The Problem with the Saramonic UwMic9 System

There's good reason to be careful when you pick up pieces of the UwMic9 system. Sure, it's hugely popular - but if you're not careful, you can buy the wrong version very easily and end up with a sub-par setup!

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YouTube gear:

0:00-0:28 Intro
0:28-3:04 Design and Functions
3:04-3:56 My Mistake
3:56-6:33 The Lavs (examples)
6:33-10:10 The XLR Nightmare
10:10-13:23 Saramonic's Support
13:23-15:43 Vs. The Sennheiser
15:43-17:18 The Second Coming
17:18-18:54 Conclusion
18:54-19:25 Outro

[NormenHansen]

For these, the frequency really matters. Even if it seems that theres nothing else on those airwaves you might get a better result at other frequencies. Can happen due to reflections etc. Listen to the garbled „s“-sounds, they appear first when the system has issues at the current frequency. While the Sennheiser is definitely better at handling these issues you can still hear it happening with that system too. Been working with pro audio systems from Sennheiser, Shure, AKG etc for decades and this stuff is basically the performance you got from the high-end gear ten, twenty years ago.

[SathanaST]

Man you are so underrated, keep up with the content!

[ScottSullivanTV]

I really hope you continue with YouTubing. A lot of reviewers of camera tech on YouTube never use the equipment out on the field. Not to name names, but a lot of popular camera-reviewers only use their camera equipment to make videos about camera equipment. Pointless. I like hearing actual on-set experiences you've encountered. I've seen several of your ads, and I really enjoy them. (Question: What is your ultimate goal in film? More client work? Narrative? Documentary? Just curious.)

I'm a few years out of high school, and though I've always made videos since I was a kid, I'm looking to finally jump into creating client work. I'm scared and nervous. And don't know where to start. My ultimate goal is to make actual narrative films, but that is a long way away, and I'm not sure what path to take. 

Regardless of my tangent, you create great stuff, and I hope to see more from you. I genuinely believe your channel can take off in the future. And when you get there, please don't become the Gerald Undone of YouTube. Be the next Film Riot of YouTube. Thank you, Garrett.

[gareth]

First of all, fantastic video. I just recently bought the 'black label' version of this system you referred to, and... it's a fail.
It has exactly the same problem of the audio dropout that you had on your 'yellow label' system. Even after pulling the mic sensitivity down, the audio still fell out the bottom. At one point, there was no audio at all for about 4 seconds. This happened on two different paying jobs (creative rescue editing can only go so far) For a test, I hooked up one of my Sony Wireless systems (totally different frequency ranges) as well as the Saramonic and attached them to a mate of mine. Once again, the Saramonic dropped off, the Sony? Seamless.

I even had a broadcast engineer friend, who uses wireless microphones for a news channel and knows every trick in the book to try and see if he could figure it out. He eventually told me to rather put them back in the box and forget about it. The only thing I could recommend is to monitor the audio out of the RX9 and listen for the drop off - because it will come - and hopefully it something that can be reshot.

I'll need to consider trying to return them for a refund. If not, they are going to be a very expensive 'budget' piece of kit that I can do nothing with. I simply can't trust them on a production. Perhaps using them as a paper weight could be an option.

Keep it up! Great work!

[zurvey]

Wow. This was VERY good and extremely helpful. Thank you for taking the trouble to do this for us.

[lorenzofk]

Yoooo, I had the same problem with audio from b dropping out, I even sent a transmitter back to saramonic to have the same issue. I just figured out using 2 channels next to each other like 1&2 makes the problem. In testing, using 1 and 96seems to work fine. Hope this helps, this was driving me crazy any you’re the first person I found mentioning this!

[MixYourWay]

Subscribed! Really useful stuff you have right here. Thank you for doing this AB.

[scottburrow]

What I use with my tx-xlr9 is a triton audio fet-head phantom 13 db gain. Then you can lower the transmitter gain. Works great.

[DNKSLegacyProductions]

The information was informative but I have not had the same problems you have had. I have used the system for a few of years now and I have been satisfied with their performance, I even did an interview session that lasted well over 4 hours with no problem. I guess I will have to keep an eye out for this but I've had the so long they're probably not under warranty.

[EstewrokXPG]

Great video. I have the exactly same problems with Saramonic RX15 (XLR TX + Receiver).
After trying a lot of things, i can pair the XLR TX to a Sennheiser G3 RX and i resolve that stupid hiss sound that ruin all the video jobs. The Saramonic RX pack is the real problem.

[leobarrios]

Oh thank you for you info. I appreciate it!

[adlern]

Thank you for this review! I have the exact same problem with my pair! And I have been googling for months trying to figure out what the problem is or if anyone else is have the same issue.

[independent]

This is an excellent production. I'm a newbie and testing my yellow version of the Tx9/Rx9. It sounds pretty good so far, but I think a high quality shotgun will meet my needs best.

[meck]

I think you can use an xlr splitter and have both mono signals out

[WorldOfBob]

Great video my friend. 👏👏. Thanksalot, BK 🌺🎶

[MAGEtvPTB]

...I bought my wireless set piecemeal so I have yellow border and black border elements to the kit. You are the only one to shed light on the difference...

[bobbinnie]

Good review style. Helped me a lot, thanks.

[johnmellor]

I've used mine on many productions over the last 3 years and have stood up well. The biggest down side is their plug in power. At only 1.79v (I took the back off and measured the transistor that sends bias voltage to the mic with a multimeter) this is significant because it means you can't upgrade to more expensive pro lav mics. Most semi pro and pro radio body packs supply 5v or more in case you want to buy nicer lavs. Saramonic have locked the customer to using their crappy lavs. I bought some Countryman lavs to use with my Saramonic and they sound trash. because they are underpowered.

[WinnipegRealEstateVideos]

Thanks for the review, better than most with lots of real detail. We produce real estate videos and need to get a new system to replace the Sony units that through wear and tear are causing lots of problems. This video really helps. Still not sure what to get next, it needs to be wireless and quick to set-up.

[TenzaMotorsports]

My initial plan was to buy the Sennheiser single transmitter for around the $600 mark. But I really need the dual transmitters to be an option for me. My camera is a canon m50 and uses a 3.5mm in. Would the black label saramonic kit 2 be a good kit? Or is there something else I should be looking at that can run two transmitters? Again I was hoping spend around ~600 or less. Great video btw! Keep it up!