7.19.15 WOW!

Wired Microphones Might Sound Better

With a wired microphone, what you put into it is what you get out of it. A high quality mic capsule well matched to voice or instrument is the best possible way to get quality sound. With wireless equipment, you are often limited in the selection of mic capsules, limiting your ability to try different mics to find the best match. Many wireless mics use companding to compress dynamic range into a small frequency allocation. While this processing is less noticeable on higher priced wireless systems, there can be a noticeable difference between vocals and instruments on a wireless setup versus a wired one. Newer professional digital wireless microphones can handle a full dynamic range just like wired microphones.

Reliability

One well-known microphone manufacturer (of both wired and wireless microphones) had an engineer that used to start off his classes by holding up a microphone cable and saying something like, "The most expensive wireless mic in the world is ALMOST as good as using this." Wireless technology is not perfect, and even a really great wireless has a higher rate of failure than its wired counterpart. In the world of production, where so much can go wrong, wireless introduces one more finicky area of possible failure. Wireless interference, intermodulation distortion and drop-outs happen for a variety of reasons and can kill a moment when you least expect it. As long as your cable is of decent quality, a wired microphone just won't have these issues. If you want to go wireless, invest in a well designed antenna and RF distribution system to give your wireless mics the most reliable signal possible.

Wrap Up

Wired microphones generally sound better, are more reliable, don't require batteries (saving money and increasing reliability) and are significantly more cost-effective up front.