AKG PR40 Diversity, wireless at DVinfo.net

Colin Rowe · January 27th, 2004, 08:25 AM

Hi Guys.
My first post on this board. Does anyone have any experience with the AKG PR40? http://www.akg.com/products/powerslave,mynodeid,15,id,287,pid,287,_language,EN.html I like the idea of the MicroPen transmitter. I am after something that is straight forward and fiddle free to use. Primarily for wedding work. The MicroPen can be slipped in a jacket pocket and the mic left in situ, or removed, and fixed on a lapel. But would the mic pick up Bride, Groom and Minister? If anybody has any practical experience with this set I would appreciate any comments.
Thanks very much

Chris Wright · April 2nd, 2004, 02:07 PM

Just thought I'd subscribe to this thread... I'm interested in the same mic for wedding videography and other projects. Adorama has this mic system for only $269, and that fits my budget much better than the $500+ mics everyone is talking about.

It sounds like a good deal... Diversity UHF wireless mic for under $300... Does anyone have any personal experiences with this one?

Thanks!

Dan Brown · April 2nd, 2004, 03:35 PM

I have the PT40 & PR40 on order from B&H right now. Also, the CK55L lav (card.) and a line/mic level cable. I'm goint to use it wiith my Pany DV852 camera.

I'll let you know how it works when it arrives. I gave $300 for all of it.

When I researched the choice, I spoke with some folks, including a tech at AKG in Nashville. Everything I heard was good. I liked the price. The '40 series has the same electronics as the '80 series. The '40 series has plastic enclosures, but I'm told they are very rugged. And, the tech told me I would not be dissapointed in the RF performance and system noise, he said it was as good as any on the market in the $500 price range (e.g. Sony UWP, Senn 100, AT, etc.). He's seemed rather genuine to me. Don't know about the mic, I might upgrade that if there's a performance issue.

I'm hopeful this kit will suit my "low budget" approach to high quality videography.

Cheers.

Chris Wright · April 2nd, 2004, 03:45 PM

Great, if you think its a good mic, I'll probably buy the same system. Also, have you heard of the Azden 100LT system? I've seen it for around $325 and its UHF. How would this compare to the AKG system?

I looked at B&H and couldnt find those model numbers seperately. Did you buy all of that as a kit for $300 or individually?
Either way, could you send me the link to the product info page?

Thanks!

Dan Brown · April 2nd, 2004, 03:54 PM

Don't know about the Azden. But here is my prejudice: AKG is a quality German manufacturer that makes high quality gear. Azden is a value oriented company, and some product's performance reveal this. (I could be totally wrong on this point).

B&H does not list the '40 series on their web site. I called AKG and got the correct part number, then called B&H and had them order one for me. They were happy to do it, and gave me the usualy low B&H price. The kit I ordered was the "PR40/407", lists for $436, got it for $299.95. The guy to talk to at B&H is Ray Nostrand x2740, he's an audio sales guy that works closely with AKG. Very good guy to work with.

HTH...

Cheers.

Marty Atias · April 4th, 2004, 03:56 PM

Hi Dan,

I'm curious about your experience with B&H. Did you ask the the fellow you talked to if he recommended this unit? Did he actually know anything about it? If he did recommend it, did you find out if he has any actual production experience to base it on?

Oleg Kaizerman · April 4th, 2004, 04:11 PM

they are very relible and giving very good suport , not the cheapest store in the naighborhood , its common that stores which dealing with video and film sale the audio as well ,and if they continew to support you after its good enouth for thos who wonts a good deal, if the guy desided that this is the model he wonts and its unswering to his destanaitions it really doesnt metter if they worked with it or not, dont forget that he got it with the help of god (be'ezrat hashem=b&h) and this is add some points :-)

Dan Brown · April 5th, 2004, 07:55 AM

B&H has always been reliable for me (many years exerience).

In this case, I called B&H and requested the AKG set-up. They did know of it, and in fact, recommended the cardoiod lav over the omni. I took that advice.

BTW, is this correct? "be'ezrat hashem=b&h"

Could we get a translation? I find this rather interesting.

Thanks...

Oleg Kaizerman · April 5th, 2004, 08:02 AM

be'ezrat hashem+ with the god help , thats in hebrew
be -in( with)
ezra -help
ha-the
shem-god
happy passover every one

Dan Brown · April 9th, 2004, 11:24 AM

I receved the PT40 transmitter, PR40 receiver, the 417 cardioid mic and an assortment of cables yesterday. I've been playing with it and so far I'm really impressed.

