Audio Technica 182x questions

[Nathan Manley]

Hey All,

Based on some positive reviews on this and some other sites I picked up an audio technica 182x wireless system. I had a couple questions for those of you who have used the system:

headphone jack - the headphone jack on my reciever sounds awful, extremely noisy. Is this typical or might I have a bad unit? It's not a huge deal since the actual outputs sound ok but just curios if others had this issue.

Mic upgrade - what have you guys found is a good solid upgrade for the included lavs?

Gain staging - what type of levels have you used to get the cleanest signal?

I'm sure I'll figure this out over time but figured I would quiz some of you pros to get a jump start

thanks!

Nathan

[Don Bloom]

I've been using the 1821 dual since about the day it came out. Awesome unit(s).

To try to answer your questions,
Yes when you monitor using the jack on the unit it does sound hissy-but then you shouldn't be monitoring at that point anyway. If going direct to the camera monitor at the camera. If going thru a mixer monitor there. Always monitor at the end point of the sound.

I use Countryman EMW shaped response lavs-tiny, awesome sound and actually are directional enough for me plus they're not a killer pricewise. I MIGHT get a couple of B6s but haven't decided yet. I have heard good things about the AT899 mics also. Far better than the standards.

As for gain on the transmitters, TYPICALLY, for weddings, seminars etc where normal speaking voice are used (normal meaning not yelling or screaming) I set the gain to 0db however I also use a pluging transmitter for my handheld mic and/or my drum mic that I use at wedding receptions. I place that mic a few inches in front of the DJs or bands speakers (1 speaker obviously) and set the gain to -6db. I can then adjust the level on the receiver and or the camera. I also have a hypercaroid that I use on the camera and even set that to -10db. There have been sometimes when I have had to use a -10db pad on the drum mic along with the -6 on the transmitter for the guys that don't know how to set the mixer levels to anything less than the sound of a F15 at full power.
Anyway, I would start out at 0db on the bodypaks and run a few tests, check it in your NLE and adjust from there. Remember you can adjust on the receiver as well. Little thumb knobs underneath. Awkward but it can be done on the fly.
Great unit, enjoy.

[Allan Black]

Don't know that AT rig but try cleaning the plug on your headphones, best is to wipe it with a spot of Brasso, clean that off and push/twist/pull it into the socket a few times to clean it.

Cheers.

[Nathan Manley]

Thanks for the quick responses guys!

Don - yes I had remembered reading about the headphone jack being noisy somewhere but just wanted to double check. Like you said, there is no real reason to be monitoring from that point anyways, so I guess it's not something I should worry about. Thanks for the mic and gain recomendations as well.

Allan - the headphones I used were my studio MDR7506's which I have not used in the field ever, so I'm almost positive it's not that, but I'll give it a try anyways.

[Marco Leavitt]

Here's my two cents:

Headphone -- Yeah it's noisy all right. Don't worry about it. It's for basic monitoring and troubleshooting. Most wireless units don't even have headphone jacks on the receiver, so just the fact that it's there is a huge plus.

Mic upgrade -- AT899cw. Great mics on the cheap, and made for the system. Next step up is Sanken, Countryman and Tram. They are all in the $400 range. The stock lavs are atrocious and should never be used for anything other than maybe flossing your teeth.

Gain staging -- Run it hot. I find you want +12 for a regular speaking voice with the output on the receiver at about three quarters. The more you use the system you'll get a feel for it. At a wedding for instance, I would put the officiant at either 0 or +6 and the groom at +12, just because the officiant is usually used to projecting with his voice and the groom can barely speak. You have to monitor carefully. If you are hearing compander problems, reduce the gain at the transmitter. Like Don, if I'm micing a PA I put it at -6.

[Dean Sensui]

Don and Marco pretty much covered it.

I'll only add that I found -6 gain to be a bit noisy under certain conditions. If miking a PA I'd use -6. Otherwise I generally set gain at 0 dB.

The AT 899CW mics have proven to be nice performers. About on par with the Countryman B3 and not much larger. I haven't compared them to the EMW so can't say one way or the other.

And, yes, the headphone monitor out on the receiver is noisy. It can be troubling at first but once you know it's not how it comes through the XLR's you'll be a lot more confident about it.

The frequency scan feature makes it a LOT easier to set up when there are other wireless systems in operation.

[Nathan Manley]

Again thanks for all the feedback guys.

I'm wondering if anyone can point me to a site where they sell the connectors needed to take the output of my mixer to the transmitters? It would be a female XLR to locking hirose 4 pin female. I can't seem to find one like that on the B&H site.

Tested in the field today and it sounded great...I do need to bump up the mics for better quality but the transmitter/reciever worked well even in downtown NYC.

Edit:

Found it...
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...put_Cable.html

[Don Bloom]

glad you found the cable but may I ask, OUTPUT of mixer to INPUT of transmitter?

I'm really tired tonight but I have to be honest, I don't quite get it.
Could you please explain.
Thanks

[Dean Sensui]

If you're going from mixer to transmitter, be aware that the transmitter is expecting a mic-level input.

You might need an attenuator between the mixer and the transmitter.

[Nathan Manley]

Don, it's for ENG type of stuff where I have to go wireless to camera from the mixer, I like to avoid it if at all possible but sometimes it has to be done.

Dean - yep mixer outputs both mic and line levels

[Don Bloom]

OK so you're setting the transmitter from the mixer to the reciever on the camera. OK got it. Never done it, but it seems like a good idea.