Sennheiser EW-DP | Easy-to-Use Digital Wireless System 

Hi Curtis. I am an avid subscriber. As usual, thank you for the helpful reviews and tests. Any idea if EW-DP camera-mount receiver be compatible with EW-DX SK body-pack transmitter? I have ordered EW-DX Dante capable sets. And I wonder if these are compatible items. Thanks for the input.

@@reymartrapsi7315 According to the manual, the transmitter and the receiver are compatible with each other but some features may not be available.

@@reymartrapsi7315 From Sennheiser's site, it looks like they are compatible, but I'd contact their support to confirm if you're planning to mix and match.

The system should have a backup recording onto an sd/micro sd card. Their EW-D SKP has that but the transmitter doesn't (I know Zaxcom holds the patent for recording into a transmitter with a lavalier) but still, I find it weird. And your sound with the Sanken COS-11D sounds so much better than the ME2, they should package it with their MKE2. Oh well.

Thank you!

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Glad it is working well for you 👍

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Glad it was helpful! Happy recording!

Yes

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👍 it’ll generally be better indoors. The 25m is worst-case outdoors.

Seemed pretty solid in our tests. 👍

Ok.

Yes, AVX is a great sounding system and quite reliable indoors.

What do u mean by delay?

@@JoshSmith-ct3fi That's a reference to the fact that there is a 19ms latency in the AVX digital wireless system. That is to say, it takes 19ms from the time the mic picks up sound and the output on the receiver outputs that sound to camera or recorder.

@@curtisjudd understood . whats the latency numbers on this ew-dp?

@@JoshSmith-ct3fi 1.9 ms. Very good.

@7:30 I believe Curtis says that latency is not an issue with the EW-DP (latency only 1.9 milliseconds). Cheers, Cheer!

Yes, that’s right but this system only adds 1.9ms of latency which is not a problem for 99.99% of cases. Digital systems like this also use smaller frequency bands per transmitter so you can use more transmitters/channels.

Yes, I plan to. 👍

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No, battery status (aside from drained) should not affect range. Yes, definitely best to keep those antennae up higher and oriented is the same plane as the transmitter antenna.

This is more likely to clip if you push the gain too high.

Possibly the Sony digital system?

Yes, but a direct connection depends on which phone you have - check out the CL 35 USB-C accessory cable which has a 3.5 mm locking TRS connecter (receiver side) to a USB-C connection (phone); if you have an iPhone 15 or Android device, you're good to go! This cable is also compatible with the MKE 200 on-camera mic and MKE 400 on-camera shotgun mic.

Thanks Robb. Good suggestion

Yes, similar market segment. The Sony has some advantages, at least on paper. And a higher price as you noted.

I reckon Sony UWP-D is at the top of the prosumer rankings. (so above any consumer product, or any other prosumer wireless. But of course well below any pro wireless)

RF output power is a complex business, but I did fine the THEOS at 100mW to transmit substantially farther, yes.

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How would one use this with a mix pre 6 ii?

@@JoshSmith-ct3fi The receiver comes with an XLR output cable so you'd connect that to one of the MixPre's inputs and position the receiver so that it has a clear, hopefully line-of-site position to the transmitter.

@@curtisjudd thanks . I see it comes with full size XLR output . For c70 what cable or accessories are used to plug receiver into the c70 mini XLR ports ?

@@JoshSmith-ct3fi you could just use the 3.5mm input on the C70. Or get an XLR female to mini XLR male adapter.

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This should be a good option for that. 👍

It doesn’t share the mW output of the TX, presumably because it wants to keep things simple.

At this level seems like a 10mw unit.

Yes, consumer level systems like from Saramonic, but my experience with them was mixed.

@@curtisjudd Thank you!! Will look into it!!

The new Deity THEOS UHF wireless will probably be priced quite aggressively.

@@davidcmpeterson Thank you1

I tested not with my Canon C70 and they’re pretty much the same in terms of noise floor.

Yes, for the transmitter, you have to press and hold the sync button for 3 seconds when the app instructs.

@@curtisjudd my app never instructed anything. Just spins when I hit firmware update…

@@stepheneckert4006 hmm, might be best to contact Sennheiser support.

Correct, actually a combiner cable.

Yes, that'd be nice.

The other HUGE difference is that you tune the EW-DP to a frequency that isn’t busy in the exact location where you’re recording. And you can record with more channels because you have more frequency spectrum in which you can work. If your AVX system is working well for you, this system is not a replacement or upgrade, just a different option for different circumstances.