The audio quality seems perfect to me. No hum, no hiss, perfectly clean sounding to me, and the C417 omni lav sounds full and rich. I haven't tested the range, but it is certainly fully quiet at about 50 feet. That's probably as far as I'll ever shoot with it anyway.

The PR40 receiver is tiny, and light. It has two little fold-out antennas that look really cool to me :-) It runs on 2 AAA batteries and I can easily velcro it to my little Pnay DV852 camera. It comes with three cables. All the connectors are gold-plated. One cable is unterminated, and allows you to connect whatever you want (line level). The second presents a 1/4 inch mono male plug, for connection to an amp or mixer, I guess. The third is a 'Y' cable that presents a 1/8" mic plug (mic level) and a 1/8" headphone jack. All of the cables plug into the receiver with a standard 3-conductor 1/32" plug. So, you could make your own cables if needed. There is a headphone volume control on the receiver and it works fine (but I'll almost always use my camera's headphone jack. The receiver has a removable belt clip and come with some peel and stick velcro (which is what I'm using).

The PT40 transmitter is a bit bigger than the recevier and runs on 2 AA batteries. BTW, they provided Duracell UltraLife batteries. It is very light (both TX annd RX are plasic and have a very "grippy" outer coatings). The antenna is permanently attached is seems very tough and flexible. The input connnector is a mini XLR that locks into place. It comes with the properly terminated mic and an extra cable with a 1/4" male plug. For an instrument, I suppose. There is a line/mic switch in the battery compartment to select input level, and a mic trim pot in there as well. It also has a removable belt clip.

Mine is a single freq. at 790 MHz., there are other freqs available (it might be possible to change the freq with internal switches, I haven't tried that yet.).

The specs of the systems are:
Mod. - FM (15 kHz deviation)
Freq. Resp. - 40-20,000Hz
T.H.D. - 0.8%
Compander - yes
SNR - 103 dB & 108dB (A weighted) TX & RX
xmit pwr - 10 mW
Phantom power - 3.8v
Weight/size
TX - 76g/64x22x96mm
RX - 60g/77x55x15mm

Ruggedness: Hard to tell, but it seems like a fairly tough plastic housing. The only kinda cheezy thing is the rotation feel of the headset volume control (but it's tucked into a recess on the top of the receiver).

For $300, it seems like a winner to me.

Cheers.

Nick Hope · October 16th, 2006, 10:26 AM

Two and a half years down the line, I'm wondering how people have found this setup.

I was going to go for the basic Audio Technica wireless lavalier set but the receiver is bigger and heavier than the competition and there's little room on my Z1 to mount it.

Then I found this AKG PR 40 diversity receiver which is much lighter and smaller for camera mounting. B&H page here.

I'm interested in the MP 40 micropen to go with it which has a C 407 lav mic hard-wired into it which can be extended on its 8-inch long cable from say a breast pocket. B&H page here.

The system comes to $350 which is significantly cheaper than the Sony/Sennheiser/AT at $500. But my question is whether the built-in lav mic is any good, because it looks like it couldn't be upgraded. If it's rubbish I'd have to ditch the whole system. I also wonder if in practice the flexibility might be less than a more traditional belt-mount transmitter(?). Really it's the small size of the receiver that attracts me.

Also I'm interested in occasionally plugging the SO 40 snapon transmitter into a Sennheiser ME-66/K6 that I'm ordering up for when the cable doesn't reach. B&H don't list it and I'm wondering if it's been discontinued, although it's at $249 here which again is comparative to the competition.

Any views or feedback on this AKG WMS 40 PRO system would be greatly appreciated!

Chris Leong · May 15th, 2007, 06:51 PM

Me too.
Haven't used one before, and I understand that they've been discontinued now, but that doesn't stop them from being any good...
Judging from the other AKG stuff that I have, this should be good. But...??
Aren't these discontinued?
Not that that counts for much, but spares and service could conceivably be an issue...

Greg Bellotte · May 15th, 2007, 07:56 PM

The big standout to me is that it only has ONE frequency to use. That's all fine and dandy if it's clear, but ANY interference at all will spoil your whole day with this unit. Personally, I wouldn't even consider a system with one frequency.

Peter Rhalter · May 15th, 2007, 10:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dan Brown

Don't know about the Azden. But here is my prejudice: AKG is a quality German manufacturer that makes high quality gear.

Actually, AKG is an Austrian company. Some of their equipment is outstanding, some of it isn't. I am very fond of their CK93 hyper capsule; a great value.

