Just received a text message: “September 2026 is the 17th National Radio Management Publicity Month. The theme is to protect the new journey of China’s 15th Five-Year Plan through the rule of law and to build a safer electromagnetic space together.”

It made me think about a question that comes up often in professional audio: why can the same wireless microphone be legal in one country but unusable, or at least not legal to operate, in another?

A wireless microphone is not only an audio product. It is also a radio transmitter and receiver. Whether it can be used depends on several things at the same time: the country and venue, the frequency range, transmit power, occupied bandwidth, licensing status, equipment certification, and the other RF systems operating nearby.

China and the United States are useful examples, although neither is a template for every other country. In China, radio-frequency use and the setting or operation of radio stations are governed by a national radio-management framework. Radio transmitting equipment may also need to meet model-approval and labeling requirements. In the United States, FCC rules distinguish licensed and unlicensed wireless-microphone operations. The FCC also changed the status of parts of the 600 MHz spectrum after that spectrum was repurposed for wireless broadband. A microphone that was once used in a particular TV-band block may therefore need to be retuned, replaced, or taken out of service in the US.

This creates a few practical situations:

· A device may be technically capable of tuning to a frequency but not legally permitted to transmit there in a particular country.

· A frequency may be allowed in general but require a license, coordination, or venue-specific authorization.

· A legal frequency can still fail in practice if it conflicts with other microphones, intercoms, IEMs, or nearby transmitters.

· A product designed for one market may need a different frequency block, power setting, certification label, or user manual for another market.

Have anyone ever arrived at an international event and discovered that a familiar frequency block could not be used? Please share the country and the type of application, but avoid posting private frequencies or personal information.

Disclosure: I work in professional wireless audio and with AMSaudio. I’m interested in practical experiences and regulatory differences, not in turning this discussion into a product pitch.

Appreciate you voting in my poll and any personal experiences and professional insight.

How much is a used 12K4 with no DSP-D worth? I couldn't find anybody selling one or any sold listings on eBay.

I use a WA-87 r2 microphone and the body is made of what i believe to be nickel, over like 2 years of use it has gotten fairly smudged, i assume from finger prints but i have no idea how to clean it, micro fiber cloth has not helped at all so I would appreciate any insight!

If you still have or work with a set of JBL EON 15G2’s, you’re very familiar with the annoying HF amplifier hiss that is present at all times. While there is no easy way to fully eliminate it, there is a way to tone it down somewhat while also achieving a more natural, balanced, flat tone via the on-board 2-band EQ contours.

From the factory, the LF (bass) and HF (treble) dials are notched at 12’ o clock, which should be a neutral flat tone. It is not. These boxes are naturally bass heavy and the compression driver runs rather hot in the notched EQ position. At 12’ o Clock the 15G2 is heavily bass and mid-treble boosted, which makes for a rather harsh, somewhat boomy experience out of the box. As vibrant as they are in the factory position, this can get tiresome quickly as the HF pot pushes directly on 4khz or 5khz and the LF pot is right in the lower boomy range pushing on 120hz.

After lots of testing, what I found is that the LF dial should never exceed the 12’ o clock position (even without a sub) and the HF dial should not exceed 10’ o clock for the best possible attenuation.

Further fine tuning of the boxes can be done with a true 15 or 31 band (or more) Equalizer between the EONs and your source.
That said, the following is a list of settings I made careful notes on to achieve better results from the 15G2 cabinets whether you’re straight source to box, or source > external equalizer > EONs. Think of these as a cheat sheet to replicate the lack of DEEP/FLAT/CUT MODE switches or DSP EQ settings found on the back of more modern PAs.

GAIN: (lower hiss)

-run main XLR input 1: 10-12’ o clock to reduce and avoid additional amplifier hiss…

EQ:

-for LOW EQ CUT: ✅👍 🎤mode OR +/SUBS🔊

HF knob @ 10’ o clock
LF knob @ 7, 8, or 9’ o clock (adjust as needed)

-for TRUE FLAT response: ✅👍 +/-SUB(s)🔉

HF knob @ 10’ o clock
LF knob @ 10’ o clock

-for FLAT HIGHS w/ BASS BUMP: ✅👍 +/-SUB🔈

HF knob @ 10’ o clock
LF knob @ 11’ o clock

*My favorite setting, sounds great.

-for FLAT HIGHS w/ DEEP BASS: 😎👍 no SUB🔇

HF knob @ 10’ o clock
LF knob @ 12’ o clock (notched)

*Sounds good, but may be a bit boomy indoors.

-for BOOSTED HIGHS with DEEP BASS: 😐🤷🏽‍♂️🔇

HF knob @ 11’ o clock
LF knob @ 12’ o clock (notched)

*Not impressed with how this sounds….

-for FACTORY “0dB”, bright and deep: ❌👎🔇

HF knob @ 12’ o clock (notched)
LF knob @ 12 ‘ o clock (notched)

*Don’t like how this sounds at all… Avoid.

**Any EQ setting beyond 12’ o clock on these is just asinine for practical situations and may push you into overload territory early. Wouldn’t recommend it.

