Placerville, CA – February 2010… When it comes to wireless microphones, few things are more annoying than dropouts, distorted sound quality, and faulty switches that lessen one’s confidence in the system. That’s exactly what Steve Krogedal, Technical Director at Green Valley Community Church, routinely encountered each week when it was time for services. After struggling with these and assorted other problems, the church decided they’d had enough and provided Krogedal the budget to rectify the most pressing issues. After evaluating equipment from a variety of manufacturers, Krogedal ultimately selected a wireless system featuring Digital Hybrid Wireless® technology from Lectrosonics.
Krogedal is responsible for all things audiovisual at Green Valley Community Church, be it sound, lights, video, or graphics. The Non-denominational church, with a congregation of roughly 2,500 members, conducts four services each weekend—one on Saturday and three on Sunday. Worship services are contemporary in nature and music plays an important role. With a 6-8 piece praise band and an accompanying vocal group, there’s plenty of reason to expect clear, consistent performance from one’s wireless mics. Unfortunately, this had not been the case, as Krogedal explained.
“I can’t begin to tell you how many times I struggled with faulty switches,” Krogedal said. “I’d frequently have to switch the transmitters on, then off, and then on again before they’d work. This doesn’t exactly inspire confidence. Between this and subpar sound quality, I’d about had it. I looked closely at a variety of wireless equipment and I’m more convinced than ever that our Lectrosonics purchase was the right decision. We are now the proud owners of a 6-channel Venue receiver system stocked with the company’s VRS receiver modules, six SMDa transmitters, six HM172 earset mics, and a pair of M152 lavaliere mics.”
When queried about those Lectrosonics features that he most appreciates, Krogedal started by describing the sound quality of the equipment. “The sound from this system is terrific,” he reports. “It’s extremely clear and natural and, since there’s no companding, we never encounter any of those unpleasant artifacts characteristic of lesser quality wireless mics. This system also has excellent gain before feedback, so there’s never an issue getting the volume levels we need out of the equipment.”
Build quality and ease of use were equally important to Krogedal. “I really like the fact that the transmitters are built in such a way that you needn’t worry about accidentally switching a unit off,” he continued, “and I’ve been blown away by Lectrosonics’ robust build quality. Everything is absolutely rock solid. The small size of the SMDa transmitters is yet another big plus. We took delivery of our equipment late last year and during our Christmas production, it was very easy to hide the transmitters among the actors’ costumes. Their compact size and rugged design really impressed me. Since some of the characters had slapstick comedy-type parts where they would fall down, tumble, etc., I was initially concerned about durability and consistent performance. Not once did we encounter any issues with dropouts, pops, or damage. They were terrific.”
Krogedal reports that for regular services, he typically deploys just one or two wireless channels. “While the channel count certainly isn’t big news, the performance is,” he says. “If the congregation can’t hear everything the teaching pastor has to say, then the message is lost and that doesn’t benefit anyone. The Lectrosonics system makes it very easy to identify and lock down available frequencies and the hardware is first rate—so I never have to worry about faulty switches, dropouts, or any of the issues I used to regularly contend with. Our new equipment provides a high degree of confidence that everything will work as expected.”
Krogedal summed up his experience with Lectrosonics with the following thoughts. “I initially had a few questions,” he said, “and Lectrosonics’ customer service was great. I got straight through to a technician who clearly understood the equipment, understood what I was looking to accomplish, and promptly assisted me. The tech was so pleasant to deal with—it was like speaking to a friend. He understood my question and was able to assist right away, as opposed to reading some stock scripted response. I couldn’t be happier with the results we’ve experienced—and I have every intention of purchasing an additional six channels of Lectrosonics as our budget permits. If you’re looking for a wireless mic system with great sound, the right features, and the reliability to last for years, go with Lectrosonics.”
For additional information about Green Valley Community Church, visit them online at www.gvcconline.com.
About Lectrosonics Digital Hybrid Wireless Technology
Lectrosonics’ Digital Hybrid Wireless technology uses a proprietary algorithm to encode 24-bit digital audio information with no compression and low distortion into an analog format that can be transmitted in a robust manner over an analog FM wireless link. The result is much higher dynamic range—free from sonic artifacts— than wireless systems using a compandor are able to offer. Digital Hybrid Wireless technology delivers long operating range, graceful signal decay, and a small spectral footprint, facilitating more channels to be operated simultaneously.
About Lectrosonics
Well respected within the film, broadcast, and theater technical communities since 1971, Lectrosonics wireless microphone systems and audio processing products are used daily in mission-critical applications by audio engineers familiar with the company's dedication to quality, customer se
