Lectrosonics is a company that has always created high quality U.S.-built products with the professional user in mind. For years the company has set the standard in the broadcast field with its wireless technologies. Now, it is creating more products for the stage with unique features that set them apart. Lectrosonics continues this momentum with The Venue Series and HH wireless microphone system—two separate products that come together for an incredible feature set and value.
I tested this package of products together over a 10-day church tour and loved every day I worked with this gear. Thanks to the digital hybrid technology that offers compander-free audio, the unit produced incredible sound. I was very pleased with how the vocals translated in the mix, as well. I never had issues with RF interference; it was solid even in a few crowded RF situations. So now that you know that this a great sounding and solid performing wireless microphone system in use, let me tell you a bit about it and why I think it stands out.
THE REVIEWER'S TAKE
The Venue Series is a scalable module wireless receiver capable of receiving signal from six wireless transmitters. On the rear of the single-space rack unit you'll find six analog XLR outputs along with connections for antennas, power supply and USB. On the front panel is a headphone output that allows you to monitor each individual channel. There is also an LCD screen that displays each channel's audio signal, battery frequency and RF level.
Typically when you want a wireless microphone you buy one transmitter, one microphone and repeat for the desired amount of channels. The Venue Series introduces a new concept. The receiver chassis comes empty but can be loaded with up to six receiver modules. Six channels in one rack space is an incredible feature that saves rack space and, over time, money. Lectrosonics offers two different types of receivers that can be loaded into the chassis. The VRS is the standard receiver model, and it provides a great no-frill signal, but for a bit more money the VRT is Lectrosonics' higher-end receiver. The VRT is the same as the VRS with the addition of more sophisticated tracking front-end filters.
Lectrosonics' website has a great documentation on the working benefits of this, but the bottom line here is that you are going to get less interference with the VRT. This was the module that I had loaded into my unit and after using the VRT in show situations I can vouch for its rock solid performance.
The Venue Series comes in three band ranges designed for operation in various regions of the world: Low (470.1-691.1 MHz), Mid (537.6-767.9 MHz) and High (640.0-861.9 MHz). There is selectable RF power at 50mw (the standard setting) and 100mw (for times when you have a mic that might go into the audience). By connecting your computer via USB and utilizing the VR panel app (Windows only) you can do an RF scan for open channels, change the frequency and see the status of up to 24 channels of wireless.
A back-end feature that is unlike any other wireless microphone system is that there are 256 individual pilot tones—one for each RF frequency. Here's a little wireless microphone primer to explain: All wireless receivers generate high-level noise when no signal is present. This is not good. To combat this, older wireless systems use a manual squelch system. Newer systems use a pilot tone or key tone squelch, where the transmitter includes two signals within the carrier; one that is for the audio signal, and the other for pilot. To combat this, older wireless systems use a manual squelch system. Newer systems use a pilot tone or key tone squelch, where the transmitter includes two signals within the carrier, one for the audio signal, and the other for pilot tone. The pilot tone is then communicated to the receiver (this is also how the information on battery level is sent).
As long as the transmitter is on and sending pilot tone (and audio signal) through the given frequency, the receiver keeps the output open so the microphone's signal is outputted. When there is RF interference, it interrupts the transmission of the audio and pilot tone. When the receiver does not “hear” the pilot tone the output of the receiver is muted. This is how most wireless microphones work, and it works pretty well. However, what happens when you have two transmitters that use the same pilot tone? Well, the pilot tone can be miscommunicated on the receiver's end. An RF breakthrough can occur, which allows the signal from another transmitter into your receiver. Lectrosonics is the only company that provides a unique pilot tone for each frequency. This added safeguard virtually eliminates frequency breakthrough from other transmitters in a crowded RF environment.
The Venue Series is able to accept other transmitters from the Lectrosonics product line. This includes both the LMa, UM400 and SMV series of belt pack transmitters—all popular choices for pastors' mics. The beauty of this scalable system is that those on tighter budgets can purchase one channel now, and each year add an additional channel as their tech budget allows—all in one rack space, with no antennae combiner involved. So, while this is a high-end professional product, it is actually a great value; and when you fully load the Venue Series, you actually are saving money.
Paired for my purpose with the Lectrosonics Venue series was the HH handheld transmitter. It has a clean black finish. The LED screen on the outside of the mic body displays the frequency, RF level and audio level. All buttons for operations are hidden on the inside of the mic body, accessed by simply unscrewing the mic body. Once you have it open it's very easy to set the input gain of the mic by yourself by speaking into the microphone as a performer would. With the mic body off, you can easily see a green/red LED when speaking into the mic. Simply adjust gain with the up and down arrows and you're ready for the show.
Lectrosonics offers one mic capsules that they manufacture: the cardioid condenser HHC. I was able to test this capsule and I found it to be very detailed while not too getting too bright. The HH mic body also accepts mic heads from manufactures like Audix, Blue, EV, Neumann, Telefunken, Sennhieser, Earthwork, Heil and Shure, although some of these require 3rd party adapters. Powered by two lithium AA batteries the HH gives 8-10 hours of use.
There is also a selectable RF power at 50mw (the standard setting) and 100mw for those times when you have a mic that might be carried out into the audience.
FEATURES THAT SHINE
Now for my favorite feature of the HH—and why I had to test it out. It is growing more and more popular for churches with in-ear monitors to have a bandleader that has a dedicated “talkback” mic that only goes to their musicians' in-ear monitors. It allows the bandleader to make changes to the set on the fly or call out chord changes. This has allowed bands to communicate in ways that were previously impossible with in-ear monitors. Now, this is quite simple if the bandleader is only on an instrument and does not sing. Even if the band director does sit at a piano or play a guitar, there are products that will split a wired mic signal with a simple foot switch. But, for a singer that needs the mobility of a wireless microphone, there is not such a simple solution.
A standout feature to the HH is a button on the outside of the mic that can be programmed to operate in two modes. First, it can be used in a mute mode—push to mute, push again to un-mute The second option is that it can be used as a “talk back” function. This sends the mic signal to another output on the Venue receiver. This feature is priceless for worship situations that I described before. The singer gains all of the mobility of a wireless mic and gets back all the control that they previously lost.
Apart from the added communication to the band, the talkback feature could be utilized a number of other ways: direct communication from your worship leader to your monitor engineer for mix changes, or try routing the talkback channel to the intercom that goes to your production teams' headsets to make the entire team aware of any on-the-fly changes. If your church has a singer that leads on Sunday mornings you really should consider how this technology could improve the way your team works together.
The Venue Series and HH products from Lectrosonics offer a feature-rich experience with standout performance—all with an exceptional value. You need to try this system out to believe it. The Venue Series chassis street price is around $1,400, with receiver modules starting around $350. The HH transmitter starts at around $1,000. You could quickly build a system that saves you money in the long run.
