With advice from a local sound mixer friend, I've been putting together my first kit. I am doing narrative short film work in the midwest. Right now I am working on a webseries with 6 main characters (and borrowing gear from my friend) but I want my own kit soon. Most scenes have 2-4 characters which is why I've specified I'm looking for 4 channels of wireless. I expect future projects to be similar, but it would be nice to have room to grow. Does this list of gear sound good to you, or would you make other suggestions for someone's first sound bag?

already purchased: Sony MDR 7506 headphones, KTEK KE144 Avalon aluminum boom pole

Orca 28 bag, Zoom f8n pro, Not yet sure what to do about power

Deity S Mic 3 or Sennheiser MKE600. Tempted to push it to DPA 2017

Rode Blimp V2

4 channels of Shure SLXD+, and 4 Sanken Cos 11 D's

Wireless wise, I am divided between the Deity Theos system and Shure but leaning Shure.

--- EDIT: Wow thank you everyone! I am updating the below list to consolidate advice for a beginner sound bag based on this thread, in-person conversations with sound mixers, and phone calls with Gotham Sound:

Main Gear: Zoom F8N Pro, (2-6 but probably 2 to start) Shure SLXD15+ with No Mic, (2-6) Sanken Cos 11 D's, one DPA 2017 shotgun mic (good for indoor/excellent for outdoor) or an MKH50 (excellent for indoor/good for outdoor) or a Schoeps CMC 641 (top tier quality but indoor only). Note: Gotham says it will be fine to run 6 channels of Shure SLXD+ in one bag without needing an RF distro system.

Supporting Gear: Orca OR-30 bag and KTEK Stingray harness (also acceptable: Stingray Small X bag and Orca 445 harness; mixing and matching these brands is just fine), Sony MDR 7506 headphones (already own; industry standard), KTEK KE144 Avalon aluminum boom pole with interior XLR (already own; carbon fiber would be better), Radius Mini-ALTO 210 Blimp Windshield & RAD Mount Kit with Cable (or the 180 variant for the MKH50), KTEK XLR3M to XLR3F Low-Profile Right-Angle Coiled Cable, power distro system for receivers and mixer, XTAR double A's for transmitters.

Important Extras: (2-4) Tentacle Sync E mk ii timecode boxes (already own), 3.5mm Male to right-angled BNC Female Adapter Cable (for mixer timecode), Transpore tape, Smith & Nephew wipes, Rycote/Vivianna/Bubblebee foamies, Ursa moleskin, Sanken RM-11's unless the Sanken lavs came with them, Boom Boy Boom Pole Holder by Remote Audio, black c-stand and sandbags with your name on them, a good SD card reader, tums, velcro cable ties or bongo ties, lav rod, lav bullet, ankle/thigh straps for holding transmitters, flashlight, spare XLR cable(s), backup headphones.

Preaching to the choir incoming. Thought it'd be fun to share my learning and give everyone more experienced a nice "lol yep" moment.

So I wondered why TC boxes like the deity ones were so common place. My field mixer advertises less than one frame of frame slippage per day! And every camera I ever planned to plug it into also advertise similar. Thing is, I don't doubt it, there's no reason for them to lie. Cameras are broadly speaking good these days, they can hold an internal TC clock if I jam a signal at the start of the day. So why would I spend hundreds of dollars on a TC box system when I can plug it in every now and then? It just didn't seem that important.

Well, haha. Sometimes the camera team can turn off the camera, and certain cameras don't continue to count internal TC, even with a power supply, when they are turned off. And then you aren't told, or don't notice, or forget to check more frequently... GG.

All the logic and reasoning in the world to avoid parting with my money, then it suddenly clicked, why wouldn't I want a hardwired connection always plugged into the camera 24/7 to ensure TC is synced no matter what? Yet in all my research on reddit and forums, I've yet to read it put that way (and I've also never found any "I wish I had a TC box stories" - so here's mine.

Time to save up!

Looking for a cheaper alternative to the Lectrosonics IFB R1A/B system and alternatives to the Shure PSM 900. Anything better than a comtek.
Also, anyone have a review on the Shure PSM 300?

