Hi everyone,

For those using G2 wireless with Sound Devices 302 mixers, what do you run your receiver output level at? I have the 500 series and have been playing around with sending AF out between -18 and 0 for mic level and +6 to +18 for line level.

I bought the mixer partly because of its clean preamps. Is it safe to assume that 6dB of mixer gain will be cleaner than 6dB of receiver gain? Do I want to set AF out low and let the mixer do all the work? Should I set AF out as high as possible to maintain a high signal-to-noise ratio? Is there an ideal receiver output level?

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Mark

What you want to do is maximize your gain structure so the faders on your mixer are in the optimum operating area. The 302 manual says to adjust the trim on the input so the fader ends up being around 12 oclock. You can adust the output of the G2 to whatever it takes to accomplish that. The output settings of the transmitter (if its designed similiar to Lectrosonic) is attenuating the level. If thats the case you shouldn't be adding noise no matter where you set the output. Going line into the mixer would bypass the mic preamp and give you a slightly cleaner signal. Line in doesn't have as much gain as mic in so keep that in mind.
Regards,
Bernie

Thanks for the response, Bernie.

I phoned Sennheiser Canada to ask what point on the AF out the level starts annenuating (the range is -24 to +18) and the guy couldn't really answer but did there's no ideal AF out level and echoed your point about optimizing it for the mixer's gain structure. My problem with testing so far is that I haven't had any guinnea pigs to to strap mics on to test for true levels, but I'll convince my roommates and take it from there.

Thanks again!
-Mark

Hi Mark,

My guess is that using Sennheiser G2's, anywhere within the midrange of the SD302 will work fine. As much as I like the G2, it's nowhere in the league of the 302 for frequency response, signal/noise, distortion, etc.

But you may want to do a simple test with a test tone on-off to see the signal/noise ratio with different settings on the G2 and 302.

Good luck, Michael