Review - Line 6 X2 XDR95 Wireless

[Nicka]

I wasn't exactly sure where to post this. It isn't an effect, atleast it's not supposed to be and technically since it is housed in my amplifier rack case it should be in the Amps forum. If I'm incorrect in my assumption, I apologize and say 43 Hail Bootsy's.

Here is a bit of a write up about my experience with the XDR95 wireless instrument system from Line 6 (X2). I recently saw quite a few of these topics asking for recommendations and haven't really seen help to those questions in a proper editorial format.

First off, X2 recently was acquired by Line 6. Which in inspection of my close friends older "X2" XDR95 and my own, there is no difference minus a new graphic on the fancy pants box. So, in essence when Line 6 bought the company it left things alone and as they were, but, they dropped they price dramatically from 500.00 US to 369.99 US. A change that favors the consumer is always a good one in my opinion.

I'll start off with saying that I've owned a Senheiser unit in the past and liked it's basic function, but not it's form. I found myself quickly unplugging it, plugging up with a chord, and back and forth while noticing a pretty large gap in sound, specifically on the low end (40hz). So, I sold it down the river like a heathen never again to be cast in with the swine of wireless users that threatened the basis of bass tone by ripping it's guts out in the sake of not having a leash to their amps. That was atleast 6-7 years ago and let me say that things have changed for better.

As far as sound goes, I've done testing between chord and wireless on my amp while changing nothing else with a hand held DB meter and came up of an average of .3 DB loss of signal in both soft picking, strumming, slap and pop, and finger style. So, I have to take back my chastisement of wireless users so many years ago and say that finally a wireless can not be the excuse to the sucking of my tone. That is a plus for the XDR95. The collapsible antenna are great and fit inside the lid of my rack case without having to remove them. The LED's are bright and accurate and must I again mention that there isn't a loss of tone??

There are minus' to the XDR95. It's plastic. Yes, plastic. Which compared to everything else in my shock proof road case is very out of place. It's probably less than 2lbs fully assembled and is definitely a piece of gear that you would hold with a velvet pillow. It feels sort of cheap with plastic flexing and the rack ears not exactly lining up with the holes in the rails. So now there is about a 10th of an inch that the screw holes in my rack are off of kilter which makes it a pain in the ass to rack anything else unless I find a way to pound it with a feather into submission as not to break it. The antenna are huge and for a reason. You have 300ft. of movement around the device in line of site. I went outside and walked until I had no more room to walk without being in the street without line of site and never had signal breakup. But, you may as well be walking outside testing the system and stop by the store because the XDR95 goes through batteries like I devour Korean BBQ! I put it through it's paces for the better part of an hour and a half and the battery in the belt pack was down below the halfway mark. So I'll be stocking up on batteries.

All of that brings me to the beltpack. Which again, is plastic. Yes, plastic. Most wireless beltpacks are plastic yet it still doesn't feel very sturdy such as my Senheiser setup did. The 1/8"th mini plug does have a screw on sleeve that keeps the chord connected but a better, more sturdy end on the 1/4" side would be better as well. Once again, the LEDs are bright and let you know what channels you are on.

To wrap up the Line 6 X2 XDR95 is a great product that performs it's function without screwing with the performance of the rest of your gear. Though I would like to see it clad in some type of metal casing instead of plastic I can deal with that since it will be well protected in my rack case. Overall, if you're looking to go wireless I would say that the XDR95 will suite you quite well if you're on a budget yet want the quality of your sound to come through.

/fin

Hopes this helps some of you fellers that were looking for some reviews on the X2.

[IronSpatula]

I've been wondering about those since they came out. Good info - thanks for posting!

[Bluesbob]

I use 1 battery per 4-set night, with another hour (maybe) left at the end of the night. I'm playing my (active) EBMM Sterling with the treble control flat (notched), the mid turned down about a quarter and the bass just cracked. I have noticed that the more I turn up the bass the faster it eats the battery. At least I think so.
I bought a cable with a Neutrik black/gold 1/4" right angle connector from Bayou Audio Cables. I think this was a worthwhile investment. I ordered it at 2 feet, so it looks neater. The Bayou cables also have a better frquency response than the stock cable. I keep the original as a back-up.
The transmitter is a pretty chintzy piece of plastic, but it contains a lot of cool stuff, like the battery life and channel indicators, as well as the power-on and change-frequency buttons. Eventually the wires holding the battery terminal will break, but to stall this as long as possible I always make sure to install a fresh battery at home, on a clean work surface - not in the bar. I'm seriously considering buying a guitar-strap pocket to keep it in. Like this.

[uaudio]

Originally Posted by Bluesbob

I'm seriously considering buying a guitar-strap pocket to keep it in. Like this.

I have one of those, and its made a big mental difference in how tough I feel the plastic housing is. Not that its bulletproof in that pouch, but you can semi-permanently attach the pouch to your strap and not have to worry about the transmitter coming loose and breaking.

[Bluesbob]

Originally Posted by uaudio

I have one of those, and its made a big mental difference in how tough I feel the plastic housing is. Not that its bulletproof in that pouch, but you can semi-permanently attach the pouch to your strap and not have to worry about the transmitter coming loose and breaking.

That's great! I just ordered one between posts.

[Nicka]

Originally Posted by Bluesbob

That's great! I just ordered one between posts.

Same here. I just ordered both the cable and the pouch. Great information! Thank you!

As I said, if you get over the 'chinsy' (nice adjective btw) plastic housings of the receiver and transmitter it's been a great buy since my band is playing larger and larger venues where even at a 25' length a cable just becomes not only a hindrance of movement but a safety hazard for the rest of the band.

