In the past decade or so, low-profile headset mics have become widely used in houses of worship. Pastors and other presenters have found that a headset's diminutive microphone element and unobtrusive appearance allow great freedom of movement while being comfortable and nearly invisible to the congregation. The tiny mic can be positioned much closer to the mouth than a lavalier mic, resulting in a more natural frequency response and higher gain before feedback. While some headsets are voiced primarily for speech, many of the better ones will reproduce the voice with remarkable fidelity.
Point Source Audio offers several models of headset mics designed primarily for speech applications, including the CO-6. The company recently unveiled a new line of headset microphones for vocals and other live performance applications as well as speech: the Series 8. The Series 8 collectionicludes headset, earworn and lavalier mics, and is available in both omnidirectional and cardioid models.
The finer details
The company's new CO-8WD omnidirectional headset, part of the Series 8, is housed in a cleverly designed, tough cardboard box with a magnetic closure. Though not exactly a road case, it should hold up for the average church application, including portable churches where the mic is only used a few days each week. Our review unit included the headset mic with an approximately 48-inch cable ending in a threaded connector, a six-inch detachable cable with a mating connector on one end, and a TA4F mini-XLR connector on the other end, a foam windscreen, and a mic-cable clip.
The first thing I noted is that the dual-ear headset shipped flat, and is made of strong yet extremely light spring wire with the cable and boom attached to it with small clips. The assemblies are available in black or beige. Playing with the earpieces, I discovered that a slight pull and turn will move them to the proper position, where they will lock into place. With the ability to shift and lock 90 degrees in either direction, the mic boom can be placed on either the left or right side of the face. When you're done, it can store flat. Very clever.
Each earpiece is able to move a bit over an inch in and out of the frame that goes around the back of the neck, making it adjustable for different sized heads. To fit me, I needed to pull it out to the
maximum.
The cable has no connector at the headset, which could be a problem if it ever needs replacement, though it appears to be quite rugged. Connectors can be failure points, so the lack of one at the headset is not necessarily a negative, although some other manufacturers do include them. At the far end, a miniature threaded connector mates with the six-inch X-Connector, with interchangeable ends available to fit virtually any brand of wireless transmitter. This is a nice touch, allowing the headset to remain usable even if a new wireless is purchased, or if it will sometimes be connected directly to a standard mic cable.
The boom is quite malleable, and can be shaped to whatever curve is required to fit the face, after which it remains in place. Point Source is very clear to point out that the boom is bendable to 360 degrees. When I bumped the boom, or shook my head, the boom moved just slightly, and then quickly damped—returning to where it began.
The mic head itself is tiny and unobtrusive, measuring just 2.4 mm. It should be virtually invisible to anyone in the audience. The mic head and the boom are completely sheathed in a soft, smooth, shrink-wrap-like tubing designed to prevent any incursion of moisture. The mic has an IP57 rating. [Editor's note: The IP57 rating is a waterproof rating, meaning the mic can be submersed for up to 30 minutes in one meter of water without long-term damage. The CO-8W and CO-5W are both waterproof mic models. The CO-6 model is not waterproof.]
At first, I thought that the headset was too small for me. Although it's quite comfortable around the head and ears, I could not seem to make the boom extend far enough to achieve the recommended positioning. On a second go-around a few days later, I played with the headset some more and found that a section of the frame that I originally mistook for a hard limit on the boom's extension was able to be pulled out further with firm pressure, and I was happily able to position the mic correctly to achieve the best gain before feedback.
The take-away
When used for singing or speech, the CO-8WD mic sounds smooth, full—even pleasing in nature. If you or your church are looking for a very discrete, multi-purpose headset mic for live vocals, theater, or broadcast applications along with spoken word, the headset offers a high-quality, reasonably priced, although by no means cheap, option. If you're looking for a speech-only mic for your pastor or other teachers, the Point Source Audio CO-6 is another attractive alternative.
Specifications for the CO-8WD omni include a frequency response of 30 Hz to 18 kHz, sensitivity of -48 dB, a maximum SPL of 148 dB, and a weight of 0.6 ounce. Attenuating the lower midrange around 300 Hz, boosting around 3.5 kHz, and adding a few dB above 12 kHz gave it a more natural, smooth sound. The CR-8D cardioid headset, per its specifications, has a frequency response of 100 Hz to 12 kHz, a sensitivity of -69 dB, and a maximum SPL of 135 dB. The mics are available in three different configurations—headset, single-ear, and lavalier.