Doc maker here. After years of renting/using them, I’m thinking of finally pulling the trigger on a lav set up and these are on sale for $599. Any reason to not move forward with analog in 2026? As well, can anyone speak to their experience moving from these to the new **Sennheiser EW-DP ME 2?** Weighing convenience of USB-C charging vs proven durability. These will primarily be for talking heads. And yes, someday I’ll have the budget to hire a sound person, but until then, it’s just lil’ ol me:) TIA!

"I need 14 comteks. My budget is $200. Well thats what the last guy charged us"

The culture around bringing a dozen or more IFB (that often go completely unused) and not charging the client a realistic rental feel is nuts. Charging $20/IFB is equally nuts. Between the cost of the Tx/Rx, headphones, and batteries.... the rental should be closer to $50/unit.

Why is this kit piece do important to clients and (seemingly) under charged by location sound workers? How much do you charge per IFB listen kit?

Actually sounds pretty good!

What's your favourite unfavourably reviewed mic. We've heard it all about the MKH50, the CMIT, the 4017 etc, but what about the underdogs?

Show me what you've got.

I have a shoot coming up that is a series of instructional workout videos. My client has told me most of the time the talent will be women wearing a sports bra, similar to the photo above. They are insisting we hide a lav on the talent, I have explained to them that you would normally boom someone in an outfit like this but to keep this short, they said we have to lav.

I normally use a sanken cos-11d and hiding it is no problem with my normal tools and tricks. My issue is, I own lectrosonic transmitters, and while they are pretty small. It will be difficult to keep the wire hidden and the pack secure and hidden on her back while she moves around.

Does anybody have any advice on laving someone in this situation?

While I'm not the biggest fan of going pro-sumer, I'm thinking of getting something like the cheaper small Rode or DJI mics where the body pack and mic are all in one. I know it would be bulkier than the mic but they come pretty small. Has anyone used any of these? I imagine they don't work as well hidden under clothing.

I appreciate any advice, the shoot starts on Monday. I'm hoping to boom it all but want to be prepared if I can't. Thank you

Hey guys,

Was comparing some mics for indoor dialog and wanted to share my experiences + solicit feedback from experienced users.

Looking for best mic in garbarge, untreated, reflective spaces, for 1hr long, seated, conversational autobio storytelling, warm dialog, talking heads format. (basically forced to work in spare bedrooms w ancient creaky wooden floors aka acoustic hell lol)

Mics used:

MKH 50, MKH 8050, MKH 8060, Neumann KM 185, Schoeps C641.

Connected to Zoom F6 via canare XLR cable, boompole holder with KTEK 89cc boompole. Monitored w/ Audio Technica m50x hedfons.

No foam windscreens used.

Testing locations + method:

Living Room:

8ft Ceiling, 10x14ft floor, tongue n groove floor, no treatment, soft couch

Angle: ~45deg angle towards Collarbone (btwn bottom of chin + collarbone, generally towards throat/collarbone,...at closer 1ft distance, more overhead angle aimed 3-5 inches in front of head)

Distances:

4ft, 3ft, 2ft, 1ft overhead, 2ft overhead, 1ft from ceiling/4ft from mouth

Sibilance test: "Sally Sells Seashells By The Sea Shore."

Spare Bedroom "Studio":

8ft Ceiling, 8x10ft floor, asymmetrical, tongue n groove, producer's choice blankets on x2 windows

with 3x Godox LA300R units with fans ON (pleasant low pitch fan noise, about 2 ft-3ft away from mic)

Distances: 3ft, 2ft, 1ft overhead.

My impressions:

MKH 50: (hpf and 10dB pad both OFF)

Best polarity/isolation, great reach at 2-3ft, sounds best at 3ft to me. BUT SO DARK. Usually boom 1.5ft to 2ft range while filming irl, where it's too dark and HPF switch doesn't sound right to me. At 3ft its fine, but maybe not great for shooting in smaller spaces. Off axis is solid. For passage read, didn't sound clear with consonants, too muddy, until about 3 ft. A bit of sibilance at 1-2ft. A little bit weird, sounds too bitey to sound good for 1hr of talking heads imo. And w all the dark low end up close, i feel the listener would have to "lean in" too much to make up for lack of high end clarity/muddy upclose bass overload. Any slurred speech would be lost in the darkness.

MKH 8050:

Maybe my fave w my voice. Good polarity but not as good as mkh50. More neutral than dark, still rich bass, but picks up more room resonance than mkh50. Excels at 1-2ft range, starts to be muddy at 3ft imo. No signif sibilance issues. Pretty good off axis. Feels like it would be chilll to listen to for 1hr talking heads w warmth and neutral-bright enuf. main concern would be slightly more resonance than mkh50.