@@curtisjuddon the other hand, what I love about the AVX is the zero-set-up workflow .. as a camera guy that has to do sound out of necessity , I love the simplicity (and also compact size) of the AVX. I don’t really understand the exact advantages of this system (beside latency). Maybe a comparison video could be super useful

@@Superjeanmarc yes, AVX was made for situations exactly like yours - simple setup and quality audio for camera people. EW-DP is tunable to different frequencies. AVX is not. Huge difference if you’re ever in a situation where audio signal is dropping out.

@@curtisjudd Thanks ! Yes for a one man band like me, the simplicity and size of the AVX is more important. I have a very positive experience with AVX in term of stability, I only wish it would have a longer range. I do for example a hosted wildlife TV show where many times , I need to make very wide establishing shots with the host in the middle of the landscape, or in the middle of animals .. In that case, I wish the AVX would also have infernal recording or a longer range.

@@Superjeanmarc I agree. Internal recording is problematic in the US because Zaxcom holds patents which prevents other companies from easily implementing the feature (at least with removable memory cards). And the frequency that AVX uses and the configuration of the system will always struggle with outdoor distance, unfortunately. But it is a really simple system otherwise.

Will try. Limited budget to buy things here, but will definitely try.

Hi Jason, Zaxcom holds a US patent on recording body packs with lavalier microphones so that’s my guess for why they didn’t implement that. NOTE: the 25m distance is under the worst RF circumstances - out doors in the wide open with no walls nearby. For reference this is also true of every consumer grade wireless system I’ve used and other prosumer systems. The only time I’ve been able to achieve better results in this exact test is with pro level wireless systems and external shark fin/LPDA antennae. I’d rate the MKE2 and Sanken as fairly similar with slightly different voicing.

@@curtisjudd Thanks Curtis - that's super helpful. I didn't know about that patent. I'm interested in learning more about the new Deity Theos Wireless system - apparently the DBTX transmitter has a built in recorder too - so they must be paying for a patent license. They just announced it at NAB. The Theos system seems to improve on the Sennheiser EW-DP in a number of ways - including having 32 bit float recordings. I'm curious to see how they stack up against each other - although I don't think the Theos system is coming out till June/July.

@@jasonknight1281 Yes! Looking forward to trying it out.

I saw your video showing how to do it with the Rode Go II. However, the issue is whether the audio transmitted in 2.4 Ghz will be stable and reliable, knowing that during a concert there will be many telephone, electrical, etc. signals.

We’ll have a review coming in the next few weeks which will hopefully answer your questions.

Big and cumbersome is relative. Yes, the receiver is larger than the AVX, but you cannot tune the AVX and if you’re also recording a wired boom mic, you have the 19ms latency of AVX to contend with. It is all about engineering trade offs. My recommendation is to use the one which works best for your use cases. If AVX is it, enjoy that there’s no need for you to sell it and buy this instead.

@@curtisjudd Hi Curtis, there are always pros/cons. I think that this more or less originated towards the same target audience as the AVX (which was/is more expensive) although this is UHF and the AVX is 2.4 GHz. I can say from our experience that aside from maybe once, we never had any issues with interference over years of use and we used it in trade shows when there are tons of devices broadcasting in all frequencies. My point is that we would love to see an updated AVX version and this is certainly not it.

@@IddoGenuth I believe AVX is actually 1.9GHz and yes, I agree, this is NOT an update to or replacement for AVX. What would you like to see in an updated version of AVX?

@@curtisjudd I think (not 100% sure) that there are different AVX models by region. Anyway, what I would like to see is as I wrote a smaller receiver, better battery life, and if possible some sort of dual system (one receiver two transmitters) plus some kind of BT app control as you have here (not for channel changes - you don't need those with the AVX, but for changing settings - you can even add noise cancellation option, etc.).

@@IddoGenuth all good ideas. But I’d expect those features to add substantially to the price. In my experience, when Sennheiser makes a prosumer or pro level product, they’ll make sure it performs by spending a good bit of engineering R&D time and then manufacture it in their impressive factory in Germany. Of course this means it will be a fair bit pricier. DEITY’s approach is more focused on providing innovative, feature rich products at lower prices. They are engineered and manufactured in China. In my experience, they’re getting better and more reliable, but not quite to Sennheiser standards yet.

