Shure Corporation has long been a supplier of microphones and other products which have shaped our sonic landscape through the decades. This year they introduced a new line of wireless microphones, the SLX series which was provided to Church Production Magazine for review.
The SLX wireless series operates in three 24-Mhz bands: the H5 (518-542 MHz), J3 (572-596 MHz), and L4 (638-662 MHz). Within each band you can operate up to twelve wireless microphones. However, if you use all three systems you can utilize up to twenty channels of wireless.
The SLX4 wireless receiver is a half-rackwidth unit with a solid metal case and an LCD backlit screen. On the unit’s front is an audio signal meter from the SLX transmitters. A five-segment meter on the left hand side offers easy reference. On the right side is an infrared sync port which caught my eye immediately.
This feature provides a simple way to set up all of your transmitters in a short amount of time. Enter the frequency into the wireless receiver and simply open each transmitter to reveal the infrared port inside. Hold the transmitter close to the port on the receiver, push the button and your transmitter frequency is automatically set according to the selection on the receiver.
Without this feature you would have to manually set each group and frequency on every transmitter and receiver. I found this to be a great way to set up the system, taking only half the time if I had to do it all manually. A cool feature, in my book.
The half-rack size of the SLX4 offers a standalone option or mounting in a standard rack case (with the supplied rack attachments). The L-brackets included with the unit have holes on two sides to mount your ¼-wave antennas on the front if you decide to put it in a case.
Cables and BNC adaptors are included in the kit along with solid rubber brackets which fit around the unit to use as a standalone piece. These rubber brackets provide both a non-slip surface for the SLX4 to sit and a degree of ground isolation from surfaces which may conduct electricity. If you decide to purchase more than one unit, they can be rack mounted side by side in one rack space using the L-brackets supplied with each receiver.
Plugging in the receiver, I noticed the handy cable-strain relief built into the back of the unit which made me comfortable that the AC cable would not come loose during transport. I can’t tell you how many times I have tried to power up a piece of gear and then crawled around the back of the rack to plug in the AC cable again. AC is provided with the PS20 external power supply which I am also happy to say is not an unwieldy “wall wart”. The power supply is in the middle of the cable which has the Edison plug on one end and the AC adaptor at the other. Both are permanently attached so you cannot lose a critical piece of cable along the way.
There is a balanced, mic-level XLR and ¼-inch unbalanced line out on the back of the receiver, but not an option for a balanced XLR line level output. I prefer to run my wireless at line level in situations where I have long signal snake lengths or where I might be affected by ground isolation issues. This is not a negative, however, as many people operate wireless at mic level output and have no problem with it. This option is available on other units like the sister ULX systems which offer more features.
Of course, more options give you a higher price and the wonderful $1,263.00 US list price of the SLX system will fit many church budgets. To clarify, that system would include a SLX4 receiver, a handheld SM58 transmitter, SLX1 body pack transmitter, WL185 lavalier microphone, and antennas, cable and rack mount accessories. Your Shure dealer will have different options and combinations for you to purchase individually if desired. The SLX transmitters are manufactured from molded plastic with backlit LCD’s and an LED for easy visual reference. The LED also serves as an indicator when the transmitter is muted by the user.
When powering up wireless it typically takes a few seconds for the transmitter to power on and the receiver to pick up the transmissions. Many occasions I have been at churches where the minister switches on his mic and begins to speak before transmission starts, cutting off a few words in the beginning.
Shure has reduced this problem with the mute switch located at the top of the SLX1 body pack. When touched once it mutes the microphone, press and hold the button to completely power down the transmitter. I heard no pops or noises whatsoever when using the mute feature and I agree it would be a welcome addition to churches where the minister switches on and off their own microphone.
If you are the sound engineer at your church and groan at the thought of giving so much control over to someone else, Shure has built in an easy lock-off system. Press both the mute and select button on the transmitter and the unit is locked off from any frequency or mute functions.
The SLX1 body pack opens to reveal the AA battery compartment and the sync infrared port. The thin design of the plastic case hides well under suits or robes and is very lightweight (3 ounces without two AA batteries).
On the side is a three-position switch for adjusting the gain in different applications. The mic position is used with a lavalier, the 0 dB position for use with a microphone, and the -10 dB position for use with a guitar (separate TA4 to ¼-inch cable adaptor must be purchased). I personally like selecting the gain setting via a switch instead of the dial.
The lavalier mic I used with the system was a Shure WL184. This lavalier is an electret condenser microphone with a supercardioid pick up pattern. I use it often in situations where I need the maximum gain before feedback out of the microphone. Depending on your application you may choose to use the WL183 omni-directional mic or the WL185 cardioid microphone.
Shure has a new technology patent in the companding circuits of the SLX and ULX series. Companding is the way that transmitter compresses a signal and the receiver expands it. All wireless systems use a companding scheme of some sort, and Shure claims they have improved their companding to the point where you would hear no noticeable difference between a wired microphone and the wireless.
With this claim in mind I took the SLX2 handheld transmitter and put it to the listening test with a Shure Beta 87C wired microphone. I could not hear a difference between the two microphones at all with matched gain settings. To be fair I will also say that my demonstration unit came with a SM86 head - which I did not have access to in the wired version. The typical artifact of wireless (the breathing sound you may hear in the compression/expansion) was not there.
To test the RF reception (the literature says 300 foot range) I had another engineer stand inside to monitor the diversity indicators on the receiver. I was out the door of the building and into the parking lot about 300 feet away before he heard the first drop out of signal. This was using the passive ¼-wave antennas with the receiver set on a waist high table and I still had reception from far away.
For added comfort and reliability you may purchase the UA844 antenna amplifier which combines multiple receivers’ antennas into one, using paddle or ½-wave antennas to ensure rock solid reception.
Even without the antenna amplifier, you already have Shure on your side with the receiver’s automated frequency selection feature. This function automatically scans the wireless frequencies in the area and selects the channel with the least amount of interference.
It’s important to note that in the age of digital TV (DTV) and mountains of wireless frequencies, you need to select your frequency band according to the amount of RF in your area. Luckily for you, Shure maintains an excellent website (www. shure.com) which posts recommended wireless channels in almost every city and town in the nation.
Your Shure dealer can also help you select which frequency band is right for your application. The website offers a wealth of information on wireless, with FAQ’s and a knowledge database available to you. This wireless system exceeded my expectations and it seemed more like a professional wireless system but packaged affordably for the average user market. It certainly has features I would use and wish I had on some higher end systems. Whether you need a wireless for a guitar performance, a lavalier system or a handheld, you will find a great unit in the SLX series of wireless.
Pete Tidemann is principal of Linear Velocity, an audio consulting firm in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He can be reached at hans@linearvelocity.com.
