MIcron Raio Mics?
Ty Ford
At NAB there was a booth with Micron Wireless. The chap said the news was
that Micron was coming to market with a system about half of what they
usually cost.
I don't think I've ever seen a posting on this group about Micron.
Why not?
Regards,
Ty Ford
-- Ty Ford's equipment reviews, audio samples, rates and other audiocentric
stuff are at www.tyford.com
Jeff Wexler
<tyre...@comcast.net> wrote:
> Hi,
>
> At NAB there was a booth with Micron Wireless. The chap said the news was
> that Micron was coming to market with a system about half of what they
> usually cost.
>
> I don't think I've ever seen a posting on this group about Micron.
>
> Why not?
>
Micron wireless were the absolute finest, most respected units 25 to 30
years ago. They were beautifully designed and built and when seen up against
the Vega wireless, Swintek and others that we were using, there really was
no comparison. Very few mixers owned them, they were incredibly expensive
and had almost no support in the U.S. Many of us had never even heard of the
Lemo connectors that were used throughout the system. Bob Gravenor used to
use them, he was one of the few that I knew who actually owned them and
continued to use them currently. They have never managed to come back to
this market, mostly I would say because the Audio, Ltd. Wireless took its
place as the premiere wireless (if you could afford them and suffer the lack
of any kind of viable local support).
I am sure there is a lot more to the story but this is what I know of the
Microns.
Regards, Jeff Wexler
David Patterson
To expand a little on what Jeff wrote, the Microns looked sort of military or
CIA looking compared to other wireless units....the transmitters were in a
sleek brushed aluminum or stainless steel case that had no knobs or switches
poking out....the 8-pin lemo from the mic also turned on the unit when you
plugged it in.....a good thing, really....so the talent could not accidentally
turn it off. They were about the same size as a Lectro tx, but without the
belt clip....you could slip it into a pocket, or use an elastic belt, or a
leather pouch. The built-in compressor/limiter worked very well and if you set
all your gain structure correctly in the TX and RX it was a very good sounding
system. The receiver used LEDs to indicate everything from signal strength
to tuning to batt condition. The main drawbacks to me were: No way to use
internal batts in the receiver....it was all outboard; no frequency
agility...all xtals..; all VHF, as I recall; and the receivers were not
diversity. But all of that being said, it was still a very good sounding
unit, and with very few breakdowns. As Jeff said, it was THE high-end unit of
the day.
As I recall, all the Microns, at least initally, were imported by a guy in New
York State, whose name escapes me right now. No disrespect, but he was not
always the easiest person to deal with. If he is still the importer, perhaps
he has mellowed.
I still have probably 7 or 8 of the Microns, which have been stored in a box
since the year I switched over to Lectros. Prolly should have sold them back
at the same time I should have sold my Nagras. (Didn't sell them either).
Best regards,
David Patterson
Atlanta, GA
Joe
slick and slim and actually looked liked the slim design of todays
audio lmtd`s....they were the units i used when i wanted absolutely no
dropouts in the recording,...compared to vega,swintek and sonys,(the
days when i`d scream out Drop-out!and the director would say OH!no
problem,will do another take!)the best take was always the one that had
no dropouts,then we would move on to the next scene!when i got my
microns,the drop-outs stopped,the director was convinced that i had
gone deaf,cause i wasn`t screaming DROP-OUT anymore.....I remember they
were very battery hungry!but were worth every penny spent on batts.
Jason Porter
Lectro 411's.
-Jason
"Ty Ford" <tyre...@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:bu6dnZOjnNc...@comcast.com...
Cleve Massey
The aluminum case for the transmitter and the plug in the mic and power was
on were real pluses for me. I used them on a rodeo film and even riders
hitting the ground on their backsides did not destroy them.
You probably talked to Reg at AUDIO RESOURCES. Several years ago he took
over distribution of SQN mixer and MICRON wireless systems from the guy in
NJ whom I can't remember. Reg has been across the pond for training and
service instruction and can fix both of the above.
