Sennheiser EW-DP ENG Set Review: The Ultimate Wireless Audio Transmitter and Receiver
Today we're taking a look at the Sennheiser EW-DP ENG set, arguably the best wireless audio transmitter and receiver on the market.
Sennheiser EW-DP ENG Set
Today we are taking a look at the Evolution Wireless-Digital Portable system from Sennheiser, or EW-DP for short.
Now this was very kindly sent to me by Sennheiser to test out but as always, all thoughts and opinions about the product are my own.
I've worked as a filmmaker for over a decade now and this includes shooting weddings, corporate and commercial jobs as well as live TV.
I've used a variety of microphones and wirless systems throughout my career and this includes previous versions of Sennheiser's own systems such as the G2's.
And so I was very excited when they reached out about the EW-DP and incredibly keen to test it out and see what it was capable of.
Unboxing & First Impressions
Let's take a look at what actually comes with the EW-DP kit.
I should point out that there are actually a few different variations and the specific one I'll be using is the EW-DP ENG Set.
This comes with:
EW-DP EK receiver
EW-D SK Transmitter
ME 2 omnidirectional lavalier microphone
EW-DP SKP digital plug-on transmitter
Mounting kit (which includes cheese plate, cold shoe, belt clip & screws)
BA 70 li-ion battery
AA batteries
Locking 3.5 mm TRS plug to 3.5 mm TRS plug cable
Locking 3.5 mm TRS plug to XLR plug cable
USB-C charging cable
So there are actually two transmitters that come with this set, one is the bodypack and the other is the SKP transmitter.
The SKP lets you wirelessly connect to any XLR microphone.
This gives you a huge variety of options when it comes to recording audio.
Not only does it also include a 48v phantom power option, but you can also insert a micro sd card for 32-bit recording as a backup.
Along with this set, I'll be using the following mics as part of this video:
MKE Essential
MKE 600
and the MK 416
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Review
So what makes this system so special
The EW-DP is a fully digital wirless system, not only does this make it incredibly simple to sync and set up. It allows for 134 dB of dynamic range, and you can set your gain at the receiver. This is perfect for those of us that operate the camera and also have to do sound as well.
There is also an Ultra-low-latency performance of just 1.9 ms
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To attach the Receiver to you camera you simply need to screw on the included cold shoe mount.
If you wanted to add an additional receiver, you can use the magnetic cheese plate to stack the units on top of each other.
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Let me show you how easy it is to actually sync the EW-DP system and get everything set up.
On the receiver, you just need to select set and go down to auto-scan. Once it's done, you can select set again to save that.
To sync this to the bodypack, make sure it is turned on first and then simply press the sync button on the top of the transmitter and on the receiver.
You can turn down the audio level on your camera and set the gain on the receiver.
Now to use the SKP instead of the bodypack.
Again make sure it is turned on.
Press the sync button on the SKP and again on the receiver.
Remember if you are using a condenser microphone that requires phantom power to press the 48v power button as well.
You can only sync one transmitter to the same receiver. You can't connect the SKP and the bodypack transmitter at the same time for example.
If you need to record directly into the SKP, you just need to press the record button if you have a micro sd card inserted.
You'll see the button lights up when it is recording.
You do also have the option to plug a mic directly into the SKP, this allows you to use it as another bodypack transmitter should you need to, but you won't be able to use the XLR input at the same time.
As you can see this whole process is very simple which makes life so much easier when it comes to setting up and getting things ready to go.
Sennheiser also has an app that you can use along with the EW-DP system.
This is also incredibly simple to use. You just need to select add devices. Hold sync on the SKP and it will show up in the app, you can do the same for the receiver. Then select each of them and add them to your set-up.
It will then walk you through the auto-scan set-up.
Once that is complete, just resync the transmitter and receiver as mentioned before and you will see this appear in the app.
Inside the app you are able to control things on the transmitter such as phantom power, the 32 bit recording option, as well as formatting the Mirco SD card.
You also have various options with the receiver such as autoscanning, and adjusting the gain and output level. You are also able to update the firmware from here as well.
