Sony UWP-V1 or Sennheiser

Rog Mogale · January 25th, 2010, 03:24 AM

I was in the same situation as you were about 2 months ago.

Even though my location says UK I actually live in a very remote part of Asia and got a very good deal on the Sony UWP-V1. The senny G2 would have cost double so it was a no brainer and I went with the Sony.

The Sony can suffer from companding noise but its not all the time and seems to vary from day to day even at the same location. Sometimes I plug it in and when monitoring with good headphones you can hear a bit of pumping, other times at the same location with same headphones and settings there is no pumping. It sounds to me like its some RF interference that is causing the companding noise, but seeing as there is nothing being broadcast anywhere near 600 to 800MHz for 100’s of miles in any direction, I can’t say that it’s a RF interference problem.

I have to say that whilst I can sometimes hear a bit of companding noise with the Sony, it’s only ever at high playback levels from very good headphones. It’s very difficult to hear it even though my ATC studio monitors at a reasonable playback level. And when combined with background music or other sound FX you would never be able to detect it.

The sound quality from the supplied mic is good, but is a bit dull. In my NLE I add a hi shelving filter with 5dB of gain from 5kHz with a 12dB/oct slope to make it sound a bit brighter. I also use a Waves R desser and SSL comp in the signal chain on the NLE. The sound then is very useable and I would say is almost as good as I can get from using an AT 897 on a boom.

The Sony mic produces very little rustling noises from clothes etc. In fact I’ve never heard anything but vocal from the sound track with the Sony mic. It’s always clean with no RF dropouts or other noises from clothes or static etc. I took a long time experimenting with different settings as at first I was getting high levels of distortion on playback. I traced this down to the transmitter being over loaded and turned the input gain on the transmitter down. Whist this is not idea from a gain structure point of view, I don’t experience a high noise floor. You can even hear my footsteps on recordings and there is no hiss.

I also like the rejection to loud nearby sounds I get with the Sony. I’ve even recorded myself next to a 12” saw table cutting wood and got a useable vocal sound. Ok you can hear the table saw quite loudly, but you could still hear me very clearly, which was surprising as I could hardly have a conversation with the guy working the saw.

If I had the cash for the Senny G2 then I think I would have done it as I’ve read a few too many bad stories about the Sony. But after getting it and spending a lot of time finding the right settings I’m happy. I can’t tell you if I would have been more happy with the G2, sorry.

John Willett · January 25th, 2010, 03:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Guy Cochran

You'll want the EW112 with ME-2 omni lav for general use. The EW122 with ME-4 cardioid is a big ole marble of a lav and can sometimes accidentally get turned sideways or upside down and really cause a problem. Cardioid is more useful in sound reinforcement applications where you might get feedback from stage monitors. [/url]

I agree - the ME 2 is much better for video use than the ME 4 (it's even better im most PA cases as well).

The MKE 2 is a much better mic. than the ME 2, but is an extra cost option.

Mike Sroka · January 29th, 2010, 09:52 PM

Thanks for the input everyone. I went with the EW112 with ME-2 omni lav. It arrived today from Guy's shop. He was great. Spent time discussing my needs on the phone. He then investigated the area where I live and picked the frequency band for me based on that info. As my involvement with video grows, I will definitely throw more business his way. Fortunately, or unfortunately, he lives within a ferry ride of my place on Vancouver Island. lol

Thanks Guy!

January 25th, 2010, 03:24 AM	#16
Rog Mogale Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: UK Posts: 25	I was in the same situation as you were about 2 months ago. Even though my location says UK I actually live in a very remote part of Asia and got a very good deal on the Sony UWP-V1. The senny G2 would have cost double so it was a no brainer and I went with the Sony. The Sony can suffer from companding noise but its not all the time and seems to vary from day to day even at the same location. Sometimes I plug it in and when monitoring with good headphones you can hear a bit of pumping, other times at the same location with same headphones and settings there is no pumping. It sounds to me like its some RF interference that is causing the companding noise, but seeing as there is nothing being broadcast anywhere near 600 to 800MHz for 100’s of miles in any direction, I can’t say that it’s a RF interference problem. I have to say that whilst I can sometimes hear a bit of companding noise with the Sony, it’s only ever at high playback levels from very good headphones. It’s very difficult to hear it even though my ATC studio monitors at a reasonable playback level. And when combined with background music or other sound FX you would never be able to detect it. The sound quality from the supplied mic is good, but is a bit dull. In my NLE I add a hi shelving filter with 5dB of gain from 5kHz with a 12dB/oct slope to make it sound a bit brighter. I also use a Waves R desser and SSL comp in the signal chain on the NLE. The sound then is very useable and I would say is almost as good as I can get from using an AT 897 on a boom. The Sony mic produces very little rustling noises from clothes etc. In fact I’ve never heard anything but vocal from the sound track with the Sony mic. It’s always clean with no RF dropouts or other noises from clothes or static etc. I took a long time experimenting with different settings as at first I was getting high levels of distortion on playback. I traced this down to the transmitter being over loaded and turned the input gain on the transmitter down. Whist this is not idea from a gain structure point of view, I don’t experience a high noise floor. You can even hear my footsteps on recordings and there is no hiss. I also like the rejection to loud nearby sounds I get with the Sony. I’ve even recorded myself next to a 12” saw table cutting wood and got a useable vocal sound. Ok you can hear the table saw quite loudly, but you could still hear me very clearly, which was surprising as I could hardly have a conversation with the guy working the saw. If I had the cash for the Senny G2 then I think I would have done it as I’ve read a few too many bad stories about the Sony. But after getting it and spending a lot of time finding the right settings I’m happy. I can’t tell you if I would have been more happy with the G2, sorry.

January 29th, 2010, 09:52 PM	#18
Mike Sroka New Boot Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Victoria, BC, Canada Posts: 8	Thanks for the input everyone. I went with the EW112 with ME-2 omni lav. It arrived today from Guy's shop. He was great. Spent time discussing my needs on the phone. He then investigated the area where I live and picked the frequency band for me based on that info. As my involvement with video grows, I will definitely throw more business his way. Fortunately, or unfortunately, he lives within a ferry ride of my place on Vancouver Island. lol Thanks Guy!