XD-V75TR newbie question. Lav mic question.

[Robert300]

 I have an HD500 that I use with my regular amp.  I'm about 80% of the way towards making the decision to get a L2t to use with the 500.  I'm also currently wired from my guitar into the HD500.

 

I recently started ToastMasters public speaking club. Suddenly I'm realizing I would have a whole new reason to get a L2t.

 

I see mostly using a lavellier mic for doing presentations using the L2t for reinforcement.   If I get a mic that has a TA-4 mini-XLR, is it just a matter of getting a XD-V75TR bodypack system and I'm done?  XLR from the receiver to the L2t and that's it?  Would I need anything between the receiver and the L2t?  A preamp for a little more gain?  If I don't need a preamp, is there any issue if I put a coloring preamp like a Warm Audio there just to warm things up a bit?

 

And a quick question on lav mics...  It would seem that a super cardioid would be the way to go, but I am reading that an omni directional is better for a lav mic.   Wouldn't I want the mic just picking up from my mouth and not all around me as with an omni?

 

Thanks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[dboomer]

Hi Robert

 

So to answer your first question ... Yes that's all you'll need. The mixer in the L2t has plenty of gain and so you can just plug an XDV right in. Warming things up means loss of clarity and I would avoid it for speech applications. The people in the back rows will thank you.

 

As to what mic to use, the answer is " it all depends". It depends how loud you'll be, it depends on how much amplification you'll need (which is different), it depends on how big the room is ( mainly ceiling height) and if other sound is going on at the same time ( music for example). It also depends on your use of monitors. One size does not fit all here. While super cardioids have some advantages, they quickly become a problem if they move around a little on your tie. Omnis don't care.

 

Also I would like to point out that using headsets instead of lav mics will make the job almost ten times easier (literally). Lav mics are difficult to work with because your mouth is a foot away from the mic instead of an inch away with a headset.

[Robert300]

Thank you for that.  I liked the idea of using a Lav mic just because its out of the way visually.  With the headset, its sort of obviously there and maybe a bit of a distration for the audience.  As far as the room size.... no more than 100 people.  It would be your standard breakout session room in a hotel scenario maybe 30x40 or 30x50.  That would be about a 12 foot ceiling or less. The amplification would be whatever one L2T is putting out.  No other sound like music would be going on.   No monitors would be used. 

 

Ok, so definitely a cardioid is out and an omni is a maybe.  Honestly I would probably end up getting the omni lav and if it didn't work out then get a headset if I had to.  And I'll nix the idea of warming up the audio with a preamp. 

 

 .... your recommendation sounds like it would be going in the direction of.....   "don't worry about the headset being visible to the audience, just get one.  For what you want to do its all about simplicity and working.  The headset will give you that."

 

Allright, I'll start looking at headsets, too.  I'm not in any hurry so I have time to investigate.

 

Thanks,

Bob

[Robert300]

Oh, one other question.  Is it a problem if the transmitter is covered by a suit jacket.  I mean having it on the belt and just that a suit jacket is covering it.  Total distance from transmitter to receiver is no more than 20 feet with no other obstructions between the xmitter and rcvr.

[dboomer]

There is always a trade off between visual and technical performance. The better informed you are the better your personal decision will be.

 

As for a suit bothering the beltpack ... Shouldn't be an issue as long as it's not a suit of armor.

 

Just for the record, I'm not saying one type of mic is better than another. I'm saying that different situations call for different tools.

[Robert300]

 I was looking at some lav mic setups and noticed on a few that they plugged into a belt held preamp that would run on between 11 and 48 volts.

 

In that situation, where is that power being derived from?  Is that telling me that that is necessarily a wired system, so there would be a cable attaching to the preamp on the belt?  So does that mean that any setup that has a preamp on the belt that the lav mic plugs into is a wired system not a wireless system?

[Robert300]

Found the answer...

 

"Wired lavalier microphones work on phantom power; the microphone capsule is attached to a small tubular power supply that terminates in a three-pin XLR connection. Wireless mics, on the other hand, need internal batteries that may last anywhere from 2-7 hours."

 

So any setup that calls for a belt preamp.. has the mic connecting to the preamp on the belt... then another cable running from the preamp back to whatever you are plugging in to.   That sort of defeats the purpose of having unrestricted mobility.   So for me wireless is the way to go...

[dboomer]

Robert ... you're trying to make this harder than it is :).

 

Lav and headset mics that are intended for use with wireless systems run with "bias voltage", which is an unbalanced, single ended power scheme.  That power ( typically 5 volts) comes from the beltpack itself.  There's no cable needed.

 

Mics that are terminated with 3 pin XLR connectors and need power are commonly powered by "phantom power" which is either supplied by a mixer or by internal batteries. While the spec for phantom power calls for 48 volts, most everything pout there can use as low as 10 volts dc).  The mixers in StageSource speakers do no supply phantom power so you cannot plug a phantom powered mic directly into them and get power for the mic.  In this case you would need to use an external battery powered supply.