Feature:
The features are ok. They have everything you would expect. Very simple operation. I wish somebody would make a model that the transmitter can receive different mixes and send maybe two or four signals at a time so you don't have to buy a transmitter for every submix on your board.
Quality:
Quality is a sore subject with me. I had my band all using the the PDM500 and every night it was a gamble as to whether or not we should throw the wedge monitors I own in the van. I was left high and dry at a show a month ago because we could not get four recievers (of the six that I own) to give us all clear channels at the same time. So we had to play the show without monitors at all. The volume knobs on the recievers SUCK. If you get a bad one you will know it right away because the reciever will give you no sound at all or full volume even with the voulume limiter on! I had to return three of six recievers I purchased for that problem alone. The transmitter for this system has problems because (I believe) of it's base in the UHF range. It intermittenly "freaks" or it's a problem with the beltpack recievers but it will occasionally shoot a signal of white noise. It seems like a little thing but if you are onstage for 3 hours a night it burns your ears out FAST. I'm a full time professional musician and I wish I had saved my money and bought complete higher end in-ear systems right off the bat. I think from the factory everything looks great but I haven't got time for a product that is not 100 percent dependable.
Value:
If you play occasionally and don't want to put a lot of money into a monitor system you may want to try it. I personally think this product makes more people swear off In-ears than it helps. On this product the old saying holds very true. You get what you pay for. I would not recomend this for a professional musician because you will end up buying something else later.
Desirability:
It had some very practical applications. Less weight than a set of wedges. Less volume onstage. It would put less strain on my voice if I could hear myself better. Etc. I know now i should have waited and spent the money on quality not quantity.
Sound:
The headphones that come with the set are very cheap walkman
style phones. The first thing they should do is figure out a way to include a set of phones that can handle a little bass end. I play with a full band and that includes a drum kit. It is IMPOSSIBLE and I mean IMPOSSIBLE to make the volume of the phones loud enough to get over the band without distortion. The recievers (beltpacks) are made of plastic. They are not very road worthy and in fact if you open the battery casing to fast you will snap the tiny hinges off. I owned this set up for a little more than six months before I retired it and I had already been through eight receivers. Not because they break but because the signal drawing capability of this particular product seems to change with the weather litterally. My bass player and I figured out that if the gear had been sitting in the van and got cold that as soon as we turned on the system you could not get 4 clear signal receptions out of the six recievers I carry in my set -up. we would actually have to warm up the transmitter by putting our hands on top of it or sticking it under our shirts to get it warm. 16 channels and some nights you can't get one to come in any clearer than a Wal-mart brand kids walkie talkie. It drove me nuts.
Support:
They are really good about sending out a new reciever or transmitter if you have a problem. I have so far had to do this three times. No complaints about the service.
Overall:
The reason I bought this product is because I'm a working musician and I have been having trouble with my voice due to straining to sing over the band. Volume control on stage is hard with a drummer and I thought the headphones would help the band quiet down and also help us to hear each other better. The only reason I chose this product was the price since I had to purchase receivers for four people. I now have a product sitting in my basement that I can't use because of it's technical inefficiencies.
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