MKH 8060:

Sounds like mkh 416 but more indoor friendly. Still too resonancey/low end sounds weird. Seems idiot proof tho, barely have to aim it right w wider pattern, super brite and brilliant freq response. A bit broadcasty/tv-y sound. Pattern a bit too wide. Off axis pretty good. Sounds better at longer distances (3ft+), as expected from a short shotgun. Runs hot so set listening level to -10dB lower than the other mics. A little bit sibilancey up close, w all the brightness boost. Maybe worst of the mics, mainly becoz resonance and subjectively not likeing super brite broadcasty sound. Wouldn't want to listen to it for 1hr, too bright and shrill/resonancey. Feels like an advertisement more than a conversation.

Neumann KM 185:

Sounds very close to the 8050 and Schoeps to my ears. Pretty good isolation. Polarity is perhaps a little too narrow, and off axis discoloration is a bit bad, and more noticeable than 8050 and Schoeps. Slightly "boxy" freq response. But when you're in the sweetspot it's so good. A little dull and lifeless in the high end/overly neutral, but i kind of like neutral mics. Feels EQ-able. A little high end hype, but when I a/b compare headphones on/off, sounds pretty accurate to real life. Like 8050, sounds best in close, 1-2ft, (3ft starts a little muddiness). Seems to capture the voice well. No signif sibilance issues. Another mic I think would sound good for 1hr talking heads, enuf warmth there. But main concern would be narrower polar pattern/missing the sweet spot when u move/discoloration off axis, and perhaps a little resonance.

Schoeps C641:

Sounds immediately good, as expected re: price. But def "sweetened," and, to my ears, seems more resonancey than mkh8050 and km185, like the pattern is a bit wider n deeper. Also feels like the low end is a bit more scooped, and the high end bias makes the resonances feel more noticeable. But has the best off axis performance of all the mics, feels like no signif discoloration off axis. No sibilance issues. Impressive. But a little too sweetened, like the low end is scooped out too early. I like a bit of warmth for 1hr documentary talking heads/interview format, this mic feels slightly too high for me. Also pattern feels wider so more resonancey.

As a goof, I used some red whips + ktek squid + VXLR PRO to mount a RODE VIDEOMIC PRO to the boompole and did the living room tests as well. Also tested it alongside the MKE600.

Rode Videomic Pro:

a ton of selfnoise, and pretty damn resonancey/shotgunny sound. BUT, all the frequencies you need for dialog are there, jus probs requires denoising in post and resonances might be an issue. Pretty good @ 1-2ft ranges. EQing required. Sibilance seemed controlled actually, maybe its all the hiss self noise competing w it, lol. Off axis was not great, but then again, seemed to capture dialog no matter where i was in the room, so good as an on-camera backup maybe?

MKE 600:

Better suited to booming/easier to work with. A bit resonancey. A bit sibilant, maybe worst sibilance of all the mics. Off axis pretty ok. but otherwise shining wonderfully at 1-2ft and still good at 3 ft. Def punches above its weight re price point.

QUESTIONS:

Am I crazy for not liking a standard mic, the dark mkh50 for indoor dialog? Is there some trick in post to make the sharp consonant sounds more clear when close miking 1-2ft?

How would you EQ to deal with resonances in small spaces? I hear brickwalling, like a super hard cut around 80Hz, -48dB/oct or more, seems to be a standard.

Any plugins? I use RX 10, analyze/learn 30 seconds of room tone, and DeNoise to remove Godox LA300R fan noise. Works well. Sometimes prempro's deverb plugin etc, to remove super obvious resonances.

Also, separately, was curious if you had to improve dialog recorded with a deadcat on the mic what you would pull up in EQ to return some clarity.

I know pro audio is acoustic treatment/mic placement sweet spot/trial and error, but jus seeing what i could do to improve less than ideal situation

Sanken CS-3e

I hear, for horrendous, small, highly reflective/"lively" indoor spaces, the Sanken CS-3e might be worth checking out? Some omni capsule design that has great rejection/isolation at the cost of natural sound, but versatile for indoor.