I have a friend in Phoenix who uses MICRON exclusively and loves them. they
are small and light, and now very battery friendly. For those of us who put
all this stuff on our shoulder, that is a consideration. Plus many video
camerafolks who see them, like the above reasons for slapping a couple of
receivers on their camera.
They have a new line that are indeed smaller and frequency agile. Their www
page is very informative, but a call to Reg is even better. They do use
HIROSE plugs much like the AUDIO LIMITED, so if you have a fortune in
LECTROSONIC wired mics and accessories it will take some hard thinking to
make a switch.
I don't have the phone number in front of me, but he recently moved to
Gilbert, AZ and has just set up shop again.
Jason Porter
:)
-Jason
"David Patterson" <davidps...@nospammindspring.com> wrote in message
news:42A65C99...@nospammindspring.com...
Martin Harrington
--
Martin Harrington
www.lendanear-sound.com
"Ty Ford" <tyre...@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:bu6dnZOjnNc...@comcast.com...
Predrag
I'm currently using the 700 series,
They sound great,work well and are light.
Predrag
Jeff Wexler
"Martin Harrington" <len...@bigpond.net.au> wrote:
> Because they are not Zaxcom or Lectro.
If this is an answer to "why are Microns not mentioned here" it is a rather
shortsighted answer with what I believe to be a different agenda. I would
speculate that taken together there are many, many more users of Lecrosonic
wireless, Zaxcom Digital Wireless (and Sennheiser, Shure and others) than
the users of Micron wireless. This seems to me to be a much more plausible
explanation for the lack of mention here regarding Micron.
Regards, Jeff Wexler
Jeff Wexler
Wexler" <jws...@earthlink.net> wrote:
Also, Ian Richardson is listed as a Micron user, I'm not sure he
participates in this r.a.m.p.s. Newsgroup but if he does he could chime in
with his take on why Microns are not in wide usage here in the U.S.
JW
Jason Porter
They are great, sound awesome, rugged as hell, great battery life.
Of course, they are very expensive. The Lemo connectors are infallable (the
older, fat 8 pin), but at $90 a pop...extra cables and specialty cables can
run up a pretty big tab.
I think Lectro has better "bang for your buck."
I used to think that Lectros were more popular in the US, partly because the
customer support was readily available. Until Trew Audio opened in Toronto
(before that, no support was available), I never would have looked twice at
Lectros, but now...they are lookin pretty good!
-Jason
"Jeff Wexler" <jws...@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:BECC5FB3.8F20%jws...@earthlink.net...
Roland Mattijsen
became the defacto-standard in Europe for many markets (we're talking
70-'s - 80's here). THE alternative was Sennheiser (or the other way around,
depends on who you ask), that was just easier to use in multi-channel rack
setups (8+). Sennheiser was more...forgiving.. in setting up antennea etc
etc. The audio quality of the Micron's were however absolutely superior.
They were also early introducers of True Diversty and companding systems to
maximise S/N ratio
However in the mid 90s when agility became not only populair but also
required, Micron (or Audio Engineering: the real name of the manufacturer)
had difficulty in switching from crystal based to synthesised. Its fair to
say they lost their leading position (at least in some euro countries,
australia and canada) during those years.
I thinks its fair to say today the current Micron range has a lot to offer,
especially if you don't mind rewiring all you mic's or you're starting from
scratch :-) I guess other factors than the stuff itself can be essential to
a decision: serviceability, support, price, availability of extra rental
systems etc.
(PS the original Blue Label non-companding microns were very noise at todays
standards, but they sounded great !!!)
Roland
"Jason Porter" <jason...@sympatico.ca> schreef in bericht
news:xBEpe.9485$_n2.8...@news20.bellglobal.com...
IanSound
odd years! I'm on to the 700 series now, UHF frequency agile units,
built to last!
I think it's fair to say that on this side of the pond, you will find
most Mixers using Micron and Audio ltd radio mics, with a few going
down the Sennheiser route and even fewer by Sony. I have to say the
Sony varieties have had a bad press over here for a number of reasons.
