Anyone adopt Sennheiser AVX yet?

[Rick Reineke]

"I wrap the lav cord around the receiver when I put it in my pocket"
- How do you do that?... The lav goes w/ the transmitter The receiver has an output cable.

"I didn't want to hurt the brand new ME2!"
- Even brand new, the ME2 is not a very good sounding mic. I recommend upgrading, regardless of what system is used. You could use the ME2 for a spare.. or for putting it in harm's way.

"Is it possible the old G3 mic is too hot for the transmitter?"
- I wouldn't think so. Does the transmitter have some kind of gain setting?

[Paul Anderegg]

Yes transmitter, the receiver has no cord.

I don't want to mess up the new lav cable with crimps, because I am not 100% sure I will keep this system. I did tie a knot in the cable below the lav head, because it was making so much noise from holding it while testing.

As the post states, the transmitters on the AVX system have an automatic leveling control........your guess is as good as mine.

Paul

[John Willett]

Originally Posted by Paul Anderegg

I wrap the lav cord around the receiver when I put it in my pocket, so I didn't want to hurt the brand new ME2! Is it possible the old G3 mic is too hot for the transmitter?

This is a dangerous habit - I have seen far too many broken lavs by people doing this.

If the lav is still plugged-in, then many people pull the cable too tight and it can break the cabe at the point where it exits the plug.

If I ever do this, I always add two fingers for the first loop so that there is absolutely no strain on the cable.

[Paul Anderegg]

I learned that a few years ago when the kinked over bayonet connector on my Azden transmitter caused it to cut out and rock side to side. The pin holes widened, so since then, I do that leaving an inch or so of loop so that there is never a tight bend on the cord. :)

Paul

[John Willett]

Originally Posted by Paul Anderegg

I learned that a few years ago when the kinked over bayonet connector on my Azden transmitter caused it to cut out and rock side to side. The pin holes widened, so since then, I do that leaving an inch or so of loop so that there is never a tight bend on the cord. :)

Paul

Perfect :-)

[Anthony Lelli]

for me the major issue with the system is the short battery life of the receiver and no replacement battery available. I use a g3 now and audio technica system10 both handheld only (I don't use lavs). The digital systems are the future in my opinion , but I can't work with such a short battery life and no battery to carry when the original goes down, no way, and recharging while working is absolutely out of the question, same for a portable battery stick for cell phones that needs to charged too and I wouldn't know where to put them around the camera, no way again. 8-10hrs is the absolute minimum to work, 3-4hrs are good for testing, not when working with a million of other things to be concerned of, last thing I wanna do is to worry about my thousand dollar and change wireless system's short battery.

[Gary Nattrass]

What camera are you shooting on Paul as it may be that the camera is a fault rather than the sennheiser mic?

[Paul Anderegg]

The two cameras I have tested this on were a Sony X180 and a JVC HM790. I haven't used the system again since the video I posted. I really have no emotional attachment to this thing, will probably sell it on eBay shortly.

Paul

[Paul Anderegg]

Was able to play with my AVX system more tonight. I was able to get high quality non digital sounding audio this time, off the lav as well as the handheld transmitter. Previously, I had set the receiver LEVEL OUT to a moderate setting, then set the camera record level so that it pumped pretty. Well, that resulted in overmodulated sound at low camera rec levels, and a very low bitrate MP3 metallic ting to the sound. This time, I set the receiver output level VERY LOW. Both the handheld as well as the lav transmitter now sound perfectly clear, even on T's and S's, which would have been metallic with the previous receiver level settings.

So I guess the lesson is to set receiver output levels super low, then turn up your camera record level. High receiver level and low camera rec level, although pretty on the VU meter, will result in low quality audio.

Paul

[Paul Anderegg]

I used the AVX MD42 handheld for a live shot this morning. I rolled in camera on it as well. The MD42 performed very well in a very loud environment. The AVX system sounds a bit compressed, but that may be the dynamic range compression with all that blasting input. Perhaps the AVX compression doesn't work as well when the limits are reached, or levels are not perfectly optimized within their "happy zone"?

Must mention, I had the cameras low cut in effect to cut the background rumble.

YouTube (Short URL)

Paul

[Steven Digges]

Paul,

When I see a news clip like that two things always surprise me. One, that professional on camera reporters do not know enough about mic usage to help you battle all of that background noise by utilizing better mic placement of the handheld. Two, that you the camera operator are not teaching your reporter to get that mic up closer to his grill to help battle the background noise?

I know they are reporters and do not want the mic in their face performer style. But he has plenty of room to help you out and still keep it out of his face. I sometimes see field reporters waving a handheld around belly style like total amateurs. Or my favorite is when they use the mic to point at something while they are talking......really??? How does that happen when two professionals should know better?

Kind Regards,

Steve

[Paul Anderegg]

Steve, your last comment is why I was hesitant to get the cardoid e835 AVX! Also, I seldom utilize a wireless or work with reporters, which is why the AVX receiver is perfect for my camera.

Paul

[Paul Anderegg]

Speaking of short receiver battery life, it should be technically possible to POWER the receiver using the USB ports common on most new cameras. My PXW-X180 has a network USB2 port, and a host USB3 port. I just tested this using the network USB2, and it did indeed activate the red LED charge light.

Also, aftermarket batteries for the receivers and transmitters are available, I checked that before I purchased, 3-4 hours is not very long.

Paul

[Anthony Lelli]

Originally Posted by Paul Anderegg

Also, aftermarket batteries for the receivers and transmitters are available, I checked that before I purchased, 3-4 hours is not very long.

Paul

Paul
I only use a wireless handheld for street interviews and I'm petty much sold to the system10. The mic is first class, the batteries last forever and as long as I stay withing 5-7 ft (10 tops) from the mic I get zero problems , unlike the G3 that in NYC was a hit&miss lately.
From what I saw (heard) the sennheiser digital doesn't even produce good audio , even with that jewel of a microphone.
The short battery and the need to rely on gadgets to power (after spending that kind of money) was the last blow.

In case you want to try the system 10 and beside the poor performance past 10ft (random, but it's there), the only thing that you should worry about is to tell the interviewer to DON'T keep the microphone attached to the mouth. at least 3inches away. Great audio, bass, presence, moderate delay. and it's 2.4GHz. No more UHF headaches!
One more thing (again for street interviews) : the e835 of the G3 is excellent but the mic of the system 10 is even better isolating the background noise and still keeping a good range in case the interviewer forgets to point it to the right mouth. Better than the e835 in that regard, and that was important to me.

[Dylan Couper]

Just for the people bemoaning the short battery life of the receiver...

IT'S PHANTOM POWERED. :)
(according to Senny)

I just cracked open two of these and are putting them through the paces now.