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I'm sorry Line 6... I just can't anymore...


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I have been a HUGE supporter of Line 6 XD-V wireless microphones for the last 4 years...  I owned at one point about 12 units    some V35 , some V70/75's  and there is no denying that these microphones sound amazing and certainly were revolutionary upon their announcement at NAMM some years ago...   WIth that said... I have been finding these microphones to be more and more finicky and less reliable as far as signal...

 

These have been BULLETPROOF for me for years and in SOME environments.. and that is being less and less...  

I highly dislike how the newer guitar units that Line 6 makes are NOT switchable to RF 1 ... they come in, and stay in RF2... making it an issue when used on stage along side an XD-V75 that is in RF 1...

 

I also dislike how I use a Heil RC35 capsule and I get a low volume, high pitched whine in the signal.... I've tried multiple capsules on different handhelds and its still an issue even though the severity changes...  This does not happen on other brands wireless transmitters...

I have dealt with this since I have been able to deal with it as it is not noticable when music is going and the Heil capsule is head and shoulders better than many I've used...

 

Most recently had my first show with my new band and new original songs... I had my P180 paddles out ( which are getting annoying to set up every show ) and we got to the big moment of the first song in our set and BOOM... mic dropout...   totally ruined the song and moment for me...   it was a long dropout, like 6 seconds...

 

 

I have decided to sell of most of my extra units and keep 2 of my Line 6 units to use at church, but for my main rig, when I need to rely on my wireless mic... I'm going to a Shure QLX-D ...  

 

I wish Line 6 would just announce that they are abandoning this unit and discontinue it already...

clearly things are different since Yamaha bought them out and guys like Don Boomer left the company.. the writing is on the wall... and with the UHF spectrums getting smaller and Digital mixers and other wireless systems using 2.4ghz,  I'd highly suggest many of you do likewise and go in another direction... These mics are great in the right circumstances... but if you are going to be playing big rooms with lots of people, stages with 1-3 other bands and their gear etc.  I'd advise against these as far as reliability... if you can deal with a drop out...   My IEM systems are Sennheiser UHF and I have never once at all had a dropout.. never ever ever....   tells me a whole lot about where my confidence should lay when on tour..

 

Just my 2 cents on the matter...

 

Its had to have had to type this as I've been the biggest supporter of these products... I just can't do it with a clear conscience anymore... 

Like I said... these will become my Church units which is disappointing..  I would love to see Line 6 make these same quality sounding units in UHF frequencies... that would be worth it then in my book..

 

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

Interesting read - we've just recently had the first dropout on our V55 and I can't understand why. As far as I can tell it was the only 2.4ghz source in the area (it was a wedding in a converted stable/barn sorta thing, miles from anywhere, with no wifi, and clear line of sight between mic and receiver about 15ft away), but still it dropped in and out for two songs maybe. 

 

Slightly concerning! 

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Interesting read - we've just recently had the first dropout on our V55 and I can't understand why. As far as I can tell it was the only 2.4ghz source in the area (it was a wedding in a converted stable/barn sorta thing, miles from anywhere, with no wifi, and clear line of sight between mic and receiver about 15ft away), but still it dropped in and out for two songs maybe. 

 

Slightly concerning! 

 

if people have cel phones, they also are 2.4ghz sources, as they're constantly pinging "what wifi is out there" when it isn't connected to a known network.

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Kevell99 ,    These have been virtually bulletproof for me, I mean drop outs were RARE... SUPER DUPER rare....  but lately, they are more frequent...    I've also become a quasi expert in understanding how wireless stuff works,  understanding Line of Sight, I scan for open channels regularly before anything, you name it.. I do it !  

 

Tonight I used my Line6 at a church event I sang at...  mic dropped out 6 times on me..   SIX... TIMES.....   No.. That is unacceptable...      I love the clarity of these transmitrers, they are great !  but with the dropouts becoming more and more frequent,   I think I just lost ALL confidence in these systems... I think its time to sell the ones I have and move on....     Sad because I believe these could be improved upon...  I also think these would be great if they simply switched them to UHF or VHF with the same concepts in mind...  I think 2.4  WAS a great idea, but its just crowded and not worth the hassle anymore in my opinion 

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Thanks AGAIN Line 6...  for reals...    Had a chance to sing a few songs at a special event...    Set up my mic side stage as I pretty much always do...  transmitter set to RF 1 ..  Scanned for a clear channel and used it...  First song, no problems...  Second song... 6 countem, SIX !!! Dropouts during the most important song of the night...

I figured out why... I was handed my cell phone so I could read a bible verse from an app, I put it away in my inside pocket of my jacket I was wearing...  SO...  I can't rely on my wireless of my phone is in my pocket ?  No thanks....  I'm not even going to use these anymore for backups...  completely DONE !!! 

 

Anyone looking for a good deal on these, They can check out ebay, I'll be liquidating them at this point...    I also have a ton of apology notes to write to all the people I've convinced to buy these....  I LOVE the sound of these mics... but at this stage in my music career.. RELIABILITY trumps Sound Quality any day...  

