Azden 330 ULT SUCKS! Sound cuts out while recording!

[Eric Toline]

Not dual channel but won’t empty your wallet either is the Sennheiser G3 wireless. About $600 a set, frequency agile and a proven performer.

Eric

“I push the RECORD button and hope for the best”

[Al Bergstein]

I’ve been happy with the Audio Technica dual channel. (link at bottom) I know most people prefer the Sennheiser, but I needed a dual channel and it has worked very well for me. There is a 3rd party mounting bracket you can buy for it that attaches it to your camera’s hot shoe, and it is fine. You sure your problem wasn’t due to battery life issues? I find that I’m more susceptable to drops when I get near the end of a long interview and haven’t stopped to monitor my battery life. That’s the reason to have a good sound person along on the crew. Someone to pay attention to that detail.

Also, I try to immediately listen to the head and tail of my interviews, if not during the shoot, then that night before sleeping, for just this kind of issue. It is a hard lesson to learn that you can’t just shoot for a month without monitoring issues like this. Audio issues are far more likely to happen than video ones, IMHO.

And frankly, it’s been my experience that, while perhaps Azden makes some high end products, they are perfectly happy building low end stuff that breaks easily. I for one, would never buy another product of theirs. My first mic was a small low end product from them, and the case broke almost at once. Field gear needs to be rugged. That’s why the dynamic mics from Electrovoice have been in use for what seems like my whole life (and I’m no spring chicken!). They work, and they are almost indestructable. I carry one with me in my sound bag, and I can’t tell you how well it works when you have to do a quick off the cuff interview, and you just don’t have the time to set up the lavs. I often just grab a 20′ xlr cable, plug it in and hand it to the ‘talent’. I say to them, “just keep it four fingers away from the lips of whoever is talking” usually anyone can do that. If I had the option of going on the road for a month of shoots, I’d pack one for backup.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/460224-REG/Audio_Technica_ATW_1821D_ATW_1821_Dual_Wireless.html

Al

[Richard Crowley]

If you hang around any of these online forums which discuss production audio, you will find no love for Azden. Of course, since you provided no sample of your problem audio, or details of how you were using the equipment, we don’t know whether it is even Azden’s fault or not.

Not intending to beat you up, but I can’t think of ANY excuse for NOT monitoring the audio AT ALL TIMES WHILE SHOOTING. Recording audio without metering and monitoring is exactly like framing and focusing without looking at the viewfinder. Why on earth do people think that audio will “take care of itself”? I’ve never understood that concept.

[Raf Erosa]

The Audio Tech mics, what issues have you had with them? Be honest.
Frequency interference? Sound cutting out? Can they be placed under clothing and still function? Tell me the real deal. What are the CONS?

[Richard Crowley]

Lower-cost equipment tends to be mechanically less rugged. So you could expect cables to break, connectors to fail, etc. more quickly/often. But these can be repaired if you have the resources.

The receivers in cheaper equipment also tend to be less sensitive and less selective. So they would be more prone to interference. Unless you are out in the jungle or desert in the 3rd world, you can’t just assume that you can turn on your wireless kit and use it without checking for interference from others.

The audio quality in lower-end equipment is also frequently lower, with signal-to-noise, frequency-response, and dynamic-response audible problems.

Note that ALL equipment, whether the cheapest junk or the most expensive stuff on the planet won’t work if the antennas are not properly deployed, or if you select a frequency that already has interference, etc. Or if the lav microphone (or cable or connector, etc.) is broken or intermittent. You cannot violate the laws of physics by throwing money at the problem.

[Raf Erosa]

Rich… Take it easy on me bro. Azden does not provide a good system for monitoring audio. You can barely hear anything, and there is no volume control. We shot a month in the jungle. and then we shot some stuff at a small conference. Frequency interruption or poor use was not the issue. The issue was 100% crappy AZDEN.

I am looking a the Sen, and the Audio Tech… I like the dual channel, but I fear that I will be eating the same worm again.

[Richard Crowley]

Sorry, no excuse. Monitoring has nothing to do with the microphone, wireless or not. You monitor out of the CAMERA. If you have such a cheap camera that it doesn’t even have a headphone/audio output, then don’t plan on getting decent audio out of it in any case.

