SennheiserPro Audio (XSW 2-835-A, Black, Wireless

We are an event business and use mikes for corporate events, weddings, live music, MCing and so on. We recently had some of our old trusty mikes stolen as we were packing them and so had to urgently buy some replacements.This was one of the options and so we bought one of these. We have lots of Sennheiser equipment from line mikes to headphones and in ear monitoring and never really had a problem or major issue with the products but this package, for may reasons, does not do what it says on the packet.FIRST:It is advertised as having a rack mount kit in the box but unlike teh Shure XLSD for example the rack mount provided is only have a solution and provides the rack brackets and that is it. There are NO aerial extensions or BNC male to male panel adaptors for the front of rack mounting of the aerials.This is a major problem as even on shallow racks you cannot have the aerials attached to the rear. We had to make up some BNC connections and add some panel monts and so could not test or use the unit when it arrived.SECONDThe SQUELCH is tucked around the rear of the receiver and whilst that is kind of OK if using it on a desktop it is more than inconvenient when rack mounted. You might say well you do not need ot use the SQUELCH and but you really do on analogue wireless equipment. Especially for mobile setups and mobile setups will almost always prefer racking p as much of their equipment as possible to save time and desk space when setting up for events.THIRDThe SCAN facility is not fantastic and certainly much less useful than the Shure scans as this one only scans to the next free channel and does not give you a sense of which group has the most availability etc.FOURTHSYNCING the transmitter (835) to the receiver is a bit fiddly compared with other systems as you have to hold down the SYNC at the bottom of the transmitter and at the same time press the SYNC on the receiver. Even on the test bench this was awkward.FIFTHIt is true that the SM58 in the GLXD and BLX are plastic but they feel more solid than this E835 mike and it certainly feels so flimsy compared with our line versions of the same mike.Have a hand held mike that is too heavy could be a problem but in our view a really light one is actually more likely to be dropped and of course is less likely to survive than a more solid mike.The batter cover is really thin plastic and feels like an ultra cheap no brand £50 mike. Moreover the battery clips do not clip and they seem really flimsy.SIXTHGain control from teh mike is course in 10dB increments from minus 30dB to 0dB. This is accessed from inside the battery cover. IT is OK but crude and lacking finesse of any control.SEVENTHThe volume control on teh receiver is really smooha dn works nicely but the annotation is impossible to see and as you get to know your equipment and want to start at say 50% you will not be able to do that in a live event situation becuase you cannot see where the dial is.EIGHTHhe screen on teh receiver is bright and easy to read but if you run your finger over the screen which is easy to do when setting things up the screen goes like an old plasma screen all washed out. It does recover but it is disconcerting and one wonders how long before the screen us less legible or does not work.NINTHThe PSU in does not have a threaded fail safe attachment but rather suggests that you wrap the PSU supply cord around a hoop and tie it into place. This does work well, but must add strain to the thin PSU cable and these are prone to break in any case. This is less of a problem for racked up units but IS a problem when using in a desktop mode. Incidentally, the Shure BLX has the same issue but the GLX and SLX do not.I could go on about say the really thin pouch they give you for the mike and some otehr design and flimsy issues but the main points are as above.We feel that Sennheiser have taken a well established and like mike (the E835) and put it into an really poor wireless option. Of course there is an argument that this is almost the entry level wireless for Sennheiser and compares to teh BLX rather than the SLXD. However, even the internal aerialled SM58 version of the BLX feels more robust and is more flexible than this.It is also not that cheap and tehre are many other options around at similar prices that are much better.Of course teh performance of teh E835 capsule and mike is as you would expect and for some is better than an SM58 or beta 58 and for others it is the other way round. This is about personal preference of he sound and we would never mark anything down because of that.We marked this as low as possible because it is not a full rackable solution, feels cheap, adn lacks any finesse of control that makes music production easier.NOT RECOMENDED