With the Help of Mike and others, I updated a pervious post for those who don't want to read every postings.

The orginal task was to find a system under $400. Well there are and they were listed, however, through Todd's extensive post on Paso, and comments in other sections, the task of finding the Ultimate System for the beginner and the working Pro was a mission of mine and keeping it under 15 lbs. Below are various systems which seem to meet the approval of quite a few Café members who have established themselves as working magicians. Obviously is is not for $400.

One can start with an amp and CD player with remote, a decent wireless headset, then later puchase a quality wireless headset microphone, then an easy to use MP3 tech or iCue2 remote controlled player.

• 1. Lightweight Amplified PA Sound Systemsytem (7-12 lbs)
  
  
  
  • Mackie SRM 150 (150 W 7.6 lbs) ($300)
    
  • Paso WPCS50 (50 W 11 lbs) ($300)
    
  • Roland CM-30 (30 W 12 lbs) ($176)
    
  
  
• 2. Wireless Transmitter/Receiver
  
  
  
  • Sennheiser EW 152 G2 Wireless Headwor......hone ($800)
    
  • Shure PGX14 Lavaliere Wireless System......hone ($719)
    
  • Audio-Technica ATW-3110a UHF UniPak W......hone ($700)
    
  • AudioTechnica 22110 UHF UniPak Wirele......hone ($600)
    
  
  
• 3. Quality Headset Microphone matching the Transmitter input connection
  
  
  
  • Audio-Technica AT892C MicroSet Conden......hone ($300)
    
  • Countryman E6i ($400)
    
  • DPA 4088F ($600)
    
  
  Matching Transmitter connections options: TA4F, TA5F, 3.5MM, HRS, M180, & LEMO
  
• 4. Easy to use Method of Remote controlling the music selections for the chosen routines
  
  
  
  • MP3 Tech ($1,400)
    
  • ICue2 ($1,024)
    
  • Soundcue ($978)
    
  • Laptop with Remote Remote ($50)
    
  • MP3 Player with AirClick remote or equivalent ($100)
    
  • IPod with AirClick or iJet remote ($350)
    
  • CD Player with remote ($50)
    
  
  

I'd like to put a plug in for used equipment, by the way. Everyone tends to assume that new is better because of warranty and it is, well, new. The problem is that in the last 3 or 4 years the quality of audio manufacturing has taken a huge crashing downward spiral, so new is not necessarily better anymore. Add this to the fact that more and more of the equipment is not repairable under warranty but board replacement only (and boards can take up to 6 months to arrive) and new can be an immense problem. With used equipment you save a great deal of cash but will have to pay for repairs... but most can be repaired. Musicians are constantly upgrading equipment and trading in the old stuff, so there really is some great stuff out there for decent prices. New or used, it is worth finding a reliable sound repair technician in advance. I'd love to say I would work on people's stuff but I have 100% officially retired from the audio tech business. I might even get rid of my meters...

For the record, I was a specialist in antique audio repair. There are plenty of 40 and 50 year old amplifiers running out there. My precise specialty was the repair of Ampeg B-15s (about 45 years old) and the original SVT (about 35); there are hundreds of these units on tour right now! Audio equipment can last for quite some time. My own personal power amp and mixing board are about 15 years old and take all sorts of abuse. The key is knowing how to take care of this stuff! If you do not buy from a brick and mortar store, find someone who can help you learn a little about care and cleaning of sound equipment.

As far as that goes, realize that there are parts that wear out no matter what you do (female jacks, for example). If you are going to be using your system for a while make sure that you purchase something that can be serviced!

I'm not sure how any of this compares with other stuff so chime in if you know but this is what I'm using as a wireless mic:

Audio-Technica AT892 MicroSet
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/AT892cWTH/

FreeWay 600 Receiver/Transmitter (now discontinued)

To Dennis' section 4 above can be added an "MP3 Player with AirCick or equivalent"

@Frank

I like the flesh-ike coor of your mic.

How solid is it on the ear?

It looks to me as if it would move during performance, or have to be taped down?

I don't tape it down at all. the part that goes around the ear can be molded a bit to the ear and the "boom" can of course be bent into an arc that touches the cheek at the very end. this sort of makes a nice tripod and it stays quite secure.

took me a little while to get it right but I've basically momorized the shape I like and put the work into the mic during a sound-check. just takes a minute.

I just want to Thank all of you for your input. It really has helped a great deal. As I stated I had owned the Florida PAS 767 System and that was not a good unit for me.