I didn’t specifically measure the noise floor but the Sanken is not an exceptionally quiet mic. But good enough in most cases (the preamp of the EW DP is not noisier than the COS11D.

95% of this was recorded with the ME2, aside from the short sample with the COS-11D. I didn’t specifically measure it, but my guess is at least 3dB quieter.

I don’t, but Sennheiser is well known in wireless for a reason (mostly for their higher end systems from what I understand.)

but you are talking about live events and such. Or do you have this on a sound cart?

My recommendation is to set your camera’s input to its lowest setting, set your input level on the receiver until the meter is hitting about 2/3rds, then set the AF out so that the camera meter matches the receiver meter.

Yes

Would be nice to have a screen on the transmitter, but it is a tradeoff because screens run down the batteries more quickly. I haven't used the ME 4 so not sure about that mic.

I had trouble with lots of self-noise on the BP-TRX so I didn't even get to testing the timecode. I'd be surprised if they keep selling the BP-TRX once their THEOS system starts shipping.

I haven't used the Sony UWP-D system, unfortunately.

Usually a nearby mobile phone or WiFi device does that.

@@curtisjudd and if I use an XLR mic/cable... That would not had happened?

@@ikamultimedia Possibly - balanced XLR cables, especially the higher quality, better shielded cables are more immune to RF interference.

@@curtisjudd and there are those high end cables also "xlr to mini xlr" for example for a bmpcc 6k? As I assume that the xlr to xlr must be better...

@@ikamultimedia balanced, yes, but not sure how well shielded. But should decrease the risk of RF interference.

Are you happy with AVX for your use cases? If so, stick with them. If you’re having dropout issues, these *might help.

Thanks! Sennheiser doesn’t list the dynamic range of the ME2 but my sense is that it is not an enormous range relative to boom mics or other small to large diaphragm condenser mics. This is one of the costs of miniaturization, at least at its $129 price. I didn’t test with envelops before I had to send it back, unfortunately, but I’d assume about half of what you can get with the Li battery. Latency is defined by the processing speed of the transmitter and receiver from what I understand. So it isn’t something that varies with circumstances.

​@@curtisjudd Cheers for the answers! I've now got two EW-DP sets. So, I should stop being lazy and do my own tests re battery life! Now, I know absolutely nothing about batteries. But, on first glance, the Sennheiser BA 70 battery has "1720 mAh" written on the side of it, and a single Eneloop Pro has "2450 mAh". So, two of them might be able to equal or better the Sennheiser! I'll post a comment here if I find out. Another random comment on the kit: I didn't read the manual, but I think you're meant to charge the supplied BA 70 battery inside the receiver. Ok, cool. No idea how to charge it otherwise, other than ordering the separately sold charging unit. But Sennheiser seems to only supply a USB-C to USB-C cable in the box, and I don't have all that many free USB-C ports around me. So, a note to Sennheiser in the unlikely event they ever read this -- please supply a USB-A to USB-C cable with the next kit! Or at least a USB-A adapter for the USB-C cable.

​@@artstories5828 I'm glad to hear you have a couple sets of EW-DP to run some of your own tests, too - can't wait to hear about your experiences, please keep us posted! A couple quick comments that may help clarify some topics. 1) 134 dB of Dynamic Range relates to the capability of the wireless link, which has roughly 5x more dynamic range than most other wireless systems available. The main advantage of this is that we can completely remove the need to set gain at the transmitter, which also means we avoid clipping or otherwise overloading the transmitter electronics entirely. This also makes life a little easier when you have talent mic'd up since you don't have to go over to their bodypack to adjust anything... gain is adjusted on the receiver (or via the Smart Assist app) as opposed to the transmitter so you have an appropriate level coming out of the Digital to Analog converter and then to the device output. Regarding your comment on mic selection and using the ME 2 as an example, the max SPL is rated at 130 dB so - in theory - if you could protect it from air movement related to the speaker you probably wouldn't clip the mic or the transmitter... but as Curtis mentioned, there are other options with much better dynamic range in the Sennheiser portfolio. Just a heads up - there's an SKP Plug-On Transmitter coming soon: both XLR and 3.5 mm inputs, on-board recording via MicroSD, +48V Phantom Power ;-) 2) A higher mAh battery would get you longer battery life, however, one of the distinct advantages of the BA 70 is that it allows the system to calculate run time in hours and minutes; AA batteries (rechargeable or primary cells) will only provide you with a read out in percentage of battery remaining. The EK receiver can run off 2 x AA battery, the BA 70 li-ion pack or USB power - if you're using the BA 70 and plug USB power into the unit, it will charge your pack and operate simultaneously. The EK receiver can also run solely off USB power without a battery inserted, too. An EW-D Charging Set will get you two BA 70s (compatible in all transmitters and receivers from the Evolution Wireless Digital series) and the L 70 USB charger, which will get you back to 100% in about 3 hours. 3) USB-C is the way of the future! In all seriousness, this is something we struggle with... we try not to include things that will either go unused or thrown out - there's nothing special about the USB cable, so any any USB-A to USB-C should work or it may be worthwhile to grab a couple USB-A to USB-C adapters while the world migrates fully to USB-C over the next few years. I can appreciate the suggestion and hope you have something on hand for your immediate need as these cables are fairly prolific in our homes. 4) As Curtis mentioned on the latency topic - the 1.9 ms is related to signal processing and not transmission. EW-DP is a digital UHF system so the transmission "speed" is essentially the speed of light... which, I'm told, is pretty fast! 🙂 Enjoy your EW-DP rig!!

