand Sony UWP-D3 / Senny G3
 
Deity Connect has unacceptably high latency. Lack of locking connector is definitely unfortunate. Battery is easy to solve with external power, if battery life actually turns out to be an issue. Second hand Sony or Senn are decent choices. I really like the size and ease of use of the Rode system. Planning to pick up two with separate lavs.
 
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