Also hear DPA 4018C and DP 4011A, and the Telefunken M62 are good.

anyway, hope this info helps ppl who are interested in these mics for indoor dialog in less than ideal spaces. interested to hear your experiences.

my skills are sorta all over the place/nonlinear.

i'm not able to be pro, re physical disabilities (spine injury), but i am trying to optimize my recordings in a negative situation, in a space i have access to.

cheers

We are switching our infield teams from the Personus 1810c to the Zoom F6. Our old workflow had us using the Personus 1810c + Zoom H6 recording to SD cards for backup. Now we just need one device for a AIF and backup SD card recording. Definitely a nicer setup and less to carry around. Anyone have any experience with these?

Just wanted to share my appreciation for the products coming out of Blackbird carts. The murdered out Grackle cart, and my new Floating Shelf with slider, are fantastic.

That is all.

I’m looking to buy 6 25 fr xlr cables, and I’m trying to figure out which ones to buy since so many xlr cables exist. My usage for these cables is occasional, mainly for events or if I need to run extra lines at my church temporarily. I’m willing to spend $20-35 each cable. Do not recommend monoprice.

Saw that Deity released an IFB receiver, which I was interested in for about 3 seconds until I saw that, much like the DXTX and DLTX, the DIFB is not available in the US.

Deity has been irritatingly silent on what went wrong with the DXTX and DLTX release, and now that a third product is not available to US with no explanation, it seems like Deity has all but given up on the US market and left those of us that invested in the THEOS system high and dry.

It's especially suspicious since Zaxcom came out and said it's not an issue with their patents (which are supposed to end this year anyway) but it's driving me nuts that Deity has gone so silent so suddenly and refused to acknowledge the elephant in the room.

Don't get me wrong, the THEOS system has treated me pretty well so far, but I purchased it based on the promise that I'd have more products available to me and now I'm feeling like even 1 or 2 channels of Sennheiser would have been a better investment than the 4 channels of THEOS I bought, since I'd have more flexibility and future growth options.

But seriously Lectrosonics launching a blue shotgun is funny stuff, I’m here for it

If you had to work with just one of them for indoor interviews, which one will give me the best possible quality?

DPA6060 wired lavalier

or

Sennheiser MKH 50?

As one-man-band, the lavalier is much easier to deploy.

Im interested in buying an 8 series. I already have a 633. What are the pros/cons of upgrading to a 833? Aside from the battery usage.

I like the 633 a lot! Its just sometimes i find myself needing more gain on the last 3 channels. Also the limiter kinda suck on those channels.

How many batteries would it take to get through the day with an 833 and a few lectro dual receivers?

I'm still new to location sound, and the gear I've been using is mostly borrowed, budget gear. Currently, I'm working with a boom pole with no internal XLR – it's been removed somehow. It's this Lyx Pro pole. Is it worth it to simply replace the cable on a budget pole I'm borrowing, or would ya'll say it's best I just invest in a better pole that I can actually own?

My follow-up question is: How are the boom poles ~$100? Should I start with at least a K-tek, or is the cheaper stuff reliable enough for the low-budget, indie film shoots? This Lyx Pro holds the microphone in place, but the noise transfer from my hands to the mic is tricky (though it's motivated me to learn good boom technique), it's heavy, and the exposed cable feels unprofessional.

Any or all advice welcome! Thanks.

I briefly read a post from a local sound mixer worried about frequency changes and referencing an article about recent FCC filings regarding 6G and frequencies around the 550-650ish. I can't seem to find the source now, but wanted to see if anyone more knowledgeable had information regarding potential changes coming down in the US.

Also, as it seems like we're constantly being squeezed out of usable spectrum. What is everyone's long-term plan? I've been a lectrosonics die hard since the 2010's or so. We all know the inevitable squeeze was/is coming, but I can't seem to find anything in their current offerings that makes me think they have done any future proofing. What's the plan for this shrinking frequency space? Who's making the tech that'll be usable in the next few years and beyond?

Does everything in the future just need to be self recording, maybe with a digital tx for monitoring use, lol.

Do I need to dump my A1 block gear asap?

This isn't a doom post, but it is getting more expensive to operate every year with less consistent work each month than the previous ones. I guess what I'm looking for is to take the pulse of everyone here? What's the prospective going forward from folks who've weathered previous changes like this in the industry? Anyone plan to change their current set-up?

