Road Test: The New RE3 Wireless Microphone System From Electro-Voice

The Real World

Our first stop was a show at a school featuring a variety of child performances presented by two teachers. I supplied one of the female teachers with the ND76-equipped handheld, finding that very little EQ was needed for her voice to sound natural. I opted for the cardioid pattern in this case because many non-professional presenters aren’t used to a tighter pattern.

A male faculty member also used the transmitter during the show and sounded natural as well. There wasn’t a single dropout during the 1-hour performance, and the battery meter showed a full charge.

A few days later we ventured to work a government meeting with a moderator who I normally put on a headset mic. She agreed to switch to the OL3 lav this time out, so I clipped the mic to her shirt and we did a sound check before the meeting.

The mic’s pick-up of her voice proved solid, even when she turned her head from side to side. She commented on just how small the mic is and also liked the top-mounted, color-changing Mute button on the beltpack that allowed her to have private conversations during breaks between presenters.

A youth concert at a local church proved a good opportunity to utilize the handheld with the RE520 condenser element. Both male and female singers utilized it, and every voice sounded natural to my ears. I engaged the roll-off switch to attenuate everything below 150 Hz and did minor EQ adjustment on the console for each user, and that was it.

Wrapping It Up

Our final gig was a wedding held in an event space with an adjacent outdoor patio area. The receiver was placed at front of house, a distance about 50 feet from the patio door. During the proceedings, the DJ carried the transmitter around the room to get comments from the crowd while everyone waited for the bride and groom to arrive from the church.

One more look at the new EV RE3 wireless system.

My attention was diverted for a minute by a question from the event coordinator and to my surprise, the DJ gone out to the patio to talk to folks. The system took zero hits despite a path blocked by both a brick wall and glass door, and the transmitter was even running on the lower power setting. Following this multi-hour event, the receiver showed two bars on the battery meter, indicating we had from 20 to 40 percent of battery life left.

The RE3 wireless system is impressive. The handheld transmitter is rugged and so solid that it feels like it should cost much more. The beltpack also has a very durable feel – my only wish is that the controls were located on the inside of the pack – having them on the outside makes the unit look “busy,” and if the tech forgets to lock the controls, a presenter could possibly change a setting or turn the pack off.

The optional drop-in charger for use of rechargeable batteries in both transmitters are a big plus. A small investment in this option can lead to a big savings in terms of battery expenses.

Anyone in the market for a quality, versatile wireless microphone system should put the RE3 at the top of the list of choices. And with 10 system packages to choose from, there’s likely to be at least one for most applications.

U.S. MAP for pre-packated EV RE3 system sets: $459 to $749. Find out more here.

Electro-Voice