Here is what I purchased at my local music store:

ROLAND CM 30 ($200.00) out the door.

This thing is portable and the sound is just mind blowing for Music and Voice.
I had to purchase a seperate wireless microphone system, not an expensive one, but a decent one. I have about $ 400.00 into the wholw thing and it is just great. The clarity of a microphone and an IPOD are Superb in Sound Quality.


Thank You,

Magically

Rodney

Rodney,

I'm glad to hear you like the Roland as much as I do!

Michael

Glad you found one you are happy with Rodney! And, you got it in time!!!

Regan

Rodney,
I just wish I had some one to help me before I bought the Floridia system.

The Roland appears to be an ideal system for the beginner because it is light weight, priced right and effective for music.

This thread is an example of what the Café is about. Helping others make good if not excellent choices based on the valuable experience of others.

Since you, Rodney, got the system you are happy with, thanks to the valueable input of Mike Messing, it would be nice to continue this thread on Portable Sound Systems, which include, Wireless Transmitters/Receivers, Headset Microphones, Music Players, and of course other Amplifier systems that serve our purpose as entertainers.

Dennis

By the way, I'm actually not the first to post about the Roland CM-30 on The Magic Café. I first started looking at the Roland Cube line 18 months ago but didn't see the CM-30. (There are several Roland Cube guitar and bass amplifiers.) When I spotted CM-30 on Roland's website in late February, I did a quick search to see if anyone had commented on it yet. I found this thread from January of 2006: http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewt......forum=11

For some reason petermagic's thread didn't get a lot of attention. I bought my CM-30 in early March but wanted to test it out thoroughly enough to be confident in it's capabilities before I posted here.

Just thought I would make sure that petermagic gets some credit for posting about more than a year ago!

Michael

Is anyone else using power inverters to make their AC-only units play off battery?

If you're not sure what these are, they are emergency car battery chargers. They are often used on boats, camping, etc. to plug things into. They come with a standard 3-prong AC plug.

You would just plug your PA into the thing and run off battery.

The Roland certainly has some great reviews from 6 people here:

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/R......u=608895

The self-contained Paso50 is still mightly appealing though.

I agree but the problem I had with the Paso50 is that, in order to make it so self-contained, you're going to spend a lot more money. The Paso itself is $315, the belt pack with the lavalier mic is $149, the built-in CD player is an additional $239. If you skip the CD player, you still have $464 in the system and that's without a headset mic. Most people say that the Paso headset isn't very good so you'll end up buying a Countryman.

Since I already own two wireless mic systems that I'm happy with, I can't justify spending $464 for the Paso and then springing for a Countryman to go with it. If you don't have any mics already and you're willing to buy a Countryman E6i to go with the Paso, it's a tougher call, especially if the Paso will be your only PA system. I can see spending that much for your main system and mic. It's different if you only plan to use it part-time like I would. For that, the $176 price of the Roland CM-30 is easily justified.

It's not an easy decision and the worst part is that next year there will be something else out there that might look better! (That's why I've owned 10 different PA systems in the last 15 years. I buy what I want and then later see something better. Sell the first, buy the new one. You get the idea!)

Michael

Why are headsets especially favored over lavaliers?

On a recent DVD by Cellini, he used a lavalier to good success.

Karol,

Dan Roadie is the expert on this. Rather than repeat what he says please go to his site http://www.magicroadie.com/ and review in Audio section on microphones. While there look over the other information he has to offer. He offers quite a lot of sound advice (pun intended but it's true)

Thanks, Dennis!
My contribution to the second issue of Street Magic Magazine will cover microphone selection, too.

Dan certainly helped me make an informed decision about what type of wireless mic to purchase. Thanks again Dan!

Regan

Karol,

Dan's website is a tremendous resource and I highly recommend that you read the information there thoroughly.

To give you my input, in a nutshell, a headset mic will give you more volume, better clarity and less feedback than a lavalier. I used a lavalier for 12 years and had to use a 31-band graphic equalizer to minimize feedback and it still never sounded as good as my headsets do nor could I get nearly as much volume without feedback.

Michael

Michael is right. I prefer a headset also. The headset mic can be placed where it needs to be for optimum sound quality. Not only that, but it stays where it needs to be for optimum sound quality. When you move your head the headset will go with you. Due to mic placement, the volume levels can be kept lower so feedback is minimized also.

Regan