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  • 3 weeks later...

I'm completely with you all! I own 6 V-70 systems and 2 V55 systems - all racked and used on theatre productions. They've behaved ok, and unlike others above I haven't had any real RF issues so to speak of. What I have been suffering with massively has been poor battery performance. I have packs that come back after one show with 5 hours remaining and yet others coming back with 20 minutes left. Tests seem to show that the predicted times are about right. Same quality brand batteries and the same results every time. I daren't put them on any key actors for fear that i'll mis-time things and lose their mic. 
Batteries are now becoming so tight (it's getting worse!) that I need tools to remove probably 50% of batteries that come out of these packs, which is hard work when you've got a quick change to do between a matinee and evening performance. 

I have one pack that had a battery leak inside (Opened up a couple of weeks after a hire came back in to find a battery wedged inside and unable to be removed without opening the pack up). It leaked all over the insides and has rotted the ribbon cable and its' pcb connector on the switch/led pcb at the bottom of the pack. I've cleaned it up as best I can and have repaired the ribbon by shortening it by a couple of mm, but it's now becoming a bit intermittent at turning on. Tried sourcing a replacement ribbon cable and pcb via sontec (UK parts source nowadays) but they've been "in production" for the past 4 months. 

I'm not at the point of saying do I replace this pack and stick with it, or cut my losses and sell the lot to replace with some proper wireless kit that will stand up to life on the road. These packs haven't worked particularly hard - they've maybe done 10 shows of maybe 10 performances each. I'm hardly a show-a-week rental company! 

I also have several packs where the mini xlr has worn to a point where the mic sockets won't latch in anymore. Again, spare parts aren't available and Yamaha UK just don't want to know. 

I can't help feeling like the writing is on the wall and that I need to get rid quick. Doubt i'll make anything like my money back though! 

As others have said it's a huge shame as this product line could have been really good if it had been supported properly. Great sounding mics and if I had a little more confidence in their battery life i'd definitely be putting them on my principal actors in order to get their great sound quality. 

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  • 4 months later...
  • 2 months later...

RF1 is the ONLY mode I'd use the Line6 in RF2 is asking for trouble...

 

The Shure QLX has been flawless and yes its digital but it is not 2.4. Its UHF only it sends data and not audio so you get the same quality compander free wireless signal youd get with the Line6.

 

NO DROPOUTS!

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  • 2 years later...
On 1/4/2017 at 7:26 PM, eklynx said:

 

if people have cel phones, they also are 2.4ghz sources, as they're constantly pinging "what wifi is out there" when it isn't connected to a known network.

Cell phones, especially iphones do put out a signal for a short range "to be discoverd", to have a good wifi signal you need to at least have an RSSI of -67 (some say 69 -beautiful number-, but I keep to 67). Iphones take that down to -72 in close range if you're already on the edge, which you shouldn't be because you are on stage and your receive is within 10 mdoeof you, very rarely 20 if it's the biggest of stages... but even then, respectfully, your statement does not make sense... since line 6 uses the same 2,4 ghz wifi tech up to 14 channels (11 or them are legal in europe so you could theoretically fix your channel to 14 and there will be NO possibility of interference wha so ever, since EU wifi equipment only goes up to 12, and we can't even use 12) it used it's own encryption, it can't be discovered by other networks, as far as wifi scanning unit it doesnt' exist.... you might see a line (mux) but you won't be able to identify it. That being said.... other line 6 devices WILL interfear, and they made a problem out of this by not having sepperate groups of devices as say, guitar wireless systems using a different strain of encryption or identification.... it interferes with my reception unit.

Also that being said, I've gigged with mine numerous times, and yes, I also suffered dropouts... I wanted to shell out for a UHF mic but you just never know when they are going to take the available frequentie away in any given country, even if you buy the most widely equipped frequentie range mic that will cost you 700 up to 1500 usd, they can lollipop you up tomorrow so the "more and more unreliable 2,4 ghz" is your only choice left to even have the most remotely safe solution.

Such a pitty they never thought of going 5.1 ghz... now that 5 ghz wifi is out with over 120 channels to choose from it should almost be idiot proof, make it 5.1 specifically for musical gear and every problem is solved... after all these years I still can't understand why that has not happened yet.

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19 hours ago, MestV said:

since line 6 uses the same 2,4 ghz wifi tech up to 14 channels (11 or them are legal in europe so you could theoretically fix your channel to 14 and there will be NO possibility of interference wha so ever, since EU wifi equipment only goes up to 12, and we can't even use 12) it used it's own encryption, it can't be discovered by other networks, as far as wifi scanning unit it doesnt' exist....

 

Line 6 doesn't use the the same wifi tech - it doesn't actually use wifi at all. It operates in the same 2.4G band as wifi but that's where the similarity ends. There's no relationship between Line6 channel numbers and wifi channel numbers - Line6 uses up to four fixed frequencies per channel - totally different to wifi. You're right that wifi scanners won't see Line6 traffic - because it's not wifi - there are no SSIDs or any other identifiers that wifi equipment is able to detect.

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