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Six reasons why you should switch your wireless microphone from analogue to digital

Of course, audible sound is analogue, but that doesn’t mean you and your audience shouldhave to forego the many benefits of digital wireless microphones. In some environments,
it may even be crucial to finally make the switch from analogue to digital. Here are the top
six reasons for making the change.

(1) The audio will sound better and cleaner.
As you may have heard, digital systems do not require
a compander (a combined compressor/expander). Inanalogue wireless microphones, a compander
compresses the audio signal, lifting it above the noise
floor of the RF transmission, and expands it again in
the receiver to recreate the original audio signal.
Unfortunately, this noise reduction is not a noiselessprocess in itself, and you may hear your compander
pumping, breathing or hissing. A compander-less digital system will not only massively
improve the audio quality for your audience, but will also help you to hear your performance
more clearly through your monitoring system.

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2/5(2) With features like intelligent switching
diversity, digital wireless can work some magicfor you.
A phenomenon called “fading” is the natural enemyof any wireless microphone transmission. Thismeans that the microphone signal can be strong in
one spot, but then extremely weak in another, wherereflected signals cancel out the direct signal
between the wireless microphone and its receiver.
When you’re really pushing your boundaries, a good
digital microphone system like Sennheiser’s Evolution Wireless Digital can work some magic
to help you stay “on air”: intelligent switching diversity, an RF channel equalizer, errorcorrection and even error concealment will keep your signal intact and your confidence high.

(3) The frequency manager at a festival will
welcome your digital gear with open arms.
The wireless spectrum is a shared and a shrinking
resource and very densely populated – not just bymicrophones but by many other production tools,too. At a festival or venue, the frequency manager
is responsible for handling all frequency matters.
When you show up with an analogue microphonesystem, it’ll add to the frequency manager’s
workload, because they need to calculate“intermodulation products”. These are basically useless emissions that occur when multiple
wireless microphones are used on stage. Did you know that 32 channels of analogue wirelesscan create 16,000 possible intermodulation products or noise sources? When, for example,
available frequencies at a larger event are really scarce, the frequency manager may not beable to fit your analogue equipment in, and your energetic stage show might find itself tied
down by a cabled microphone.

A good digital wireless microphone like Sennheiser’s Evolution Wireless Digital, however,makes the job of the frequency manager easier. It will emit its carrier frequency only – and no
disturbing intermodulation products that occupy additional spectrum. Transmission
frequencies can simply be placed next to each other at regular intervals, whereas with

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analogue wireless, the frequency manager must work around all the intermodulation
frequencies that the microphones produce. Therefore, digital wireless frees up spectrum for
additional audio links or other wireless production equipment – and this space is just what thefrequency manager needs most.

(4) Setting up a digital system is as easy as using
an app.
If you double up as the sound engineer of yourband, you’ll know it can be painful to get the audio
going. With digital systems like Sennheiser’s
Evolution Wireless Digital, an intuitive app guides
you through a few easy steps and you’re ready to
gig in a snap – on professional TV-UHF frequencies.
But beware: Your band members’ awe of yourseemingly magical abilities may diminish ever soslightly if you show them how easy this actually is…

(5) You can simply select a free channel without
the worry of interfering with other performers.
“But if a frequency is free, why should I worry about
disturbing other bands’ gear?” some may ask. The
reason for worrying is called intermodulation
products. Very simply put: If there is more than asingle analogue wireless microphone on stage, thewireless microphones will emit several RF
frequencies – not just the ones that you selected fortransmitting your audio. The same happens if awireless microphone gets too close to a receiver – like an in-ear monitoring pack, for example.

These additional and essentially useless frequencies are called intermodulation products. They
can interfere with other wireless microphones, or in-ears for that matter, and they eat up
spectrum space. With analogue microphones, and unfortunately also many digital
microphones, you will always have the issue of intermodulation products.

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However, some advanced digital systems like the Sennheiser Evolution Wireless Digital don’temit intermodulation products. This makes it very simply when it comes to your band’s next
gig: You or the venue technician can simply select a free channel and you don’t need to worry
about anything. No intermodulation products, no interference – and you have saved valuable
spectrum space, too.

(6) Too soft, too loud, clipping? Not with
Sennheiser’s Evolution Wireless Digital.
Gain is probably one of the most underestimatedissues you may face when setting up a wirelessmicrophone. In setting the gain, you determine how
sensitive your mic is. If you scream into the mic andthe gain is too high, you will sound horrible and theaudio will clip. If you have a soft voice and the gain
is too low, nobody will hear you amidst yourpowerful backline… The good news is that
Sennheiser’s Evolution Wireless Digital has an input dynamic range of a full 134 dB, evensurpassing the dynamic range of most microphone capsules, so you can pick up everythingfrom a soft whisper to a plane engine without having to adjust the transmitter gain.

Making the switch to a good digital wireless microphone can help improve your performance inmany ways. Opt for a microphone system that works on reliable UHF frequencies if you wantto take your music to the stage. If you like, you can learn more about Evolution Wireless Digital
here and the Smart Assist app here.

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About the Sennheiser brandWe live and breathe audio. We are driven by the passion to create audio solutions that make adifference. Building the future of audio and bringing remarkable sound experiences to ourcustomers – this is what the Sennheiser brand has represented for more than 75 years. While
professional audio solutions such as microphones, meeting solutions, streaming technologies

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and monitoring systems are part of the business of Sennheiser electronic GmbH & Co. KG, thebusiness with consumer devices such as headphones, soundbars and speech-enhanced
hearables is operated by Sonova Holding AG under the license of Sennheiser.
www.sennheiser.com
www.sennheiser-hearing.com

Global Pro Audio Press Contact
Stephanie Schmidt
stephanie.schmidt@sennheiser.com+49 (5130) 600 – 1275