View Full Version : EX1 - Low Headphone Volume?


Jonathan Bland
June 11th, 2008, 11:58 PM
Hey Folks,

Issue #1

I can't get any volume out of the headphone jack.
I've maxed it out and I just can't get any...... real volume.

Hardwired Sennheiser 416
Phantom powered
EX1 Audio input - Trim set to -41 dBu
Ex1 audio levels manually set so they won't peak to red

Issue#2

With the wireless I get crackle and dirty sound

Sennheiser EW100 G2 receiver
Sennheiser SKP500 G2 transmitter
Sennheiser MKH416 Mic
EX1 Audio input - Trim set to -41 dBu
Ex1 audio levels manually set so they won't peak to red

Issue#3

What's really weird is that the only headphones that I can get anything out of in the way of low volume is the little ipod style ones. I can't even get a sound out of the bigger style headphones.

Please step in and give this a shot. It's got to be something simple :)

Jonathan Bland
June 12th, 2008, 12:10 AM
Further test reveals:

1 big set of head phones that I first tested are shot.... So it doesn't make any difference on the headphone size.

Serena Steuart
June 12th, 2008, 12:42 AM
Isn't issue #1 about the headphones?

Jonathan Bland
June 12th, 2008, 12:53 AM
Hi Serena,

I can see how one could miss what I wrote.
Let me edit the 2nd post.

Jonathan Bland
June 12th, 2008, 01:10 AM
Did a restart of everything and now things seems to be fine.
Weird.....

Piotr Wozniacki
June 12th, 2008, 01:29 AM
Jonathan

I'm also using the Senny G2 with my EX1, and I can tell you that they are very, very hot indeed. Therefore, apart from trimming in the EX1's menu (try even more that he default -41dB), you should also minimize the receiver's sensitivity itself. I cannot remember exactly how you do it now, but it's simple and well explained in the manual.

Jonathan Bland
June 12th, 2008, 01:36 AM
Hi Piotr,
Thanks for your help but can you please elaborate on this:

".........apart from trimming in the EX1's menu (try even more that he default -41dB), you should also minimize the receiver's sensitivity itself."

Do you mean:

Take the trim up to say...... 51 dBu.......... and then attenuate the receiver down to say..... -20/ -30?

Piotr Wozniacki
June 12th, 2008, 01:40 AM
Hi Piotr,
Thanks for your help but can you please elaborate on this:

".........apart from trimming in the EX1's menu (try even more that he default -41dB), you should also minimize the receiver's sensitivity itself."

Do you mean:

Take the trim up to say...... 51 dBu.......... and then attenuate the receiver down to say..... -20/ -30?

No Jonathan - "trimming even more" means going down to -38 dB, or even further (remember these are negative values).

But before you do that, decrease the receiver's sensitivity - it may be enough!

Jonathan Bland
June 12th, 2008, 01:58 AM
Cool Piotr....... Problem solved!

I think the english term for the problem I was having is "Over Modulation?" or "Over Driving?"

Jonathan Bland
June 12th, 2008, 02:00 AM
I still seems that I need the headphone turned right up to really hear things...... oh well.

Piotr Wozniacki
June 12th, 2008, 02:01 AM
Cool Piotr....... Problem solved!

I think the english term for the problem I was having is "Over Modulation?" or "Over Driving?"

Yes, this is why you were getting distorted sound (I used the "hot" euphemism for that).

I'm glad you solved it!

Jonathan Bland
June 12th, 2008, 02:03 AM
Thanks again Piotr :)
4am here..... Time to sleep.......

Piotr Wozniacki
June 12th, 2008, 02:04 AM
I still seems that I need the headphone turned right up to really hear things...... oh well.

As I wrote in another thread on the EX1's audio monitoring level (both headphones and the speaker) - you really need good cans with this camera. I'm using Sennheiser HD 25-1 mK II, and am very satisfied.

Jonathan Bland
June 12th, 2008, 02:07 AM
Understood :)
Big thanks and grateful for your time.
zzzzzzzzzzz.............

Paul Kellett
June 12th, 2008, 03:39 AM
Piotr.
I set up my sennheisers as per this tutorial

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TyVAjZq9HF8

I then read somewhere, i think on this forum , that the best way to set up the trim was to set the external cam external wheel to manual/midway (5), then set the trim to an acceptable level, this way it's then possible to go up to 10 or down to 0, thus giving plenty of room for quick adjustment if needed.

I did all this and i've ended up somewhere near -50 in the trim.

Are you saying it's to high then ?

I'm using sennheiser G2 kit with K6 mic also.

Paul.

Piotr Wozniacki
June 12th, 2008, 03:58 AM
Paul.

For starters, the EX1's mic input trim level is an issue completely separate from what has been discussed here (i.e. the Sennheiser G2 receiver's sensitivity, which needs some trimming with MOST cameras - not just the EX1).

As you can read in the couple of other threads in this forum, dealing with the distortions people (myself included) are SOMETIMES getting with various mics on the EX1 - this is related to the not very well implemented limiter's activity. For instance, when the input is overdriven by the low-freq wind rumble, it is accompanied by high-freq, chirping distortion.

In my own experience (as well as that of Mr. Bass Pig, Craig Seeman and others) - the only way to get rid of it is trimming your mic input really hard (like down to some - 30's or even -20's), and use the output gain control to compensate when the sound level seems too low (sometimes you will also need to compensate for it in the NLE you're using - fortunately enough, the quality of EX1 sound is good enough to not introduce too much noise, as the headroom is usually high enough).

Paul Kellett
June 12th, 2008, 04:14 AM
Thanks Piotr.
I'll start experimenting !

Paul.

Dave Morrison
June 12th, 2008, 09:21 AM
Piotr.
I then read somewhere, i think on this forum , that the best way to set up the trim was to set the external cam external wheel to manual/midway (5), then set the trim to an acceptable level, this way it's then possible to go up to 10 or down to 0, thus giving plenty of room for quick adjustment if needed.
Paul.

That might have been me. I found that my G2's worked best with the following settings beginning with the transmitter's Sensitivity @ -10dB, the receiver's AF Out @ +00dB, the EX1's internal menu TRIM setting @ -20dBu. This is done with the external level controls set to "5" as you noted above. Works for me......YMMV.