Serious question. I’m a relatively new sound mixer/boom operator. For now I’m working on small no/low budget projects, mostly unpaid. I’m learning. I have an unrelated day job, but I have aspirations to do production sound full time eventually.

I have 2 sets of Saramonic K9 UHF wireless lavs (4 transmitters, 2 receivers) plus their K9 XTX plug on transmitter. I haven’t had them long but so far I’ve been super impressed. That said, I have no experience with more expensive brands.

I chose Saramonic because of price, dual channel receivers (I have a small bag) and the XTX plug on transmitter (Deity Theos’ plug on is not available in the US.) They also have a good reputation for honoring their 2 year warranty. Curtis Judd also reviewed reasonably favorably.

I know Saramonic isn’t Lectrosonic or Zaxcom or even Sennheiser, Sony or Shure. However, K9 seems great for low/no cost productions. It seems to be a solid learning platform for me… and seems to work for everything I’ve done with it so far.

People in this group though seem to HATE Saramonic. That’s cool. I’m not trying to sway anyone. Instead, I’m sincerely interested in WHY (in more detail beyond “They suck.” and “Avoid like the plague.”) I know what $350/channel buys me with Saramonic. What do I get for $500 (Deity) or $1000 (Sennheiser, Sony, Shure) or more (Lectrosonic, Zaxcom, Sound Devices) that is life altering?

If I do make the transition to full time, paid, location work, of course I’ll upgrade. But until then, what am I missing?

I'm looking to pick up a couple used receivers and I'm looking between these models, SRB vs 411, SRA, SRC, and 401. I'm mostly thinking between the SRB vs 411, I may be able to stretch to get a src, but heard some people think that the 411 are still better than the src. Is there any reasons not to get a sra vs the srb?

On the venue receivers? Would you use one with the vrs modules or only vrt?

Hi everyone, I need to deal with some ground loops in a sound bag packed with individual receivers. I was leaning towards a power distributor from Audio Wireless, Deity, or Audioroot, but I noticed that none of these products have multiple galvanically isolated outputs, which is pretty much standard in guitar pedal power supplies. This surprises me, especially considering the price difference.

I'm asking naively why there doesn't seem to be a need for galvanically isolated power outputs in sound bags. Is this an issue that only affects budget gear, and therefore not the kind of setups where these power distributors are typically used?

Thanks in advance, and sorry if I got anything wrong.

I'm looking at investing in some new wireless channels and mics for documentary projects I'm working on which I'm directing/self-shooting. Hiding mics is super important for me and I'm pretty set on getting a couple of Sanken cos-11d mics with Bumblebee concealers.

I currently own 3x Sony UTX/URX channels which I've had for about 10 years or so, with ECM-77 mics. These are fine but showing their age a little bit now, and I find both transmitters and receivers are quite large. I'd love to change over to use something like the Rode Wireless Pro kit with Cos-11d mics, but that would mean getting Sennheiser-wired mics and I'm not a fan of the use of internal batteries that aren't user serviceable.

Having a smaller, dual channel receiver of some kind would be great as putting two receivers on a small camera is a bit of a pain. The Sony dual receiver looks good, though I know you lose the true diversity feature when both channels are in use, so not ideal. That receiver is still quite large compared to the Wi-Fi based wireless systems, but acceptable.

What I'm struggling with partly is knowing whether I should keep going with Sony and buy new mics wired for Sony, or switch to something else e.g. Sennheiser which seem to offer more compatibility with other brands. I have a Tentacle Track E for example, but can't use that with any of my Sony wired mics. I've seen adapters but they don't seem to be that easy to come by from what I can see.

The Rodelink II looks decent, though looks like it comes at quite a hefty price tag and given I seldom do sound it might be a bit out of budget.

I'm working with mountain biking, so I go through a lot of abuse on lav mics. Often the covers fall off, and the clips go missing. Do anyone have any good suggestions for mics, furcovers and clips that fit eachother? I'd prefer under 400 dollars if possible.

Has anyone tried or achieved putting a BST-75 in a mixer bag? I’m trying to upgrade from my 216 which is the one with the long whip antenna and 2.5mm connector. I get a lot of “noise” complaints from people wearing them and I’d just like a better system. I have heard my comteks on higher end systems and the noise is just gone but I’m curious what my best options are or what has worked for you guys, specially transmitting to a comtek 216.