EBS_freak

The song we know - The original (with some dodge choreographer lyrics) -

Of course! The precursor to Holly Valance's take on it!

UE Switch deal - nice!

Whilst we talk about Chinese IEMs that could be worth a shout - how about the ZAX? 8 a side hybrid (7BA, 1 dynamic per side) Havent tried them - but that’s a crazy driver count for the money.

Yeah, all those flakes of metal making their way to the pickups. Gonna look great with hairy pickups....

Top end of my list, 1000 quid and up - would be Axient, ULX-D, and QLX-D. The sensible choice would probably be the QLX-D as the additional features found in ULX-D and Axient are probably way beyond the needs of most. If you are up for spending Axient money, throw the Sennheiser 9000 and Lectrosonics into the mix. Higher mid range: I would be looking at Shure SLX-D (Digital on ch 38) Lower mid range: I have a Line 6 G55 - and it's mostly been OK. The pack is metal, it's pretty robust and has mostly been ok in most typical venues. My OH now uses for it a headset when she took spin classes (pre covid). In the gym, it's always been solid. I've taken it on stages where it has drop outs... and similarly, in some hotels (especially those big ones that serve as conference centres). To be honest, all 2.4Ghz systems that I have tried, are all the same if you have a poor surrounding environment. It's the constraints of physics... if there's already RF in that area, you are already compromised when it comes to deploying wireless. So if I was looking at 2.4Ghz, I would be looking at channels (just keep praying and hope one of them works) and make sure the latency figure is low. And the problem is further compounded if you need to deploy lots of wireless. To escape the latency issues and 2.4 RF issues, if you can find one used, the EW300 G2/G3 is a good offering - but is analogue... but is about as good as analogue gets (they really are superb) - and no latency! You could buy a EW300 G4 new of course... but for the money, I would now be going for the Shure digital space. To escape the 2.4Ghz, I would try and hunt down the 5Ghz StageClix offering. Budget: Just pot luck it. I'd use a cable. Generally, because of the latency figures typically found on budget units, I'm not interested due to the cumulative latency (I'm an IEM user). If you can find something that works for you for a cheap price, then yeah, go for it - but don't be surprised if the latency is bad or the radio performance isn't great. For info: I use EW500 vocal mics and QLX-D/ULX-D instruments. (IEM wise, PSM900 and EW300) HTH. To anybody reading this and planning on deploying a lot of wireless... you can't just buy a load of random wireless and expect it to work! The short version... if you want larger channel counts buy the same make and type of unit and use the preconfigured banks.

I can probably give you the best options... but it depends if cost is a factor. In reality, there is no best. It just what works for you with compromises that you can live with - at the cost you are willing to pay.

There’s only 3 truly intermod channels in 2.4ghz. Yes you can change to other frequencies within the spectrum - but outside of those 3 channels you are subject to interference, with a higher chance of drop out and limited range. But there is a way of getting around this. Put some marketing blurb out about switching frequencies... and give it a suitably cool sounding techy name. Most, if not all, 2.4 systems should have frequency switching in place, as the chances are that channels 1, 6 and 11 are already going to be covered by nearby wireless devices. (Pretty much every WiFi router will detect the least noisy channel out of the 3 and pounce on it)

Channel 38 (license), 5 Ghz (no license, more free spectrum, less range, less ability to pass through obstructions), and then channel 70 (no license, limited, noisy spectrum and likely to be analogue) and 2.4 (no license, higher chance of interference from wifi and phone pinging) kinda share the third place. It may be the case that 2.4 does you - but do carry around a cable as a get out... and remember, what works in soundcheck may not work when the punters arrive. Again, your mileage may vary depending upon the gigs that you do. For example, I have had wireless systems on 2.4 and 5 both be completely useless because the stage was a huge metal construction, with loads of metal pillars, cross braces etc... and they just wouldn't work. Mikes shout about an analogue Sennheiser EW100/300/500 on channel 38 is perhaps a cheaper entry point into a more robust signal... but then you do have a compander in play... but Sennheiser's is amongst the best there is. If you don't know what a bad compander does, think lack of bass, harsh treble and usually lots of hiss and fizz. Sennheisers are about as cable sounding as you can get from an analogue system, to the point where nobody would ever notice it on a gig.

If you can’t place it... think virgin media “seal of approval” ads.

Other half reminded me of this one -

Lets get this one out of the way... although I do think it's a poor mans Gypsy Kings.

Heh...

Of course - was only listening to this last night!

One thing I am beginning to notice... is that non english language songs seem to have a more novelty edge to them...

Sorry for the earworm...

I do like this song...

To be fair, if you are worried about how they look, you should probably ask the people who will be seeing them... unless you have have some weird field of vision...?

Black is the most popular choice. @MacDaddyif you are looking for the "colour" that least stands out, it's clear.

Thanks for the kind words. This is it in a nutshell. IEMs save your ears (unless you are reckless with them and run them super hard). They can make your band sound way better by removing the volume wars. They are easier to carry than monitors. They are (within reason - unless you go super custom) as cheap, cheaper or comparable to decent set of monitors. You can hear all the intricacies of what people are doing. It also tickles me when I hear a percussionist and all the little intricate additions from the various shakers and the like. And they look pro as fk. Technology moves on - yet for some reason, people seem to want to adopt the same old dinosaur approach... and you know, bad backs and tinnitus is cool and rock and roll. Yeah, whatever.

"Mannequin" sucks (imho of course) - unless you want to look like you are wearing hearing aids. Nothing wrong with hearing aids... but when you can have all the colours of the rainbow... why beige? It's not as if they become invisible... if anything, it draws attention to them.

Does this count?

FAIL.

Perhaps the English version that followed was arguably more popular... but it shows how the song holds up regardless of language.