The PSM®900 Wireless Personal Monitor System with SE425 (clear) Sound Isolating™ Earphones (P9TR425CL) is now shipping!*

Place your orders now!

The PSM®900 Wireless Personal Monitor System adds to the unmatched suite of professional wireless products and microphones that makes Shure the one-stop shop for all on-stage audio.

• PSM®900 Wireless Personal Monitor System without Earphones (P9TR) $1099.00
• PSM®900 Wireless Personal Monitor System with SE425 Earphones (P9TR425CL) $1330.00
• PSM®900 Transmitter (P9T) $649.00
• PSM®900 Body pack Receiver (P9R) $450.00

In addition, Wireless Workbench 5 (WWB5) now has PSM®900 frequencies included.  This update is accessed while in WWB5 (no new download required).  Wireless Workbench 5 is your wireless command center for frequency coordination of any Shure Wireless product. WWB5 takes the guesswork out of frequency coordination and provides a graphic display of your RF environment.

PSM®900 offers the most premium set of features and ease of setup ever available in a personal monitoring system.

Unsurpassed Audio Quality

Robust RF Performance

Category-Leading Feature Set

* Orders are shipping first come, first serve and in the order in which they were received.

Update: Shure PSM900 will now ship March 24.

That means the Shure PSM900 Pre-order Sale at JSS has been extended to midnight of March 23, 2010 CST

Be one of the first to get the new Shure PSM900. The units will ship first come first serve so get your order in now to ensure prompt delivery and to take advantage of our pre-order sale price.

Contact Jason Spence for pre-order SALE pricing at (615) 534-1190 Ext. 2 or Email Jason

This past week, Shure debuted it’s new PSM 900 wireless personal in-ear monitor system at the 2010 winter NAMM convention. Boasting better RF performance and sonic quality than any other wireless in-ear monitor system on the market. I spoke with Geno, a Shure engineer at NAMM about their new system. He described the feature packed bells and whistles of the system. Of which many of us have become spoiled with; allowing us to efficiently program multiple wireless systems. Features such as infrared sync and group/channel scanning. The PSM 900 takes these features to another level. In under 5 seconds, I was able to scan the entire group and lock in those frequencies! Another 2 seconds and it was synced via infrared, very cool!

I really like the P9R bodypack. It’s small and lightweight but does not feel fragile. It is actually made of metal! According to Shure it’s the thinnest personal monitor bodypack available. One feature which is worth the price of admission alone, especially to us monitor engineers is CueMode. CueMode can be enabled on any bodypack and gives the ability to select and monitor up to 20 different mixes without the need of additional equipment. You can actually monitor the audio you’re transmitting without the coloration of a consoles cue section electronics and yes, that means you’re also monitoring the RF! Another cool feature is the ability to mute the PSM 900 RF. This allows you to scan and program your system while other bands are performing. Without interfering with other RF systems being used. The effects of inter-modulation are greatly reduced by the precision front-end RF filtering of the PSM 900. Up to 20 compatible frequencies per 36 Megahertz frequency range are possible.

I haven’t had a chance to field test it, which is the only true way to give a piece of gear the thumbs up or down I did however take a listen to it at the Shure booth during NAMM. The program being played was unfamiliar but in trying to focus on the sonic quality of the system my initial reaction was that it did seem light years ahead of previous wireless PSM systems. The low end seemed tight and punchy and the noise floor was very low. The price point for the new PSM 900 is about $1000.00 and should start shipping mid-2010.

Not having network capability is a HUGE drawback with today’s coordination that is required for multi-RF systems. Despite that, the system can be managed quickly and easily so all and all it seems to be a great system.  I can’t wait to take it for a test drive to see what it sounds like out in the trenches. Stay tuned…

Jason Spence – Owner

jason@jss.net

(615) 534-1190 Ext. 2

Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau 700 MHz Public Safety Spectrum

The 700 MHz Band comprises 108 megahertz of spectrum from 698-806 MHz and is designated for commercial and public safety uses. Currently, this spectrum is occupied by TV broadcasters in Channels 52-69. Congress has directed that TV broadcasters transition to digital broadcast technology and vacate the spectrum in order to accommodate wireless commercial and public safety uses of the spectrum. The Digital Television and Public Safety Act of 2005 (DTV Act) set a firm deadline of June 12, 2009, for the completion of the DTV transition. In July 2007, the Commission adopted the 700 MHz Second Report and Order that adopted a regulatory framework for the 700 MHz public safety band to facilitate the establishment of a nationwide, interoperable broadband communications network for the benefit of state and local public safety users.

What does this mean? It is no longer legal to operate a wireless system in the 700MHz bandwidth.

That’s the bad news. The good news is that manufacturers are offering rebates of up to $1000 toward updating your wireless system but TIME IS RUNNING OUT. Take advantage of these rebates before it’s too late.