Sennheiser are found on OB trucks in their tons! As to why Microns are
not in greater abundance in the States, I would hazard a guess that you
will always go for a 'local' brew first, and if they full fill your
requirements and are utterly reliable you stay with them, if not shop
around for another brand elsewhere! Micron and Audio Ltd are regarded
over on this side of the pond as the makes of choice, quite simply
because of their quality and reliability. You will find them
extensively used in Europe too. It's easy to ship stuff to Europe with
totally free trade arrangements, it is somewhat harder to cross 1000s
of miles of sea and wade through customs forms to purchase and service
any product in the States!
Having said that, I believe Reg at Audio Resourses now based in Arizona
(001 480 539 5959) an ex Micron design engineer now distributes,
services (on site) and suports Micron products, both new and old.
Regards, Ian Richardson
Phil Brouwer
I've used Microns for +20 years. Back when Swintek and Vegas were
around. About 15 years ago, the choice to stay with Microns at that
time had a lot to do with support for them here in Toronto. The other
main reason they were picked over Lectros was at that time, imo, the
compander worked better. An "average" gain setting worked well for
voices over a wide dynamic range. (and who can guess what the actor
will do THIS time) The Lectros didn't seem to handle unexpected
yelling, etc. as well. However Lectros did pass the "jingling key"
test with flying colors that the Microns at the time had trouble with.
Different stories with today's technologies.
Perhaps support is why Microns never caught on as well as Lectros in
the States. And therefore aren't mentioned here as often.
Phil
philREMOVEter2 at rogers dought com
R...@audioresources.com
Resources, Ltd is the distributor for Micron in the USA and we would be
happy to help you in any way we can. Our phone is 1(888)283-4650,
please feel free to call.
John Blankenship, CAS
Adrian Edward Richmond
Blankenship, CAS" <"John Blankenship, CAS"@?.?.invalid> writes
>R...@AudioResources.com wrote:
>
>> This group has just be brought to my attention. My Company, Audio
>> Resources, Ltd is the distributor for Micron in the USA and we would be
>> happy to help you in any way we can. Our phone is 1(888)283-4650,
>> please feel free to call.
>
>
>As evidenced by recent posts, many of us here know very little about
>the current Microns. Please, inform us further. What are their
>strengths? Price point? How rugged? Size? Weight? Current draw?
>How good are service and customer support? How much hassle is it to
>get repairs? Etc., etc., etc.
Micron Radio mics are a standard in the UK. here at ITV Anglia we have
used them for around 30 years. The 700 series is the latest range and a
very cool design. Not only are they true diversity radio mics the
companding is very well designed which eliminates the horrible high
frequency distortion that some cheap makes can suffer from. Additionally
the battery compartment is very well designed sliding out like a Rolls
Royce door. Range and sound quality are excellent as is easy of use no
need to connect to a PC or anything complicated. Anglia bought 10 sets
for use in the USA on US frequencies to shoot Animal Planet's 'Animal
Cops-Detroit-Houston and New York' recordists there have given them the
thumbs up one it was explained how to set them up and that only took
about 3 minutes
A new product called the 'Explorer' range are due out soon, though I
have yet to see an example, they are meant to be a budget price unit but
still using the standard aluminium extruded case of the more expensive
mics.
I have no connection with the company Micron just a happy user. I hope
this is of some help and has not duplicated previous posts as they had
already expired so I couldn't read them.
--
Adrian Edward Richmond
Sound Supervisor Anglia TV
G. John Garrett, C.A.S
> R...@AudioResources.com wrote:
>
>> This group has just be brought to my attention. My Company, Audio
>> Resources, Ltd is the distributor for Micron in the USA and we would be
>> happy to help you in any way we can. Our phone is 1(888)283-4650,
>> please feel free to call.
>
>
>
> As evidenced by recent posts, many of us here know very little about the
> current Microns. Please, inform us further. What are their strengths?
> Price point? How rugged? Size? Weight? Current draw? How good are
> service and customer support? How much hassle is it to get repairs?
> Etc., etc., etc.
While Micron hasn't enjoyed the market penetration of Vega or nowadays Lectro,
they have always made top-notch stuff, AFAIK. They're up there with Audio Ltd in
sound quality. Its been years since I've used any Microns, and I'd wondered
where they'd gone but recently I hear they're chugging along.
John