Microphones
General Thoughts
Handling Noise
This is something I read about but did not appreciate until I received the Samson wireless microphones. Shure has a detailed explanation of various types of handling noise that affects microphones. Very briefly, any movement or shifting of internal parts of a microphone is picked up by the (very sensitive) audio input elements and is sent out of the microphone as audio. This means a good quality microphone must not have any loose parts or components, and furthermore that the diaphragm must be isolated from the chassis (e.g. suspended using some kind of foam) to not be disturbed by the smallest mechanical movement of the microphone.
These days there are plenty of microphones that have excellent construction and are affordable (for example, the Shure PG48) that it really isn't worthwhile using any microphone that has prominent handling noise in normal usage. "Normal usage" means, for example, a singer holding a vocal mic and moving it up and down as they bring it to their face to sing into it and away from their face when they are not singing into it.
Shure Counterfeits
Shure microphones are commonly counterfeited. There are many resources on the internet that explain the differences between the genuine articles and the fakes, including audio samples. It is probably impossible to tell from, say, an eBay listing that has only the microphone itself whether it is a genuine product or a counterfeit, but some guidelines that are fairly universal that can be applied to products advertised as "new" are:
- Shure mics have a relatively high minimum advertised price (MAP). For example, the SM58 has a MAP of $99, and eBay has multiple listings selling this mic new for under $40. Those are almost certainly all fakes.
- Manual text. While the counterfeiters repaired obvious issues with their product boxes (such as mistakes in printing, weird fonts and text that doesn't make sense), I think they haven't gotten around to fixing their manuals. If you read any genuine Shure manual you won't find phrases or headings that read strange or make no sense. Presence of such to me is a good indicator of a fake.
Audio-Technica Products
Audio-Technica, in my understanding, is not generally known as a high end manufacturer. They make some expensive gear but they aren't generally a "go-to" brand for expensive gear. Because of this I think their products often depreciate significantly by the time they are sold on the used market.
At the same time, AT certainly makes some very good midrange products. My favorite turntable cartridge currently is an AT unit (AT331LP). Due to the depriciation of AT gear over time, I think purchasing the midrange or higher products after 10-20 years provides great value. I am, for example, very happy with the ATW-602 wireless microphone system I bought.
Wired Microphones
Shure PG48
This is a fine beginner microphone. Unlike Samson R11, it has no audible handling noise with normal handling (i.e. not swinging the mic and such). I have no comments on sound quality yet due to lack of experience in evaluating how different vocals sound or how the same vocals sound with different equipment.
Samson R11
This is I guess a cheap wired dynamic microphone. It has an XLRM connector on the microphone body, permitting its use with an arbitrarily long cable.
Unfortunately the microphone has a noticeabe amount of handling noise which I think is largely mechanical. Given that, for example, Digital Reference (an Audio-Technica brand) wired microphones are available for around $10 on eBay, I think this Samson R11 microphone is best avoided.
I plan on using them in cases where they won't be handled by people during the performance, i.e. they will be stand-mounted and act as ambient microphones or backups for instruments.
Wireless Microphones
Audio-Technica 600 Series (ATW-602/ATW-R600/ATW-T602)
These are great. They have no handling noise in normal usage and I have no complaints about their sound. Sound-wise I am very much a beginner in pro audio arena, therefore perhaps this isn't a qualified opinion. But I do think these microphones have excellent construction and for a beginner they are also excellent bargain at about $60 for a complete system (receiver + transmitter) with adjustable operating frequencies.
The receivers are true diversity with dual antenas. There are 8 total frequencies, selectable on the receiver and the transmitter. Up to 4 frequencies may be used at the same time (there is some bleed into adjacent frequencies, thus if multiple microphones are used they need to be spaced with at least one frequency as gap to not interfere with each other).
The only drawback of the 600 series is that the receiver only has 1/4" output connector. Some mixers assume that XLR inputs are microphones and 1/4" inputs are instruments or line output devices, and provide less gain for 1/4" inputs than for XLR inputs.
Samson VT-1
The system that I have has two problems that in my opinion renders it unusable:
The receiver outputs very loud high frequency noise when there is no active transmitter (the transmitter is turned off by switch or has no batteries in it). This output is louder than normal audio output of the system thus it will deafen people if sent to a PA system.
The handheld transmitter has a sliding battery door that can easily move. This creates significant handling noise in the form of pops. The transmitter is actually transmitting a lot of handling noise, to the point where I wouldn't consider it suitable even for an amateur application (informal rehearsal on a budget), much less any sort of professional production.
I checked the capacitors on the receiver and haven't found any that are out of spec ESR-wise, thus right now I have no idea where the HF noise is coming from or how to mitigate it.
It is possible that both of the issues are a result of the age of the system. I cannot imagine them existing in a brand new product.
Samson Stage Series II (SR-2)
The system that I have has the same problems mentioned under the VT-1 system (handling noise on the transmitter and HF noise emitted by the receiver when there is no active transmitter). The handheld transmitters of VT-1 and SR-2 systems are identical-looking to me, they both have the sliding door design that I would never purchase again.
Like the VT-1 system, I consider the SR-2 system unusable.
Samson Stage 22 (SR-22)
I bought this in the beltpack transmitter variant, intending to convert this system into a VHF headphone system. It appears to work fine. Unlike VT-1 and SR-2 receivers, the SR-22 receiver does not produce massive amounts of noise when there is no active transmitter.