​@@robb.blumenreder Robb, thanks very much for the in-depth info and clarifications!

You can add an additional receiver and transmitter. The receivers stack with magnets. Or you can look at dual channel systems like from: Sony: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-3tFZfhUyihQ.htmlfeature=shared DEITY: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-kY_ZjGBdy0o.htmlfeature=shared

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No, I don’t have inside info.

Hi. I got the version with the bag grip. And there is bag guide inside of printed leaflet.

From the RX, yes

I don’t know what the bag receiver will or will not have. If you need something to get a job done, I’d make a list of your must have and nice to have features and find the closest fit available today. Otherwise, you may have to wait for forever.

Yes.

Hi Ky - I saw your video and review on Amazon and think I know what may be happening here. I'm assuming you were using EW-DP with a smartphone? The EW-DP system has an "auto off" eco function to preserve battery life - when a connected device is powered down, the EK receiver will shut itself off, too. When clipping/overloading the signal on a smartphone, the audio input of the phone is likely disconnecting to protect it and I'm guessing this is the cause of the power cycling in your video.

Agreed. Just wanted to make sure people who wanted this to be a bag solution know that it really is not.

How about packing this system to head to the location?

@@Slipsch the antennae adjust on 2 axis so you can unfold them and carry in a camera bag.

One good thing about removable antennae: you can replace them if they get damaged.

Hi! Actually this is also compatible with bag. There is even printed guide inside of the box how to use it on the sound bag.@@curtisjudd

Replaceable batteries.

@@curtisjudd How about the quality of the sound? In terms of clarity etc, not referring to the mic. Much like how different audio interface have different preamp sound. And I heard that system like DJI and Rode uses a different voltage? Because when I was ordering the DPA 4060 lav mic I notice different system using different voltage. How does this come into play when it comes to sound quality?

@@Slipsch The microphone will generally make a bigger difference in my experience. Under-volting a microphone can damage it, so if you're planning to use external mics regularly, especially expensive mics like a DPA, I'd make sure the voltages supplied by the transmitter are within the range the microphone needs.

My guess is the ME2’s limited dynamic range means that the fans in my lights make a noise floor that sits higher than I’d like.

@@curtisjudd that could be… maybe it just needs to be run a bit hotter. But that’s just my take. Ps starting to use more and more DPA 4060 against cos11. They seem to sound better on these consumer gear than Sanken do. Would you be kind, if the time allows it to such a test?

@@sebastianciho yes, if the budget allows.

Auto Scan is available directly from the Receiver in standalone configurations or via the Smart Assist app - the app is essentially an extension of the receiver, allowing you to make the same changes while not being physically next to it. The major advantage of using the app for the Auto Scan feature comes into play when you're setting up multiple channels of wireless since it will find open frequencies for each receiver then walk you through synchronizing each of your transmitters.

Thank you!

In 2023, I’d opt for the EW-DP or the So y system.

No! Much faster and easier.

You can still clip in the wireless system before the audio ever gets to the recorder. But it won't hurt to plug the EW-DP into a 32-bit float recorder.

@@curtisjudd Wow thank you for your answer! Do you think analog sennheiser systems like the G4 are still relevant today? Are the G4s a better choice vs the EW-DP if you want 32 bit float?

