Before purchasing a wireless microphone or in-ear monitor system, why is picking the correct frequency band important?

Why is it important?

One of the biggest mistakes we've seen made is the purchase of wireless gear in the wrong frequency band.  There's an assumption that all gear no matter we frequency band it's in, will work in all locations. Unfortunately that is not true. We've listed some things to consider when picking what frequency band would work best for you in your location.

1. Avoiding Interference

Different regions have different regulations and usage patterns for frequency bands. Using a frequency that's crowded or restricted in your area can lead to interference, which will disrupt your audio signal. Using tools like Sennheiser's Wireless Systems Manager to do a scan of your environment, can help you see what is in your environment RF wise. This is of course, if you have the compatible Sennheiser gear to do a scan with, such as EW-DX, D 6000, EW 300-500 G4, etc... You can also use an app like Soundbase. Soundbase is a tool that can help you do a wireless frequency coordination much like WSM, but one really cool feature that it has is, it allows you to pull up scans in your area that other users have uploaded, this is great in the scenario that you don't have something to scan with in Wireless Systems Manager. The last thing that could help is investing in a spectrum analyzer. A spectrum analyzer is usually a handheld device that scans the RF environment in your location.   

2. Compliance

Each country has specific regulations governing which frequency bands can be used for wireless microphones and IEMs. Using an unauthorized frequency can result in fines or confiscation of equipment. Using the Sennheiser International Frequency Advisor (SIFA) website can help you see what regulations are set in place in the country you are operating in.

3. Thinking about the future

Frequency bands can be reallocated by regulatory bodies, so by choosing a band that is less likely to be repurposed for other uses (like mobile data) can help ensure your system remains usable in the long term.

Links

For further information, please visit the links below

• www.sennheiser.com
• www.sennheiser.com/en-de/support/sifa
• wff.sennheiser.com (United States only)
• soundbase.app
• www.sennheiser.com/en-us/catalog/products/software/wireless-systems-manager/wsm-111113