Sennhieser EW 100 G2 wirelss miniplug question
 

Hi there

Just wondering about the receiver (the small portable one for filmmaking) of the EW G2 family. It's normally a XLR out to the balance audio input of the camera.

But, this XLR plugs into the reciever via a mini plug.

It is possible to just use two male ended mini plugs and plug the transmitter to the mini-plug in of the camera (thus we can 'hide' the receiver instead of have it prominently diplayed at the top of the camera)? Will this still work?


Actually, do all XLR to mini plug converts successfully work, i.e. I could use this converter on, say a shotgun mic into the mini plug of a camera?

thanx

I don't exactly follow what you're saying about the existing plugs, and I don't understand the concept of plugging the transmitter into the camera's input.

But the answer to your last question is yes, a correctly wired XLR to mini plug adaptor can apply any mono XLR mic's signal to the camera.

Many people do use such an adaptor with camera mounted shotguns. Depending on the mic and the camera, the signal can be a bit weak due to impedance mismatch. The solution to that would be a similar adaptor that includes an in line impedance matching transformer. Those are available, at a cost of about $40, compared to $10 for the simple adaptor.

whoops, I goofed, I meant can one plug the receiver into the camera mic input using a male mini plug adapter (male to male), as the receiver unit actually has a mini plug jack that the XLR cable plugs into on this unit.

Will it still work fine?

If I understand correctly, you have an adaptor cable for the receiver that has a mini plug at one end and an XLR plug at the other end. Is the mini plug mono (tip and sleeve contacts) or stereo (tip, ring and sleeve contacts)? Also, does your camera have its own XLR connectors, or do you use an XLR adaptor?

yes, that is right. In fact, the Senn G2 comes with a XLR to mini plug (the mini plug goes into the receiver and the XLR goes to your camera). I have a XLR input on my camera.

I've been using the receiver the way it's supposed to be used, on the XLR input of the camera. All is well in the world.

But I want to see if I can plug the receiver into the mini plug, if it will work fine or not.....

It can be done if the cable is wired correctly for the two pieces of equipment. This depends on how the equipment jacks are wired. The camera's mini jack is certainly unbalanced. So we have to know whether the output of the receiver is balanced. I was trying to get clues about that by asking about the suppled XLR to mini connector, but that is not working. Maybe someone who knows will kick in and help.

or someone who owns the G2 and a camera with a mini plug wouldn't mind doing a quick test?

Ronald,

What camera are you plugging this into? And why does the type of connector used influence the positioning of the receiver? Actually, now that Sennheiser has downsized these units by 30% it's not so "prominent" as the original Evo unit.

I have a kit of the original Evo series, the ENG Kit, and yes it comes with both leads, XLR-to-mini and mini-to-mini. The XLR-to-mini is not so much a converter but an adapter since it contains no matching transformer...this of course means that you are operating in unbalanced mode even though you are (usually) plugging into a balanced-line system when using XLR connectors. Since this cable is only 18" long there is no harm done. I wouldn't make any long runs of wire in this mode, but clearly the reason why we buy these wireless systems is to eliminate long wires.

I use the XLR-mini cable when plugging into my XL1 with a MA100 mic adapter, which makes for a convenient setup. I use the mini-mini cable when plugging into my mini-only GL1. Everything works fine. What's nice about both of these supplied cables is that the plug on the receiver end has a screw collar to "lock" it into place, no accidental disconnects while in use, which only seems to happen when your talent is their saying most interesting sound byte. :-)

I also use the mini-XLR cable to plug this receiver into one of the inputs on the Mackie mixer in my PA system. I heard the new G2 has significantly improved battery life; sure could use that in these situations.

I have a PDX10.

A great small camera. the Receiver would normally stack ontop of the balanced XLR input module, which makes it quite a tower.

If I go into malls video taping, I'd prefer to not draw any MORE attention to myself and keep the receiver hidden and maybe not even have the XLR module.... all in the name of documentary filmmaking...

but I guess you've answered my question, mini to mini should work

Yes that is a nice camera, and can't beat the size. I have no way of checking this out, but I have to ask if you thought about mounting the receiver to the underside of the camera, kind of like they do with the BeachTek adapters. I know they use the 1/4-20 tripod socket but there may be other ways to do this.

There is one other trick, which I have used on my GL1. Instead of the supplied mini-mini cable, get a 4 or 5 foot mini-mini cable and put the receiver in a fanny pack or your pocket. This worked for me at Disney World where I wanted to just fit in with the ordinary tourists. Of course, you lose that nifty screw collar that keeps it from getting unplugged, so be careful it stays connected (wrap with gaffers tape). I monitor my audio religiously whenever I'm taping and want to be able to use the nat sound...discovering you have lousy or missing sound when you go into post is too late. For this purpose you can get away with earbuds. Not hardly the equal of the Sony MDR-7506 cans that I use when really being serious about sound and don't mind being seen, but very inconspicuous...and those who actually see the buds will think you're just listening to a Walkman or iPod.