It’s been a few months since I’ve actually had time to shoot a proper video review. Thankfully my workload has finally slowed down and I can get back to my regular video schedule.  I was so intrigued by the Samson Airline Micro, that I locked myself in the basement with it for a few days to give it a full set of audio test.  The only thing I haven’t had the opportunity to test is the distance the Samson Airline Micro is able to transmit audio.

I used the Sennheiser ew100 G2 wireless system as a bench mark. Take a listen to the audio from the G2 and the Airline Micro and let me know what you think of the audio from each of them. After listening to the tests numerous times I felt like the G2 came out on top, however the Airline Micro still sounded pretty good for the price. The battery and programming options are defiantly a negative, but the size and price almost even things out.

If you listen to the audio tests and can’t tell the difference then the Samson Airline Micro should make you very happy. I think this is a very good UHF system for the price and provides a lot of value overall. If, on the other hand you feel uncomfortable with the battery setup, and don’t like the slightly muffled sound, you might want to consider spending the extra $200 on a Sennheiser G2 or Sony UWPV1. Or at the very least upgrading the Airline Micro to a more expensive lapel mic.

UPDATE: tin2tin had some great questions in the comment section that I didn’t cover in the video review. I’ve added the questions and answers below.

What happens if you swap the mics?
Answer: The low price mic is likely the cause of the muffled sound. Sadly the Sennheiser uses a powered lav that the Airline Micro doesn’t support.

How far away from the receiver can you go with the Airline Micro Transmitter?
Answer: As of right now I’ve only been able to test it up to 40 feet, the manual says “up to 150 feet”. I won’t be able to test it out until the weather warms up.

Do you know if the frequency can be altered so that two Samson wireless systems can be used at the same location?
Answer: The Samson Wireless system comes it 6 different Frequency ranges labeled 1N through 6N the one I used in this video is a 5N.

Is there some sort of inbuilt AGC?
Answer: The Sennheiser has built in Squelch (kind of the opposites of AGC) which turns down the audio output when no audio is detected, the Samson does not.

Is the output volume of the receiver powerful enough to go directly into the camera without amplifying it first?
Answer: Yes, in the test I was using a passive (no amplifier) XLR to 1/8 inch adapter box. The receiver had more then enough power to make it through the adapter and into the camera with no amplification and still provide good signal levels.


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