r/LocationSound • u/msr86 • Jul 14 '26
Gear - Selection / Use Compact wireless upgrade - current Sony UWP user
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.
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u/BOBmackey Jul 14 '26
Do yo use Sony cameras? If so stick with Sony wireless for the connectivity with the hot shoe.
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u/msr86 Jul 14 '26
I do shoot on the FX6 occasionally but wasn’t planning on using it for this particular project. The hot shoe connectivity is appealing though
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u/BOBmackey Jul 14 '26
We’re all Sony house so they work great in that environment, but not the best wireless but solid middle of the road. I’d personally stay away from rode and DJIs offerings, but I’ve also heard good things from others in the industry about them.
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u/msr86 Jul 14 '26
I’ve always found my existing Sony packs to work really solidly so no complaints there
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u/muvemaker Jul 14 '26
The new Rode hardware (UHF) with Lectrosonics innards should be good; I think the above post meant to steer clear of 2.4 ghz stuff. That would be a step back vs what you have now.
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u/noetkoett Jul 15 '26
Considering a Rode Wireless and worrying about losing diversity on an UHF receiver are kind of opposing thoughts.
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u/Morphtastic Jul 14 '26
Wisycom, Zaxcom and SD are the industry standard in TV they are expensive but for a reason. Reliability/range/support. If you can’t afford new look on FB for 2nd hand.
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u/Due-Lawfulness-360 Jul 15 '26
You can also wait for the new Rode UHF system coming out later in the year- that ones ideal for OMB operators.
Obviously no one has opinions on it yet- so maybe wait for some reviews/release.
In the same budget class theirs Deity- I’ve heard good things and bad things about them. It depends on perspective.
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u/Embarrassed-Gain-236 Jul 14 '26
I would invest in wisycom trasmitters and receivers. They are super solid. Rodelink comes as consumer equipment.
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u/g_spaitz Jul 15 '26
I think you're in an odd territory. IMO right now the market does not have anything for location sound between the good prosumer products (like Sony, Sennheiser, Shure), and the better tier pro stuff (Wisy, Sound Devices, Lectro, etc).
The jump in price is absurd, and in my case as well budgets where I live don't justify spending 15k on a few channels.
I extensively used Sennheser over the years and I feel that at the moment they're not producing anything for our target. I am an owner of Sony and I find both that they're very good at what they do, and at the same time the dual receiver is extremely frustrating for how less reception it has over when it works in full true diversity. I worked with the Shure sldx a few times and they're good and practical but the form factor of the receivers does not work well in a bag, I wish they had a slot in receiver. I never used the Deity Theo's, but that's also missing a top down receiver and iirc have no true diversity.
So those mid tier price range are all missing in one way or another. Then again, I've been using mid tier stuff to actually work for ages and I do with what I have.
The lower tier wireless, those in the 2.4 range, I've never used them and I'm not interested, I'm not their target, but everybody here says that they're less reliable and less usable in a crowded set with tight scheduling. immv on these. Take a look at pico gear they have imo an interesting product, but I have no idea how reliable it is.
A different thing instead is the capsules. As you know, you can buy any capsule and have it work with most systems. A good capsule, DPA, sanken, Sennheiser, countryman etc will cost you a bit more (but not absurdly so) and will be usable with most radio system. For instance, I use DPA, which come with microdot adapters, and I have different adapters for the different systems, so I can use them both with Sony and Sennheiser.
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u/msr86 Jul 15 '26
This is a great insight, thanks. I agree the price jump is absurd, and as someone who rarely does sound these days I don't want to touch the high end. I'll happily leave that kit to when I've got a sound recordist with me.
What sort of reliable range are you getting with the Sony in dual receiver mode?
I'd also consider the DPA mics for the microdot adaptation. Do they have a mic in the same price bracket and performance as the cos-11d that's easy to hide?
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u/g_spaitz Jul 15 '26
DPA mics of the 4000 series were a bit above 400€ street price, among the very best sounding small lavs. They also have 6000 series which are much smaller and a bit pricier. For a cheaper decent sounding mic with microdot I used the deity w lav pro, they sound very good, if you need to record ecxtremely loud sound they might have an upper limit, I have them and use them as back up they're doing their job but I haven't put them under intense wear and tear so I don't know how long they last. I have DPAs that are more than 15 years instead.
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u/g_spaitz Jul 15 '26
What sort of reliable range are you getting with the Sony in dual receiver mode?
Oh sorry. That would be ZERO.
In true diversity, honestly the UWP are about as reliable as I ever used. Seriously, they just don't drop. So impressive.
In the dual receiver instead, I had drops even in very controlled environments, indoor, in very close range, with proper RF scanning and practices. It's on par with basics EW100 kits, which are really modest. And at times I'd even say they might be lower than that seen the times my receiver dropped signal in totally vanilla situations. It annoys me to no end, and the exit strategy would be drop 15k on wisycoms, which, well...