Best wishes,
Peter
______________________
http://www.parkfilms.com

January 27th, 2004, 08:25 AM	#1
Colin Rowe Major Player Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Cornwall UK Posts: 793	AKG PR40 Diversity, wireless Hi Guys. My first post on this board. Does anyone have any experience with the AKG PR40? http://www.akg.com/products/powerslave,mynodeid,15,id,287,pid,287,_language,EN.html I like the idea of the MicroPen transmitter. I am after something that is straight forward and fiddle free to use. Primarily for wedding work. The MicroPen can be slipped in a jacket pocket and the mic left in situ, or removed, and fixed on a lapel. But would the mic pick up Bride, Groom and Minister? If anybody has any practical experience with this set I would appreciate any comments. Thanks very much __________________ Colin

April 2nd, 2004, 03:35 PM	#3
Dan Brown Major Player Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Fort Worth, Texas Posts: 235	I have the PT40 & PR40 on order from B&H right now. Also, the CK55L lav (card.) and a line/mic level cable. I'm goint to use it wiith my Pany DV852 camera. I'll let you know how it works when it arrives. I gave $300 for all of it. When I researched the choice, I spoke with some folks, including a tech at AKG in Nashville. Everything I heard was good. I liked the price. The '40 series has the same electronics as the '80 series. The '40 series has plastic enclosures, but I'm told they are very rugged. And, the tech told me I would not be dissapointed in the RF performance and system noise, he said it was as good as any on the market in the $500 price range (e.g. Sony UWP, Senn 100, AT, etc.). He's seemed rather genuine to me. Don't know about the mic, I might upgrade that if there's a performance issue. I'm hopeful this kit will suit my "low budget" approach to high quality videography. Cheers. __________________ dB

April 2nd, 2004, 03:54 PM	#5
Dan Brown Major Player Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Fort Worth, Texas Posts: 235	Don't know about the Azden. But here is my prejudice: AKG is a quality German manufacturer that makes high quality gear. Azden is a value oriented company, and some product's performance reveal this. (I could be totally wrong on this point). B&H does not list the '40 series on their web site. I called AKG and got the correct part number, then called B&H and had them order one for me. They were happy to do it, and gave me the usualy low B&H price. The kit I ordered was the "PR40/407", lists for $436, got it for $299.95. The guy to talk to at B&H is Ray Nostrand x2740, he's an audio sales guy that works closely with AKG. Very good guy to work with. HTH... Cheers. __________________ dB

April 5th, 2004, 07:55 AM	#8
Dan Brown Major Player Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Fort Worth, Texas Posts: 235	B&H has always been reliable for me (many years exerience). In this case, I called B&H and requested the AKG set-up. They did know of it, and in fact, recommended the cardoiod lav over the omni. I took that advice. BTW, is this correct? "be'ezrat hashem=b&h" Could we get a translation? I find this rather interesting. Thanks... __________________ dB

April 9th, 2004, 11:24 AM	#10
Dan Brown Major Player Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Fort Worth, Texas Posts: 235	I receved the PT40 transmitter, PR40 receiver, the 417 cardioid mic and an assortment of cables yesterday. I've been playing with it and so far I'm really impressed. The audio quality seems perfect to me. No hum, no hiss, perfectly clean sounding to me, and the C417 omni lav sounds full and rich. I haven't tested the range, but it is certainly fully quiet at about 50 feet. That's probably as far as I'll ever shoot with it anyway. The PR40 receiver is tiny, and light. It has two little fold-out antennas that look really cool to me :-) It runs on 2 AAA batteries and I can easily velcro it to my little Pnay DV852 camera. It comes with three cables. All the connectors are gold-plated. One cable is unterminated, and allows you to connect whatever you want (line level). The second presents a 1/4 inch mono male plug, for connection to an amp or mixer, I guess. The third is a 'Y' cable that presents a 1/8" mic plug (mic level) and a 1/8" headphone jack. All of the cables plug into the receiver with a standard 3-conductor 1/32" plug. So, you could make your own cables if needed. There is a headphone volume control on the receiver and it works fine (but I'll almost always use my camera's headphone jack. The receiver has a removable belt clip and come with some peel and stick velcro (which is what I'm using). The PT40 transmitter is a bit bigger than the recevier and runs on 2 AA batteries. BTW, they provided Duracell UltraLife batteries. It is very light (both TX annd RX are plasic and have a very "grippy" outer coatings). The antenna is permanently attached is seems very tough and flexible. The input connnector is a mini XLR that locks into place. It comes with the properly terminated mic and an extra cable with a 1/4" male plug. For an instrument, I suppose. There is a line/mic switch in the battery compartment to select input level, and a mic trim pot in there as well. It also has a removable belt clip. Mine is a single freq. at 790 MHz., there are other freqs available (it might be possible to change the freq with internal switches, I haven't tried that yet.). The specs of the systems are: Mod. - FM (15 kHz deviation) Freq. Resp. - 40-20,000Hz T.H.D. - 0.8% Compander - yes SNR - 103 dB & 108dB (A weighted) TX & RX xmit pwr - 10 mW Phantom power - 3.8v Weight/size TX - 76g/64x22x96mm RX - 60g/77x55x15mm Ruggedness: Hard to tell, but it seems like a fairly tough plastic housing. The only kinda cheezy thing is the rotation feel of the headset volume control (but it's tucked into a recess on the top of the receiver). For $300, it seems like a winner to me. Cheers. __________________ dB

