A goofy Aussie named Dave Jones runs a popular blog and YouTube video channel on the topic of electronics. A popular feature are "teardown" videos where he dissects gear on-camera to see how it was built, and deduce what the design tradeoffs were.

In a recent video, he "tears-down" his own G3 kit (and presumably re-assembles it after making the video). As he is not really a production professional, his perception is that the G3 is "top of the line" (as is the perception of most of his non-media followers). However the design and construction of the G3 is impressive. I suspect that the build-quality of Lectrosonics, Zaxcom, et.al. are only incrementally better than this G3, which is as "mass-market" as it gets for pro-sumer gear like this.

EEVblog #571 - Sennheiser EW100 G3 Wireless Microphone Teardown - YouTube

Hi Richard - so where do you dig these sites up? What is it, foggy and cold down there in Portland?

Taking things apart to see how they work is something some people like to do more than others. I'd be a little hesitant, though, doing it on a brand new and expensive piece of gear. Generally wait until it breaks and when there is nothing to loose to do it. Currently I've got several "projects in waiting" to get fixed.

Right near the end he mentions "built like a brick dunney (sp?) - is that anything like an out house?

It would have been very interesting to learn how one can deal with corrosion in the battery compartment. Often, when things aren't used much and batteries are left inside, they will leak and cause corrosion on the terminals so knowing how this could be corrected would be good to know.

Thanks for sharing and I'll see if he has any other videos of interest.

By the way, I've been looking for a wireless lavalier for my kit and the Sennheiser is the one I've been using for my main comparison so if anyone has a suggestion of (a) which model to get (there are several models and I haven't figured out which one to spring for - the ENG one?), or, (b), bang for the buck, what one should consider that would be better.

Again, thanks for the link.

Built like a brick "dunny" means the job has been done properly, dunny = out house

I've had four G2s apart to install replacement antennas. I assume the 'innards' are very similar. The G3s use a larger Torx drive head than the G2. (which I recall is T-6) I 've always pulled things apart since I was a little and got .bit.. a few times for sure. For your amusement: when I was about 5 yrs old, I put an A/C plug on my older brother's 15" speaker and plugged it in... BAM!

"I suspect that the build-quality of Lectrosonics, Zaxcom, et.al. are only incrementally better than this G3"
> The Lectrosonics, Zaxcoms and Audio Ltd have a much superior build quality and RF reliability, but one pays three times the cost of a G3. Does it sound 3x better? No.. (all other input parameters being equal)
Minor differences can be audible when A/B'ing normal dialog. Music and other program materiel w/ significant HF content is another story. The G2/3 companders are pretty awful sounding in those instances.
A $20 cable is still more reliable and sounds better then all the above mentioned wireless.

To all...I found this 'disassembly' video fascinating. I own the Senn. G3 kit and have found it an adequate wireless system for my purposes. I never had the guts to disassemble the TX/RX packs, but it's reassuring to know the my little 'G3 kit' is well built and uses high-grade, industry standard components.

I'm sure the Lectrosonic brand is better (more $$$), it seems to be the de facto professional choice, but for my purposes the Sennheiser G3 fills the bill.

One of the first questions I asked when arriving on DVInfo was, "What about audio for video?". Honestly, the only reason I asked was it was the one subject I thought I knew a little something about. Boy! I couldn't have been more wrong! Audio for video is a subject all to itself.

I did have the opportunity to use a Sony wireless setup during a Workshop and found the system to be very user friendly and an overall smaller (marginally) form factor, which may make it more attractive to folks.

This is strictly subjective, but I found the Sony to be 'brighter' and the G3 to be a bit 'warmer', but that could just be my ears. Having never used the Lectrosonic system, I have no idea as to the quality of the sound produced, but can imagine, with all of the 'reality TV productions' using them, it's got to be top drawer.

Best regards,

J.

My friend's actually interested in these teardowns and does them himself. He actually did one on the Convergent Design NanoFlash. Just search "tesla500" on Youtube.

Built like a brick "dunny" means the job has been done properly, dunny = out house

Surely that's a bit prim? This (http://frankeeg.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/020-coolamon-dunny.jpg) sort of 'out' house to be specific.