Thanks for your quick response, Ty. Although I can’t say the same for other Samsons I’ve owned, this one (with a Sony ECM-44 capsule) has been a rock-solid performer over hundreds of events.
The seminar was attended by around 80 people, and I’m sure that every one of them, including the speaker, had some sort of wireless device. But, I’ve shot over 30 hours with this same group at another location, with the Sennheiser mike, with no dropouts or hits whatsoever.
Your theory of extreme low frequencies causing the companding makes sense, as there is no audible noise in the recording. Do you know what could possibly be the source of the low frequency noise? Some sort of alarm system maybe?
I guess I’ll have to resort to a wired mike, if we have to shoot at this location again.