@@V_SURF They're still relevant and lots of people are using them and making fine audio with them. But they're not any better for 32-bit float. They can also clip. If you have the budget for higher end gear and clipping audio is a serious problem for your work, the Zaxcom, Sound Devices, and SHURE Axient digital systems manage dynamic range in slightly different ways to prevent clipping.

May I ask you how it's possible to clip analog systems?@@curtisjudd

@@V_SURF The microphone can distort at high SPLs and the analogue preamp can also be overloaded. Also, many analogue systems use a companding system which compresses the audio at the transmitter and then expands it again at the receiver. If you're pushing the limits of what the analogue preamp can handle, in terms of dynamic range, the compression and expansion can potentially compound that issue.

XLR female to mini XLR male adapter cables

@@curtisjudd what brand ?

@@JoshSmith-ct3fi Blackmagic Design as I recall.

Yes.

Same here

@@humphreybrondy nvm I just got myself one, it’s clean as day. Love it!

It is not necessary.

@@curtisjudd Thanks for the reply!

LOL! Not me, Sennheiser can take your money.

Either one of the US models are fine for CA.

@@curtisjudd thanks..also what's either one? will those be good for Texas and Vegas too?

@@creativegreatsvisuals The unlicensed, legal frequencies to use in the US are the same from state to state. What differs is what TV stations broadcast, if any, within the same frequencies. You'll have to work around those. You should be fine with the 470 - 542 MHz model for every city in the US.

thank you so much ​@@LearnLightAndSoundSessions

Not sure, best to contact Sennheiser support to confirm.

Sure can! One UHF transmitter can feed an unlimited amount of UHF receivers (think of the transmitter as a radio station and the receivers as cars... there's no limit to the number of cars that can listen in).

@@robb.blumenreder I asked Sennheiser about this. The answer is: no! With the old EW G4 that worked fine but the new EW-DP receiver makes a “Sync” connection with the transmitter so it can adjust gain and other features in the transmitter. This “Sync” connection can only be made with one transmitter. That’s what they told me and it makes sense to me. Thank you for your thoughts!

Hi @@trioristretto2431 - please allow me to clarify what I think our support team meant. When using the sync function to link a transmitter to a receiver, the receiver takes priority since that's what you're scanning your environment with. However, you can absolutely manually set identical frequencies for multiple receivers and send the same transmission signal to all of them; frequencies can be set via the Receiver Menu or via the Smart Assist app. As an aside, all gain adjustments can be individually adjusted at each receiver as there is no gain setting on the EW-D SK transmitter.

@@robb.blumenreder So, what you are saying is that Sennheiser support does not know how their product works?

Hmmm, no, outdoors in a similar test with no buildings nearby, AVX did NOT perform better for me. Indoors the EW-DP performed better in my range samples.

@@curtisjudd Ok, thanks. I remeber a video in which you test the AVX range and you get almost a 100m outdoors. Maybe I'm confused.

Simple, but less flexible (AVX), slightly more work to set up, but can adapt with different frequencies (EW-DP)? Choose the one which fits your needs.

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Yeah I was think dual channel receiver too !

@@ScoobieDee It's weird for a company like Sennheiser to do this, the sad thing is, it will take them 4-7 years before we see a new model. I would use Sennheiser just for the brand, but looking at what Deity is offering. It's hard to justify the Sennheiser.

Important, actually critical note: DEITY THEOS is not shipping, we don’t yet know the price, and we don’t know how well it works. It is premature to say it is better than any other system.

@@curtisjudd I won't say that it will be better than the sennheiser, but I'm saying that sennheiser should have included all the features that the theos is bringing.

That would be nice, yes. And I hope DEITY does deliver all of these features. Still, the fact remains that Sennheiser has a shipping product and DEITY has made promises and showed a prototype at trade shows.

To hold the filters which are a standard size

Note that is ONLY when you set the output to LINE level, not microphone level. In deeper testing, I found the self noise levels to be more dependent on the lavalier microphone used. That was only a note for people recording with field recorders who expect a line level output. For direct to camera audio, this system is quite good.

@@curtisjudd when I did a comparison between the ME 2 and the MKE 2 mic at first I wasn’t that impressed with the MKE 2 at 2.5 x the price … however when breaking it down I realised the MKE was better in so many small ways it was well worth it and one of those things is the noise floor on the ME 2, its really quite bad in comparison to the MKE 2 ( not as bad as the standard Deity lapels though)

@@ScoobieDee that matches my experience. 👍

@@curtisjudd This clarification warrants writing in your description field, IMHO.

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