Summary
I was (and still am) skeptical, but this cheap wireless has exceeded expectations so far. Great battery life, no dropouts so far, unnoticeable latency, and any tone change is imperceptible to me. Will continue to test and report back.
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A little while back I asked for Talkbass advice on wireless (from bass to pedalboard/amp). As usual, I got a lot of helpful, valuable input from TBers, with a wide range of opinions. Thank you to all who provided info, advice and real-world usage reports.
Recommendations ranged from units that cost over $2,000 to less than $60.
After hearing about good results from some seasoned TB pros, I figured the $57 5.8Ghz dollar option from Lekato was worth a shot. Here are the results after owning it about a month, and testing it in various situations.
1) Home
I first tried it at home where it worked perfectly. This might sound like a no brainer, but there is a lot of wireless stuff going on at home, with a router, mesh network, lots of connected devices, and neighbor's wireless routers close enough to connect to. Not an expert, so not sure how any of this stuff would or could affect a wireless unit, but I had previously tried the Xvive U2, 2.4Ghz model, and it was unusable for me at home. Dropped out constantly even when using it 3' from the amp.
So that was unscientific test #1. It worked great a home, no dropouts, even within the path of a wireless router.
2) Rehearsal
Test #2 was a string of 2-3 hour rehearsals at our drummer's home. Lots of wireless stuff going on there as well, and the unit performed flawlessly the six or so times I used it there.
3) Gig
The big test was last night. Took it to a gig at a large outdoor venue in the middle of a shopping park. Lots of shops and restaurants with their own WiFi routers. A sound system with a wireless router. Hundreds of people constantly on their phones, many of them connected to a wireless from the venue or a local business.
There were no dropouts all night. Not a one. I also walked about 50' from the stage, into the audience area, during sound check, and it worked flawlessly from there.
The show was three hours long, typical 3, 50-minute sets. While I was pretty confident the unit's charge would have lasted, I did charge it again after the first set, just to be sure, and it had plenty of juice left for the last two sets.
4) Latency
Technically there, as stated in the specs, but unnoticeable to me while playing. Noticeable latency would have been an instant deal-breaker.
5) Tone change
If there was any change it was so minisclue that I was not sure if I was hearing any change at all. On a blind test, the other band mates couldn't hear a difference. I maybe thought I could feel a little difference, but was not even sure.
6) Volume change
No change in volume at all.
7) Battery life
When I tested it at home, i seemed to last about six or so hours before it needed a charge. Though this was not with the units passing signal the whole time, just played for a while then left it plugged in and waited until it ran out.
Conclusion (for now)
So far so good. Exceeds expectations. Will report back if it continues to work or if I run into issues.
Also, this is obviously not a scientific test. I still don't trust this unit (or any wireless) 100%. I have a cable ready to grab and plug-in, in case something weird starts happening. I understand that while it worked in the three locations where I tested it, it may not work well or at all at the fourth, tenth or twentieth location I try it in.
For $57 I am super pleased. Heck even if it cost more, I would be super pleased. Nothing bad about it. Will probably grab another, just for a backup.
The product
The home rig
The test gig
I was (and still am) skeptical, but this cheap wireless has exceeded expectations so far. Great battery life, no dropouts so far, unnoticeable latency, and any tone change is imperceptible to me. Will continue to test and report back.
--
A little while back I asked for Talkbass advice on wireless (from bass to pedalboard/amp). As usual, I got a lot of helpful, valuable input from TBers, with a wide range of opinions. Thank you to all who provided info, advice and real-world usage reports.
Recommendations ranged from units that cost over $2,000 to less than $60.
After hearing about good results from some seasoned TB pros, I figured the $57 5.8Ghz dollar option from Lekato was worth a shot. Here are the results after owning it about a month, and testing it in various situations.
1) Home
I first tried it at home where it worked perfectly. This might sound like a no brainer, but there is a lot of wireless stuff going on at home, with a router, mesh network, lots of connected devices, and neighbor's wireless routers close enough to connect to. Not an expert, so not sure how any of this stuff would or could affect a wireless unit, but I had previously tried the Xvive U2, 2.4Ghz model, and it was unusable for me at home. Dropped out constantly even when using it 3' from the amp.
So that was unscientific test #1. It worked great a home, no dropouts, even within the path of a wireless router.
2) Rehearsal
Test #2 was a string of 2-3 hour rehearsals at our drummer's home. Lots of wireless stuff going on there as well, and the unit performed flawlessly the six or so times I used it there.
3) Gig
The big test was last night. Took it to a gig at a large outdoor venue in the middle of a shopping park. Lots of shops and restaurants with their own WiFi routers. A sound system with a wireless router. Hundreds of people constantly on their phones, many of them connected to a wireless from the venue or a local business.
There were no dropouts all night. Not a one. I also walked about 50' from the stage, into the audience area, during sound check, and it worked flawlessly from there.
The show was three hours long, typical 3, 50-minute sets. While I was pretty confident the unit's charge would have lasted, I did charge it again after the first set, just to be sure, and it had plenty of juice left for the last two sets.
4) Latency
Technically there, as stated in the specs, but unnoticeable to me while playing. Noticeable latency would have been an instant deal-breaker.
5) Tone change
If there was any change it was so minisclue that I was not sure if I was hearing any change at all. On a blind test, the other band mates couldn't hear a difference. I maybe thought I could feel a little difference, but was not even sure.
6) Volume change
No change in volume at all.
7) Battery life
When I tested it at home, i seemed to last about six or so hours before it needed a charge. Though this was not with the units passing signal the whole time, just played for a while then left it plugged in and waited until it ran out.
Conclusion (for now)
So far so good. Exceeds expectations. Will report back if it continues to work or if I run into issues.
Also, this is obviously not a scientific test. I still don't trust this unit (or any wireless) 100%. I have a cable ready to grab and plug-in, in case something weird starts happening. I understand that while it worked in the three locations where I tested it, it may not work well or at all at the fourth, tenth or twentieth location I try it in.
For $57 I am super pleased. Heck even if it cost more, I would be super pleased. Nothing bad about it. Will probably grab another, just for a backup.
The product
The home rig
The test gig
!! Most of my basses are active and I've been reluctant to pull the trigger on one of these systems. You've collectively made up my mind.