[Vanceman]

I'm a little confused... I'm looking at the Bayou web site, and there's a sentence in there: "I use the "hi-fi" wiring, the signal comes from the ring terminal on the 1/8" connector."

The instructions for the X2 make me think the "hi-fi" option is part of the the Instrument Out:

This 1/4” unbalanced TRS output jack (1.8 kΩ) is voiced at the tip for instrument applications (gentle high-frequency role off at 8 kHz approximates sound of a 15’ cable), and full bandwidth (10 Hz to 20 kHz) on the ring. Great for ‘tuner’ out or dual amp
setups.


It looks like the 1/8" tip is for mic use and ring is for instrument use. Am I missing something here? I do agree, this is a great unit, the transmitter must have an alkaline battery to get 4+ hours of use, and the stock transmitter cable is too long, and needs a right angle 1/4" plug.

[Rick Auricchio]

+1 to Vanceman

The manual says the 1/8" ring is open. Besides, that's an input to the transmitter, so Butch's statement "the signal comes from the ring terminal..." is incorrect. Nothing comes from the 1/8" connector on the transmitter.

The manual also states that the hi-fi output on the receiver comes from the ring of the 1/4" jack.

I suspect Butch just needs to delete that statement from the web page.

[brotherdoc]

is there a capacitor in the line 6 cord? feels like there is in the 1/4" under the shrink tube.

[MX21]

Discussion of the delay time through the XDS came up in another thread, so I thought this information would be useful here with the review:

I used a scope to measure the signal going into the X2 transmitter (channel 1) and the signal coming out of the X2 receiver (channel 2). I did a single trigger on channel 1 and capture the start of the pluck. You can see that the output coming from the receiver is delayed by 4 milliseconds. See image of the scope screen below.

Note that this was the XDR95.



MX

[Kelly Lee]

I don't know how we missed this the first time but it should have been in the Misc subforum. Moved.

[Dave M]

Originally Posted by Rick Auricchio

+1 to Vanceman

The manual says the 1/8" ring is open. Besides, that's an input to the transmitter, so Butch's statement "the signal comes from the ring terminal..." is incorrect. Nothing comes from the 1/8" connector on the transmitter.

RE: Transmitter.
The positive signal is connected at the ring terminals on the 1/8" jack and plug. Negative (gnd) is connected to the tip and sleeve.
Rick, I'm not seeing where you read that the ring terminals are open.

Originally Posted by Rick Auricchio

The manual also states that the hi-fi output on the receiver comes from the ring of the 1/4" jack.

I suspect Butch just needs to delete that statement from the web page.

I've wondered about that for a while. In fact, I asked about it in another thread (wireless threads are in the Misc forum): http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showth...t=#post7116636

Funny, I never saw a response to my questions.

Originally Posted by Vanceman

I'm a little confused... I'm looking at the Bayou web site, and there's a sentence in there: "I use the "hi-fi" wiring, the signal comes from the ring terminal on the 1/8" connector."

The instructions for the X2 make me think the "hi-fi" option is part of the the Instrument Out:

This 1/4” unbalanced TRS output jack (1.8 kΩ) is voiced at the tip for instrument applications (gentle high-frequency role off at 8 kHz approximates sound of a 15’ cable), and full bandwidth (10 Hz to 20 kHz) on the ring. Great for ‘tuner’ out or dual amp
setups.

You are correct, it's at the 1/4" jack in the receiver output.

Originally Posted by Vanceman

It looks like the 1/8" tip is for mic use and ring is for instrument use. Am I missing something here?

Don't you mean 1/4" tip, not 1/8"?

[chavezding]

I have the X2 and I love it.

It is a battery hog. Any of you guys using rechargable 9v batteries?

I am using the Energizer 175mAmp but noticing a shorter life compared to a regular 9volt. Once the battery meter hits the half way mark, it dives dramatically into the red way quicker than regular 9volts. "Safe" play time on a fully charge Energizer is maybe 2 1/2 hours.

I tried the Radio Shack version but it won't fit inside the transmitter. It is slightly too thick to fit inside.

Has anyone tried using the Li-Ion 9v batteries rated at 600mAmp?

[MX21]

Originally Posted by chavezding

I have the X2 and I love it.

It is a battery hog. Any of you guys using rechargable 9v batteries?

I am using the Energizer 175mAmp but noticing a shorter life compared to a regular 9volt. Once the battery meter hits the half way mark, it dives dramatically into the red way quicker than regular 9volts. "Safe" play time on a fully charge Energizer is maybe 2 1/2 hours.

I tried the Radio Shack version but it won't fit inside the transmitter. It is slightly too thick to fit inside.

Has anyone tried using the Li-Ion 9v batteries rated at 600mAmp?

I use these:

Charger: http://www.batteryjunction.com/ipowerus-9v-charger.html

Battery: http://www.batteryjunction.com/ipowerus-9v-500.html

I get around 7 hours each.

MX

[Bluesbob]

Originally Posted by MX21

I use these:

Charger: http://www.batteryjunction.com/ipowerus-9v-charger.html

Battery: http://www.batteryjunction.com/ipowerus-9v-500.html

I get around 7 hours each.

MX

Figuring on two batteries and one charger, they pay for themselves in 20 gigs (@$3.00 per)! I'll have to buy them.
Thank you for the info, MX21.
And I won't have a shelf full of half-dead batteries to worry about giving away to my pedal-using buddies.