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Audio Review: BEYERDYNAMIC Opus NE 600 S Wireless Microphone System
"The Opus system offers about 20 hours of transmit time from a pair of AA batteries - at least double that of most wireless systems."
Established in 1924, beyerdynamic has a long, proud heritage as a German manufacturer of microphones and headphones. The Beatles toured in 1966 with specially designed beyerdynamic ribbon mics, and recent decades have seen beyerdynamic continue to provide high-quality microphones to stages and recording studios alike. As with many mic manufacturers, beyerdynamic’s product line has grown to include wireless systems for stage use. We test one of their latest wireless mic designs in this issue.
The Opus NE 600 S is a single-channel UHF wireless system with a no-fuss setup, simplified controls and companding noise-reduction system. The receiver’s front panel covers the bare essentials with a channel readout, RF (radio frequency) and AF (audio frequency) level meters and two buttons. The first button initiates a scan of the available frequencies, picking the clearest of 16 channels for the particular venue. Once the scan is complete, the second button sends the selected channel to the transmitter to synchronize the two components. Up to 16 Opus 600 systems can be used at the same time, provided all 16 channels are clear in the venue.
The receiver’s rear panel offers unbalanced 1/4-inch and balanced XLR outputs, mic/line level switch and squelch control knob. Dual antenna connectors accept a pair of large (11-inch) antennas for true diversity operation. These antennas pull in a stronger signal, allowing for improved performance with reduced transmitter power (more on this later). Rack ears and antenna cables are included to allow for rack mounting of the half-rackspace Opus receiver.
Beyerdynamic extends the Opus 600’s simple approach to the transmitter as well, where you’ll find just one control (the on/off switch). One LED indicator lights to indicate low batteries, or flashes to indicate a frequency mismatch between transmitter and receiver. The transmitter doesn’t offer much to write about, so the real news here is the NE 600 S’s interchangeable capsule system.
The Opus 600 system offers three different mic capsules to choose from. These include the DM 969 capsule (dynamic supercardioid, $319 list), DM 960 (dynamic hypercardioid, $429) and EM 981 (condenser cardioid, $419). The capsule you initially choose affects the overall system price. Depending on the capsule, the Opus NE 600 S system is selling with street prices between about $650 and $750.
Other configurations of the Opus 600 system include a beltpack transmitter (starting at $630 list, system) and NE 600 D dual-channel receiver ($730, receiver only). Beltpack options include lavalier and neck-worn mics, as well as guitar or instrument input.
In Use
Setup of the Opus system is easy: press Scan to find the cleanest channel, then hold the bottom of the transmitter near the receiver and press Act to synchronize the two components. A nice touch is the receiver’s “pilot tone recognition,” which silently mutes the system when the transmitter is turned off. This makes a mute switch (and all the confusion it can cause) unnecessary—simply power the transmitter all the way off when not needed.
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Loren Alldrin is a regular contributor to Church Production Magazine.
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