This photo was taken in India, the place many of us reach when calling technical support with a question. Not the case at JSS. Whether a Royer ribbon microphone, a Yamaha digital mixer, or a Shure wireless system, we at JSS have the answer for the issue. Call us today and let us help you. (615) 534-1190. Our years continue to accumulate as we continue to use the gear, not just sell it.

Jason Spence
Audio Engineer/Owner
www.JSS.net

Procell Alkaline vs. NiHM & NiCad

Recently while mixing a taping of a multi act television show, the runner was sent out to bring back batteries for the Shure UHF-R and Sennheiser e300 wireless systems we were using. Upon her return, she was very proud of the deal she had found on the batteries we needed. I painted on a smile, congratulated and thanked her for her successful efforts. Then I turned and sighed with disappointment because the deal she had found was unfortunately on nickel-cadmium batteries as opposed to alkaline batteries. We made it through three days, around eight bands and only lost one RF mic. Thankfully it was not the lead singer that was in the camera shot the majority of the time. Because we were not clear to only get alkaline batteries we would really have to be on our toes about keeping the batteries changed between acts.

Rumors of battery life indicators on wireless systems being released in the near future that can monitor the drain of other types of batteries, such as nickel-cadmium (NiCad) or nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) exist but for now the wireless systems in the market account for the drain characteristics of an alkaline battery. Even if new technology on RF systems can consider other types of batteries and their drain characteristics, I’ll stick with a good ol’ high-drain, industrial Procell alkaline battery and here’s why.

The slope of the discharge curves between various batteries directly impacts the performance of your wireless system (Fig A). The discharge curve is calculated by the time of discharge versus the voltage drain of a batteries life. In other words, how long do you have before the battery will no longer power your wireless component.
The discharge curve slope of a NiCad and NiMH battery is quite steep (Fig A). What this means is that when this type of battery drops below the voltage your wireless system needs to continue to operate, it happens very fast. This is not a desirable discharge curve for our wireless system components. You may be in the middle of a show and loose your lead singers microphone without warning.

Fig A

There are two reasons I use Procells over other alkaline batteries. The Procell alkaline battery’s major advantages are a high energy density; the ability to operate continuously at relatively high discharge rates (in your wireless system) over a wide temperature range; and a shelf life in excess of four years. The second reason is cost. The cost of the alkaline battery, on a service life basis, is lowest in medium to high drain applications.

If your production has a tight budget or you just want to be more efficient – here are some simple tips to get more life out of your batteries.

(1) Turn it off after sound check (2) Use your batteries from the previous show for sound check (3) Always meter your batteries (4) Let JSS help determine your battery usage to. This will allow you to purchase at the highest quantities/lower cost without haaving them ‘on the shelf’ too long (5) RECYCLE! I feel extremely guilty for the amount of alkaline batteries I’ve tossed into our landfills around the world, thousands I’m sure. In an effort to remedy that, we at JSS are committed to not further damage our environment. If you bring JSS your used batteries we will apply a discount to your next battery purchase at JSS. If you don’t bring them to us, we urge you to find a recycling center near you that accepts them. Even if you didn’t purchase them from us, we’ll still gladly accept and dispose of them properly.

Jason Spence
Audio Engineer/Owner of JSS
(615) 534-1190
www.JSS.net

The Shure UHF-R Series Wireless Systems are truly the industry standard for professional touring wireless systems. With up to 2400 selectable frequencies there is no doubt you will be able to navigate to a clear frequency in any theater, stadium, or arena. All UHF-R systems include Shure’s patented Audio Referencing Companding, which provides crystal-clear sound quality that is unprecedented.

Versatility

UHF-R wireless systems can truly be used in any application. No matter if you want an SM58, SM86, SM87, KSM9, Beta58a, Beta87a, or even Beta87c, UHF-R has you covered. Any wireless microphone capsule Shure manufacturers can be connected to the UR2 handheld transmitter. If you are looking for something along the lines of a lavaliere microphone or a guitar wireless, Shure has the UR1 bodypack transmitter. Now we didn’t forget you theater folk, the Shure UR1M micro-bodypack transmitter is a miniature version of the UR1 which is lighter weight and physically smaller than the UR1 making it easier to conceal in a costume.

Wireless Workbench

When the UHF-R receiver systems are connected to Shure’s Wireless Workbench software you are able to scan the frequency spectrum in your room and navigate your system to the clearest frequency. Another benefit to using Wireless Workbench is that you are able to see the RF noise floor, any RF intermodulations from existing wireless pilot tones, and control all of your wireless systems from a single point interface. Wireless Workbench is available for both Windows Vista and Mac OSX and to top it off, it is a FREE application.

To be honest, there is nothing not to love about Shure’s UHF-R Systems. At JSS, we highly recommend the UHF-R systems because they are a product we can rely on to deliver extraordinary performance and superior audio quality along with providing a true solution to any wireless situation. If you have any questions regarding Shure UHF-R wireless, please do not hesitate to give me a call, I will be happy to help! Thanks again for reading!

Forrest Colegrove
JSS – Account Manager
fcolegrove@jss.net
615-663-4481
www.JSS.net