Sennheiser Freeport Vocal System

Andrew Burdett
June 20, 2009

Rating: 9/10

I bought a Freeport Vocal System a couple of months back, and I\'ve been waiting to write a review until I found a problem with it. But I still haven\'t found any huge negatives, so I\'ll go through my thoughts now anyway.

THE GOOD
The Freeport Vocal System is an elegant microphone system packed in a useful box. I was thinking of getting a flight case to house it in, but decided not to at this point because the box it comes in is adequate.

When plugged in and set up, the sound quality is fantastic. A sound system was recently installed in our church and the Sennheiser £500+ microphones in there sound very similar in quality so a big thumbs up on this front.

The 4 channel changer is useful, along with the LED on the bottom to tell you when it is low on power and the microphone stand holder is also very good.

THE BAD
There isn\'t too much that\'s bad about the product. It is a shame that it doesn\'t support additional aerials on the reciever and the fixed ones that are included aren\'t that big, but the range is good anyway (about 50m in a relatively built up area).

FINAL THOUGHTS
I gave the Freeport a 9 star rating, just missing out on that final star for the points I wrote above. It isn\'t a Evolution Series or by any means a Shure, but if you\'re looking for something somewhere between car boot bog-standard and a professional quality radio mic system, this is perfect. Well within the budget of most potential users and at the same time it delivers incredible sound quality.

Patricia Chestney
May 14, 2009

Rating: 10/10

After 20 years out of a band I have become involved with two blokes who share my love of live music. We have bundled along - making a good sound - for a few months and have had some gigs. Since we started using the Sennheiser vocal system our sound has improved 100 per cent. Thank you for a brilliant product, a really good deal and superb delivery.

Tony Waghorn
February 16, 2009

Rating: 9/10

Just like they have with the presenter system, Sennheiser have manage to strip away all the unnecessary elements of a wireless system to just leave the essentials.
Anything that adds extra cost, like digital selectors and LCD readouts have been replaced with functional controls and LED displays - a simple way of dropping the cost, without sacrificing the dependable Sennheiser sound and transmission.

Andrew Craven
December 19, 2008

Rating: 9/10

This is a superb piece of equipment. The sound quality is excellent, the signal is strong and constant and you can still hear it when you\'re upstairs. And what a price. Our last Radio mic was rubbish, much weaker than the SM58\'s we use, but this is clear, bright and powerful.

William Ward
November 26, 2008

Rating: 10/10

Well you saw my previous review - liked this so much that I bought another one as a spare - that says it all - just throw caution to the wind and get it bought.

As for Dolphin music - what can I say - next day delivery - next day!!! - perfect - which is why I continue to use and recommend them

william ward
October 3, 2008

Rating: 10/10

Bought this cos the Shure PG24E/PG58 was out of stock (broke the battery connector of the shure I already had).

This was a lot cheaper than the shure and I was, of course, a bit doubtful that it would be OK - anyway, the staff as Dolphin said it would be - and yes, they were correct.

Brilliant mic set for the money and, yes, sound quality is far better than the shure (unbelievable but true)

So, what are you waiting for, go on and buy this one and you won\'t regret it.

Oh, and by the way, superfast delivery from dolphin - thanks

NewSong
November 22, 2007

Rating: 8/10

A relatively low-cost solution to allow wire-free stage usage. Good quality sound, very little interference (but don't hold it at the bottom to cover the transmitter). Switchable channels allow upto four difference Sennheiser Freeport Vocal Systems to be run at the same time. Quick delivery from Dolphin - will definately use them again.

Darren
January 30, 2006

Rating: 10/10

I cannot fault this system. I've used all the most popular wired and wireless systems for fronting a band and the Freeport is right up there...

Setup:
Both transmitter (mic) and receiver are ready to go from the box. In terms of the frequency channel that can be used (default is channel A) theres a choice of 4 (A-D) channels which means you can have 4 of these systems working at the same time, each set to a different channel and ensuring no cross-over.

The system comes ready to plug and play. Stick a PP3 battery (not usually included) into the microphone and that part is ready to go.

The receiver requires your to plug in the mains cable and then either an XLR plug or unbalanced jack plug into your amplifier or mixing desk.

Set the antenna to a v-shape, switch on the microphone and away you go.

There are two technical controls that are also incorporated to make sure the system works at its best.

Gain:
This is a small rotary dial at the back that adjusts the levels out of the receiver and into the amp or mixing desk - I set this at half and forget about it.

Squelch.
This again is a rotary dial and allows you to cut out any interference (background noise from other wireless devices, electrics etc) I have always had mine on minimum as I've never encountered any such noise to be concerned about. However it's a simple job of turning it up a bit at a time if you need to...

The range is great too!
I have had the receiver hidden on another floor of a building, in a sound booth, stacked on top of amps on-stage and I have never had a problem with the range or dead spots. Although the battery life is expected to be 10 hours, I believe it's good practice to put a fresh battery in for each show (this may seem extravagant but I've never had a problem with batteries going dead in the middle of a performance)

I was concerned that there is a small aerial sticking out the bottom, I thought it may get broken - to date no such problems and I believe it probably enhances the set up - even if it did break you can unscrew it an get a replacement.

Sound wise: I've used wired SM58 and SM58 beta for years because they are so good. I've also used the AKG SO40 Snapon adapters (with the SM58s) and find them too fiddly to set up especially if you are in a hurry. This Freeport Vocal set is up to the mark in terms of sound. I use it as the main vocalist mic in a rock band as well as on-stage for more classical singing and speaches - in my view it sounds as good as any other mic but with advantage of being wireless.

Don't doubt this set up; just buy it.