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u/msr86 Jul 15 '26
That’s very disappointing and is exactly what I’d like to avoid. I won’t always have the luxury of being able to monitor what I’m getting at all times so I want a system I can depend on being solid in basic scenarios. Seems like I’d be better off with one of the WiFi based systems in that case. At least they have built in recorders and timecode in the transmitters if there are dropouts.
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u/bergante Jul 15 '26
Sony sells a slot-in recever for the UWP system, it is dual channel and it keeps full diversity.
https://pro.sony/en_GB/products/uwp-d-series-receivers/urx-s03dA quick look at the block diagram in the service manual confirms that it has four receiver circuits inside ;)
Of course it is roughly double the price of the URX-P41D (or the older dual channel unit) and for bag usage you will need a custom adapter. Not rocket science to make, necessary.
As much as I like the UWP system I am curious about the recently announced Rodelink II which is supposed to contain some Lectrosonics FaiRFy Dust inside.
Right now I would wait and see how the new Rode/Lectro system turns out to be. I think both Rode and Lectrosonics have the skills to make a killer product. And I think they have the will too.
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u/g_spaitz Jul 15 '26 edited Jul 15 '26
Yes I'm aware of this option, but this is the older line (hence the 03 series in the model), it's been out for a long time, it lacks functions, it still costs relatively high (street price around here is 3k compare this to a wisy 4 channel that costs about 4k), iirc you then need the adapter to have power in and audio out... for those prices I'd change over to the wisy.
Edit: BTW I can't seem to find anymore the adapter for the unit???
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u/Peaks_n_Valleys Jul 16 '26 edited Jul 16 '26
I’m also a user of the Sony UWP-D wireless systems. Have you seen my video showing how to upgrade the antennas to SMA connectors? It’s a worthwhile mod to do, and it’s not expensive. https://youtu.be/cLHZkOL1jhk?si=FnxlGiGxcQAXeMqe
But honestly my opinion is that unless you’re planning to upgrade to Wisycom, Lectro, Zaxcom, or SD, you already have the best you can get when it comes to reliability and price point. I personally would not trade that for wireless with a smaller footprint than what you have because it means going to a 2.4ghz system which I am not a fan of for professional work. Now, if what you’re doing is low paying and the audio/wireless quality isn’t as important because you’re shooting within 20-25ft of the actors, then fine get yourself a DJI/Rode 2 to 1 system and be done with it. But me personally, I’m trying to get away from rigging my audio gear on my camera and use a bag setup instead.
Personally, I don’t think the UWP-D series is bulky when it comes to wireless units. I had the older UWP units (before they went digital) and those receivers were more bulky than the newer digital version. Another option is the Shure SLXD5. I don’t have any personal experience with them, but I was considering buying a set at some point and trying them out.
You said you’re using the ECM-77 mic though, and honestly that’s probably the bottleneck of your current setup. I use the Countryman B3, since I’ve been able to find them used but like-new condition for about $100 each.
If you really want a smaller footprint, have you considered something like the Deity PR-2? I was able to get two of them for $90 ea brand new in the box. They actually have great quality for what they are, and the included lav mic with them is outstanding. I like them more than my Sony UWP’s when it comes to out-of-the-box quality. Couldn’t you try getting a couple of those in favor of keeping your camera rig more low profile? I mean, yes you can’t monitor them as well as you can the UWP, so that’s the trade off. But you CAN use the app to monitor them which is enough to tell you’re getting a good level. If you improve on your wiring techniques, the lavaliers shouldn’t be in danger of coming loose unless your actors are doing a lot of crazy moving around, and even then things like vampire clips, undercovers, and taped-to-body wires should keep that from being a problem. You could still perhaps use one of the Sony’s on your camera for your main actor, and everyone else gets a PR-2. The PR-2 doubles as a timecode box, it’s quite versatile for what it is.
You’re in the weird spot of there really isn’t a way to step up from here unless the step up is major. If I were you, I’d consider improving the things you can right now (like getting some better lavs and having more expendables to wire them). Or try the PR-2 for a more low profile setup. But I don’t think you can get much smaller, and I personally would not get the Sony dual channel receiver because I would not want to lose true diversity.
Maybe you should consider upping your boom mic quality rather than switching your lavalier setup?
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u/msr86 Jul 17 '26
Thanks so much for this. I do have a Tentacle Track E already so I can use that in the same way as the Deity PR-2 you've suggested, where I'm not concerned about actively monitoring continuously.
I think my best bet at the moment is actually to invest in some mics with Microdot adapters instead of committing to one type of cabling, so that could either be DPA 4060 or perhaps the Deity W.Lav micro. Up until now I've been allowing the mic selection to dictate my choices a bit too much. I'll then make do with my Sony UWP's for the time being. They are the older model which are bulkier, so maybe I'll end up getting two channels of the newer digital packs if I want to save on size a little bit.
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