April 2nd, 2004, 02:07 PM	#2
Chris Wright Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Lee's Summit, Missouri Posts: 146	Just thought I'd subscribe to this thread... I'm interested in the same mic for wedding videography and other projects. Adorama has this mic system for only $269, and that fits my budget much better than the $500+ mics everyone is talking about. It sounds like a good deal... Diversity UHF wireless mic for under $300... Does anyone have any personal experiences with this one? Thanks!

April 2nd, 2004, 03:45 PM	#4
Chris Wright Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Lee's Summit, Missouri Posts: 146	Great, if you think its a good mic, I'll probably buy the same system. Also, have you heard of the Azden 100LT system? I've seen it for around $325 and its UHF. How would this compare to the AKG system? I looked at B&H and couldnt find those model numbers seperately. Did you buy all of that as a kit for $300 or individually? Either way, could you send me the link to the product info page? Thanks!

April 4th, 2004, 03:56 PM	#6
Marty Atias Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Silver Spring, MD Posts: 91	Hi Dan, I'm curious about your experience with B&H. Did you ask the the fellow you talked to if he recommended this unit? Did he actually know anything about it? If he did recommend it, did you find out if he has any actual production experience to base it on?

April 4th, 2004, 04:11 PM	#7
Oleg Kaizerman Major Player Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: israel Posts: 296	they are very relible and giving very good suport , not the cheapest store in the naighborhood , its common that stores which dealing with video and film sale the audio as well ,and if they continew to support you after its good enouth for thos who wonts a good deal, if the guy desided that this is the model he wonts and its unswering to his destanaitions it really doesnt metter if they worked with it or not, dont forget that he got it with the help of god (be'ezrat hashem=b&h) and this is add some points :-)

April 5th, 2004, 08:02 AM	#9
Oleg Kaizerman Major Player Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: israel Posts: 296	be'ezrat hashem+ with the god help , thats in hebrew be -in( with) ezra -help ha-the shem-god happy passover every one

October 16th, 2006, 10:26 AM	#11
Nick Hope Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Bangkok, Thailand Posts: 189	Any further experiences with this setup? Two and a half years down the line, I'm wondering how people have found this setup. I was going to go for the basic Audio Technica wireless lavalier set but the receiver is bigger and heavier than the competition and there's little room on my Z1 to mount it. Then I found this AKG PR 40 diversity receiver which is much lighter and smaller for camera mounting. B&H page here. I'm interested in the MP 40 micropen to go with it which has a C 407 lav mic hard-wired into it which can be extended on its 8-inch long cable from say a breast pocket. B&H page here. The system comes to $350 which is significantly cheaper than the Sony/Sennheiser/AT at $500. But my question is whether the built-in lav mic is any good, because it looks like it couldn't be upgraded. If it's rubbish I'd have to ditch the whole system. I also wonder if in practice the flexibility might be less than a more traditional belt-mount transmitter(?). Really it's the small size of the receiver that attracts me. Also I'm interested in occasionally plugging the SO 40 snapon transmitter into a Sennheiser ME-66/K6 that I'm ordering up for when the cable doesn't reach. B&H don't list it and I'm wondering if it's been discontinued, although it's at $249 here which again is comparative to the competition. Any views or feedback on this AKG WMS 40 PRO system would be greatly appreciated! __________________ Bubble Vision Underwater Video \| YouTube Channel \| Facebook Page

May 15th, 2007, 06:51 PM	#12
Chris Leong Major Player Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Los Angeles CA USA Posts: 507	Me too. Haven't used one before, and I understand that they've been discontinued now, but that doesn't stop them from being any good... Judging from the other AKG stuff that I have, this should be good. But...?? Aren't these discontinued? Not that that counts for much, but spares and service could conceivably be an issue...

May 15th, 2007, 07:56 PM	#13
Greg Bellotte Major Player Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: SLC, UT Posts: 291	The big standout to me is that it only has ONE frequency to use. That's all fine and dandy if it's clear, but ANY interference at all will spoil your whole day with this unit. Personally, I wouldn't even consider a system with one frequency.