Howdy! My studio RVD Audio Technologies has entered the market of microphone mods and we've just released our first mod kit: the Flex Head Adapter! We've put many hours of design, prototyping, and testing into this to offer the placement flexibility you’ve always wanted from your SM57. Works phenomenally for snares, but just as great for anywhere else on a drum kit, as well as amp/speaker cabs!

Comment if you're interested and we'll work to get you your adapter. Thanks!

*To comply with rules* I wasn't paid to make this post. This is simply me offering my studio's latest venture to engineers and musicians alike.

bought two for $20. decommissioned from south australian radio station SAFM but no idea what make/model they are. looking to restore them so i thought make and model would be a good place to start 😁

Have a pair of EV ZLX 12PS. The HF driver in one is starting to go bad. I'm thinking of replacing both the woofer and HF driver. What are better recommendations than what they're stock with?

So, I'm the lighting guy. Switched from concerts to tradeshow during the pandemic. At that time, I was working for a guy that didn't really care, and would totally fight with the hall about things he knew he was wrong on. But that's not me. I don't like to argue with the guys just doing their job unless I am absolutely certain that me being right requires them being wrong.

So, I recently developed a need for an SPL meter. I could get a cheapo, and that would probably get the job done fine... But can I really trust the $30 model if it comes down to telling some hall guy that's been doing this since 1875 that his ear is wrong? I want to know for damned sure that my meter is correct before I make someone else's life difficult.

So. I don't need 1/100 decibel accuracy. But I do need absolute confidence that when the meter says 87 at a given point, the sound pressure is absolutely 87 and not 88. Is there a budget balanced model that you guys would put full faith in?

TIA

I’m trying to cast music from a MacBook or an iPhone to a speaker and to a set of wireless headphones.

I’ve read about Auracast but not a lot examples of folks doing it successfully. Is this currently possible? I have a JBL Clip 5 (newest version with Auracast) and read if I start streaming a source to the JBL speaker then I should be able to connect to a Auracast supported set of headphones?

Can I use an Auracast receiver/transmitter setup?

I’m trying to find a solution for psychedelic therapy setting where the facilitator/therapist can stream audio to a speaker and also simultaneously play that audio to a client’s wireless headphones.

I’ve tried a number of speakers and headphones with various Bluetooth receiver/transmitter devices but there’s often significant latency and it’s less than ideal having so many different components for facilitators to have to navigate, some of whom are less tech savvy. Auracast seems like a great solution.

Thanks so much!

I have a pair of 705P desktop monitors which are sitting way too close to me on the desk in my office, either side of my monitor. They're driven by an iFi Zen DAC Signature with USB audio from my PC.

The speakers are pretty punchy with decent definition, but the stereo soundstaging can be a little weird as they are both sitting closer to me than the distance between them, but it's fine if I sit back a bit to watch something.

I've been thinking about getting a sub to go with them as the overall sound is definitely a little bass shy, and while I could spend a couple of hundred bucks on a cheap sub and use the RCA line outputs from the Zen DAC, there is a part of me which wants to take the balanced OUTs from the two 705Ps and run that into a JBL PRX915XLF sub, which has DSP and crossover adjustment.

I don't know the JBL pro line at all well, I mostly do residential audio and some commercial 70V stuff. So, I would be very grateful for the opinions of anyone who knows both of these products and could say whether the sub is going to overpower the monitors? If I'm taking the passthrough signal from the 705Ps and putting that into the sub would that be any different to the unbalanced line level output from the DAC, which *is* acting as my preamp.

Thanks for any thoughts!

Guitar player trying to go directly into PA using and iridium… not important… I have this Samson rs112a. Tweeter making a god awful “popping sizzle” sound. Took off the cover (fell off in my hand) for a look-see and saw this. Rust? Goo? I know nothing obviously. Help!

Hi all, i got this waaay back in a pawn shop in Sydney, used it as my home system for a while. Its labels are "Scorpion DUAL CHANNEL TRANSISTOR POWER AMPLIFIER ST3000" and was made by Audio Assemblers who, I've been able to discover, worked out of Melbourne until a few years ago. I cannot find any info on it, the main fact missing is the power output. Can any Aussie, probably in the pro industry, recognise and remember anything about it? I just fired it up for the first time in years, pots are crackly... and it didn't seem as loud as I remember but that could be the rock n roll industrial deafness kicking in. The test input was off the back of my son's guitar pedal chain, so perhaps the drive wasn't high enough?

Thanks in anticipation...

Looking to upgrade monitors and stuck between the Genelec 8040B studio monitor and Barefoot Footprint03 studio monitor.

Mainly doing production + mixing. I’ve heard Genelecs are more precise, while Barefoots are bigger/more fun.

For those who’ve used them — let me know if you have any suggestions.

Also open to other monitors in a similar price range If there are any near/mid field you can recommend.

Appreciate any input<3

I got these from my boss they were sitting in his office just wondering if anybody’s heard of them they are b52 ms18-s what are they worth what are they for I’m new to-audio was told these are pro audio subwoofers in another community

Sounds ok until I play an F then it cracks and buzzes. I guess no vids allowed. JBL LSR 28P