Lots of people love wireless microphones. No cords to trip over, and freedom to move about. They are, at a minimum, a convenience. I’ve used a number of different ones ranging from the lowest end amateur systems to state-of-the-art professional handhelds costing around $3k each. But… despite all the apparent ease of cordless mics, we no longer use them. Let me explain why Loud DJs has moved back to wired, and why an audio engineer client of ours specifically requests wired microphones at his wedding:
- Cost: wireless microphones are far more expensive than wired. What we don’t spend on transmitters is passed on to you, because we can charge an average $45 less per event by not using them. A very inexpensive wireless transmitter and receiver system costs around $300, and will sound terrible. For the same price I could purchase two $150 wired mics that would sound glorious.
- Quality: A cordless microphone transmits its signal through the air to a receiver and then to a mixer; a corded mic conducts through electronically balanced copper wire right into the mixer. It doesn’t take much thought to expect that a greater spectrum of sound will transmit over real wire.
- Reliability: When you see wireless microphones on stage at a concert, the receivers are usually less than 100ft away (on or above the stage), and completely unobstructed. There’s nothing to interfere with the signal. However, at a typical DJ event with caterers and planners intermingling between the signal, problems can occur. Vendors are often wired to the hilt with headset communication systems, and these days everyone has a cell phone, which create a lot of problems with wireless systems. Not too long ago I was attending a large lecture in Los Angeles. A constant humming sound drowned out the thoughts of several prestigious speakers. How embarrassing it was when the sound engineers had to ask attendants to turn off their mobile phones, which did fix the problem. If only they had used wired mics? Without even mentioning how battery life is affected in this summer heat, I’d say that in the situations that DJs encounter on a regular basis, wireless microphones serve their purpose 75% of the time at best (in my personal experience). Wired microphones work 100% of the time. Which do you trust?
