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Wireless suggestions

H Nighttrain

H Nighttrain

Feb 12, 2018
545
1,395
San Pedro
#1
I'd like to upgrade from my old, but still works great, Shure wireless system. I stopped using it a while ago because the clip-on pack was a bit of a hassle, and setting up the reciever was, well, just one more thing. Cable is just so much easier....

So I see these little fob-sized units - seems almost as easy as plugging in both ends of a cable. I like this type design. I wouln't want one where the reciever needs power when being used.

We regularly play 3 and 4 hour gigs, so capacity is key to me. As is battery life - depending on cost, I don't want one that, after a year or two, drops in the middle of a set. Prob be best if the transmitter has an indication of the charge remaining.

I really don't have a feel for the amount of delay (ms) I could tolerate.

And last, freq - do I need to go to 5.8 GHz? I'm pretty sure my Shure is 2.4 GHz, true diversity (always picking the stronger of two signals) and I never had an issue, but even a couple years ago there were far fewer signals cluttering the spectrum.

So with all that in mind... any suggestions? Am I asking too much?
 
#3
I use the XVive X2 wireless system. The band I'm in usually plays three hour-long sets per gig, and the XVive has more than enough power to play our gigs. I do shut off the system between sets to conserve power. Switching basses is a breeze, just unplug the transmitter out of one bass and plug it in to another. It's digital so no popping or weird sounds is heard. I highly recommend the XVive U2 system.
 
#6
This has given me a baseline to start looking. I've compiled specs on about a dozen contenders so far. Still have a couple questions:

- Freq: almost all are 2.4 GHz, only exception so far is the Carvin at 5.8 GHz... apparently 2.4 is fine?

- Latency: ranges from <2ms to 12ms. The XVive U2 that folks seem to like is rated 6ms delay, at least a couple people (here and on some acoustic guitarist forum) feel that's too high and stick with their old transmitter pack/receiver setups as opposed to the more convenient "fob" designs. What's the TB consensus? (I guess I'll have to try a couple in a store to see how I feel)

- Battery life: again, I'm asking about how much charge these things can hold with light to moderate use after a few years. Ranges from about 2hrs to 6hrs when new. Anyone have issues as the units age? Any hold charge well in the long run?

Thanks for the replies so far.
 
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#8
H Nighttrain said:
This has given me a baseline to start looking. I've compiled specs on about a dozen contenders so far. Still have a couple questions:

- Freq: almost all are 2.4 GHz, only exception so far is the Carvin at 5.8 GHz... apparently 2.4 is fine?

- Latency: ranges from <2ms to 12ms. The XVive U2 that folks seem to like is rated 6ms delay, at least a couple people (here and on some acoustic guitarist forum) feel that's too high and stick with their old transmitter pack/receiver setups as opposed to the more convenient "fob" designs. What's the TB consensus? (I guess I'll have to try a couple in a store to see how I feel)

- Battery life: again, I'm asking about how much charge these things can hold with light to moderate use after a few years. Ranges from about 2hrs to 6hrs when new. Anyone have issues as the units age? Any hold charge well in the long run?

Thanks for the replies so far.
Click to expand...

Freq: I'm thinking that 2.4Ghz is pretty much the industry standard, so that shouldn't be a problem.

Latency: So the XVive is rated at 6ms? I personally haven't noticed any latency issues at all with it. Then again, I'm just a poor bass player standing in a corner of the stage trying to get through the song!

Battery life: I've had the XVive for a year and a half now, so there really hasn't been a drop in how much of a charge it holds. Like I said in my post I can do three one-hour sets per gig, and there will still be some charge to spare. I don't know how it will be in a few years, but I suspect that by then I'll probably be using something else (or not).
 
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#9
H Nighttrain said:
This has given me a baseline to start looking. I've compiled specs on about a dozen contenders so far. Still have a couple questions:

- Freq: almost all are 2.4 GHz, only exception so far is the Carvin at 5.8 GHz... apparently 2.4 is fine?

- Latency: ranges from <2ms to 12ms. The XVive U2 that folks seem to like is rated 6ms delay, at least a couple people (here and on some acoustic guitarist forum) feel that's too high and stick with their old transmitter pack/receiver setups as opposed to the more convenient "fob" designs. What's the TB consensus? (I guess I'll have to try a couple in a store to see how I feel)

- Battery life: again, I'm asking about how much charge these things can hold with light to moderate use after a few years. Ranges from about 2hrs to 6hrs when new. Anyone have issues as the units age? Any hold charge well in the long run?

Thanks for the replies so far.
Click to expand...
Latency is VERY important to me. I have a couple old X2 wirelesses that do 5 ms, and with the oldies band I used to be in, I never really noticed it. But then I got in a band where everyone in it was really precise, unlike the oldies band where some people were a lot sloppier with the beat than others, and I started noticing that I always sounded a little behind the beat, even when I knew I wasn't. Plugging straight in solved that dilemma. Then I bought a wireless with small rechargeable transmitter and receiver that sounded terrific on paper, but it had 13 ms latency. By myself I never noticed it, but even with the oldies band it made me sound just plain sloppy.