Indeed, if your problem is improper use, then even wireless kits that cost more than you car won’t help you. Without any useful details, there is no supporting evidence for your claim.

[Al Bergstein]

My first one failed after a few weeks. AT was very good at replacing (not fixing) the unit at no charge. The new one works great. However, it does require care in managing battery life in the field. I always take the time to measure my battery charges on all batteries prior to paid shoots. I have found that a battery that falls below certain voltages can fail much quicker that one would think. It seems to almost be exponential. Fresh batteries are a cheap insurance policy. And I always carry a large pack of spares. I have often spent a full day in the field, and sometimes end up replacing the batteries midday, during lunch, if I feel I am going to record for more hours. To be clear, I bring along, in my bag, a professional grade voltage meter, that reads out battery voltage. I use it at almost *every* shoot that runs over a morning setup, or more than an hour of audio recording. I check my lav transmitters, my shotgun battery (usually that’s not a problem, so only once a shoot), my reciever,my Marantz PMD661, and if in use, my mixer. that takes about 20 minutes out of my lunch. If I have a grip or PA with me, that’s their lunch assignment.

All these issues above are not unique to AT. It could happen with any unit. AT is targeted at a professional audience, like Shure, Sony and Sennheiser. The little mono Sennheiserer transmitters and recievers are in wide use, they work great it’s just that they are mono. I wanted one unit to control both my lavs as I usually work with two.

Lastly, to be clear, the reason the pros have chosen the high end gear for field use is that it’s built for field use, and proven as such. Low end gear, is consumer and prosumer, and is engineered to target that crowd (as someone who has spent time in manufacturing). Companies like AT and Sennheiser have worldwide repair capability, as they are used in global sports environments etc. in a pinch, a video professional store in Australia, singapore, maybe China, definitely Japan, can service with rapid return, problems. But having some kind of backup along will minimize stress which, if you are touring for a month, you’ll have plenty of anyway.

Sorry for your loss of audio. Welcome to the club. We’ve all been there at some point.

Al

[Al Bergstein]

Sorry, just to be clear, I’m somewhat confusing your question on mics vs. receivers. The Receiver failed,not the lavs. The lavs have never been a problem. But since you likely will buy lavs that are from the same mfg, not always true, I assumed I was describing all of a piece.

My shotgun mic, an AT, runs on one AA battery. It’s never failed me.

I always monitor off the camera, unless I’m using a field mixer. I have the ability with the AT reciever to monitor off that, which is useful for setup prior to attaching to the camera or mixer. Then I usually do a test monitor off the camera, after setting the mixer, then ride the mixer during the shoot, if I can. Or I hand the job to a audio grip or recording pro. Sound is much harder than video, and trying to do both at once is really a learned and practiced skill. You have to know and trust your gear as much as anyone can. It’s why Sennheiser and AT, etc. have followings. Cheap gear won’t save you when you are 1000 miles or more from a store. And Richard is correct in his thoughts as well.

Al

[Raf Erosa]

Thanks Eric and Al. Your responses have helped me quite a bit.
I purchased the XA10 to travel with me, because I would avoid paying $900 per day shooting fees for certain archaeological sites.(Many countries now charge fees for professional cams.. and the XA10 kinda slides pass them without a problem)

Since the XA10 was so new at the time, no one knew how it performed. SO, I did all the research I could. But everyone were still newbs.

During our test runs my AG/PA kept telling me that it was virtually impossible to monitor sound via the XA10. We could barely hear anything. So then we tried the Azden port.. 100% useless! ( We had to role with what we got. We had no time to swap gear)

As we were shooting, we did playback after each shot…We notice the sound kept cutting out. It was hard to notice it during monitoring. Mon Vol was maxed. and still couldnt hear every well.

Yes, no excuse for monitoring. Done deal. Understood. NO-GO. I get it. But I think Eric and Al answered my questions about a better system to use. If there any blogs from others who use the AT, I would like to hear more cons. I am leaning towards buying 2 Sen’s. But that AT Dual Chan is very attractive to me. What is a man to do.. :0