So I went on a hunt for the lowest latency digital wireless I could find, and I found two...the Line 6 G70/75 (1.5 ms...same thing but the 70 was pedalboard while the 75 was made to sit on top of your amp), and the Shure Axient (.5 ms). But the Axient was $5000 and the G70 was $500 so I went with the G70. And even in the really precise band, I never felt behind the beat even a little. It's also been absolutely bulletproof, with absolutely no dropouts even when I challenged how far I could go with it or when the receiver's line of sight with me was blocked (a major problem with the X2). It was a little bigger than I wanted, and the receiver requires 350 mA isolated power, but it's been such a great performer for me that I'm deliriously happy with it. I also get close to 9 hours in the receiver with two rechargeable Eneloop AA batteries...the battery gauge won't be accurate with rechargeables, but it's never been a problem. I just know that if it says I have 3.5 hours left, I really only have about half an hour :D

So my advice is go G70 or G75, even if it costs more than you want to spend and doesn't meet your small size and rechargeable requirements.
 
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#10
H Nighttrain said:
And last, freq - do I need to go to 5.8 GHz? I'm pretty sure my Shure is 2.4 GHz, true diversity (always picking the stronger of two signals) and I never had an issue, but even a couple years ago there were far fewer signals cluttering the spectrum.
Click to expand...
never heard of musical wireless stuff on 5GHz, except for apparently this one new cheap carvin dongle. the rap on 5GHz wifi is it can carry more data and is currently less crowded, but doesn't have the range and gets blocked more easily compared to 2.4GHz wifi.

which shure is it? if it's not a GLX-D then it's probably analog anyway, not in the wifi zone at all.
 
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#12
Checked again, the digital version works in the 902-928 MHz band, so I've definitely got the analog, just as walterw figured. No A/D-D/A delay... the fobs seem so convenient, but now I'm even more concerned that a 6 ms delay might drive me nuts...

Maybe the Shure isn't that much of a pita after all....
 
#13
H Nighttrain said:
Checked again, the digital version works in the 902-928 MHz band, so I've definitely got the analog, just as walterw figured. No A/D-D/A delay... the fobs seem so convenient, but now I'm even more concerned that a 6 ms delay might drive me nuts...

Maybe the Shure isn't that much of a pita after all....
Click to expand...
If it's working for you...
 
#15
E0E6AF59-901A-4AB7-B1F2-5AC705294C52.png
The new Boss wireless setup looks good.
 
#19
My local sam ash wouldn't let me try anything out without buying - didn't want to wreck the packaging, plus they didn't have any 'floor models' set up and charged up. Fair enough, I could have bought something, tried it, returned if I didn't like it... but didn't want to go thru all that.

So I still have no feel yet for how much latency I can tolerate - I imagine if I was just playing I'd probably adapt without
thinking about it, but higher latency might bug me when singing and playing, that's hard enough for me as it is.

So I'll hafta just go and buy one. I'm leaning toward the Line 6, uh, don't have the model # at hand, over the Boss WL-20. Both have battery powered receivers (check) and even tho the rcvrs don't just plug into the amp, I'd have a cable out and ready as backup anyway so using that cable to hook up a rcvr will be fine. Both operate for plenty of time on a charge. The Line 6 is 2.9 ms delay, not quite as good as the Boss 2.3 ms, but I like its 130 ft range (vs 50 ft) (yeah, I am in that band where we head out to the dance floor...).

Thanks again for the contributions here, hopefully it's helpful to others with similar concerns as me.

I'll let y'all know what I think when/if I pick one up. Outdoors summertime festival-type gig in two weeks!
 
#20
H Nighttrain said:
My local sam ash wouldn't let me try anything out without buying - didn't want to wreck the packaging, plus they didn't have any 'floor models' set up and charged up. Fair enough, I could have bought something, tried it, returned if I didn't like it... but didn't want to go thru all that.

So I still have no feel yet for how much latency I can tolerate - I imagine if I was just playing I'd probably adapt without
thinking about it, but higher latency might bug me when singing and playing, that's hard enough for me as it is.

So I'll hafta just go and buy one. I'm leaning toward the Line 6, uh, don't have the model # at hand, over the Boss WL-20. Both have battery powered receivers (check) and even tho the rcvrs don't just plug into the amp, I'd have a cable out and ready as backup anyway so using that cable to hook up a rcvr will be fine. Both operate for plenty of time on a charge. The Line 6 is 2.9 ms delay, not quite as good as the Boss 2.3 ms, but I like its 130 ft range (vs 50 ft) (yeah, I am in that band where we head out to the dance floor...).
Click to expand...
Once you get 30-40 ft away, the delay from the speakers to your head becomes problematic. But on the other hand, those distances are best case scenarios, and we all know that gigs are full of things that make those best case scenarios very difficult to maintain. So I'd probably go for the Line 6 as well. I'd still get the G70 :D but that doesn't sound like it's in the cards for you no matter what.
 
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