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Now let's do a bit of a range test
Basically, I'll start recording and walking away until I can see that I'm starting to lose signal.
First I'll use the EW-D SK and then I'll use the SKP
As the SKP has the built-in redundancy feature, I may just keep walking until the camera can't see me anymore.
This is not a scientific test by any means but hopefully, it will give you a good idea of the range.
And just to give you some more comparisons I'll be trying this with the
ME 2
MKE Essential
MKE 600
and the MK 416
I'll also do a test indoors so you can see how it does with walls for example.
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Let's talk a bit about battery life
With the lithium-ion rechargeable battery pack that comes with the set you can get up to 12h on the transmitter and 7h on the receiver which is great and will cover most shooting situations.
You can also see a clear display of how much battery is left both on the units and from within the app.
What's really good though is that you can also use AA batteries or by powering directly via USB C.
Having these other options gives you that piece of mind knowing that you should always have a way to power the kit.
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Now I talked about this earlier briefly, but let's go into a bit more detail on what 32-bit float recording is and why it's so useful to have with the SKP.
32-bit float allows you to record from the quietest of whispers to incredibly loud shouting.
The best part is you don't have to worry about setting your gain level or worry about distortion or clipping.
So why is this useful?
In most situations you will be fine not using 32-bit float recording, where it comes in use is the circumstances where something goes wrong.
For example, someone starts shouting suddenly or there is a loud bang and your original recording clips.
With the 32-bit float backup recording, you can bring down these levels in post and all the original unclipped data is still there.
Here's an example from a 24 bit clip that has been distorted and bought into post
and here is an example from a 32 bit float clip
you can see how all the detail is still there when the levels are brought back down within range.
This can be a huge lifesaver.
Tips for Using Wireless Booms
Personally, I really enjoy using the EW-DP system and SKP transmitter as a wireless boom.
This helps to keep me set up nice and tidy, not having to worry about cables.
Here are some tips to keep in mind when using a shotgun mic to make sure you get good clean audio every time.
You always want to get the mic as close to the subject as possible, without having it in frame.
It's also good to try and maintain the same distance from shot to shot where possible so there isn't a drastic change in the sound quality
It may sound obvious but the mic should be position so that is facing towards the subjects mouth or just in front of it where the sound will be projected.
I try to aim for roughly 2 hand lengths away where possible
As I film a lot of interviews, I like to use a stand when booming, this avoids unwanted noises being picked up accidentally when repositioning hands on the boom pole. This is another advantage to using the SKP transmitter.
When positioning the boom, as well as avoiding seeing it in frame, you should also consider where the light is coming from to avoid creating shadows with the boom as well.
Another point worth mentioning is that, depending on the scene location or shot type for example, you may need to position the boom from below rather than above to try and avoid unwanted sounds being picked up.
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Showcase "behind-the-scenes examples of how to use the EW-DP system for different filmmaking situations.
So the EW-DP system is designed to be used in a whole variety of situations.
Let me run you through a few examples here, just to give you an idea of how you might use it.
As mentioned before, I film a lot of sit-down interviews and for this, I really like to use the SKP transmitter with a boom.
This is ideal for this kind of situation as I know the talent on screen is not going to be moving and so I can position the mic perfectly.
It also means I can save time by not having to mic up each person that will be interviewed with Lav, they can just sit down. For corporate interviews or testimonials as example, where you may be filming 10-20 people, this is a huge time saver.
Now if I were filming a presenter who was walking and talking, here is where I would use the EW-DP with the bodypack transmitter.
In this situation, the on-screen talent may be a bit more unpredictable and so by having them where the lav, it doesn't really matter where they are positioned as the audio will remain the same.
I could also use multiple receivers and transmitters if needed, depending on how many people were in the scene.
Conclusion & Overall Thoughts
A lot of consumer systems operate at the 2.4 GHz band and this can lead to interference, especially in certain situations. This isn't an issue with the EW-DP and having a professional system like this to rely on just gives me that extra peace of mind. Plus having the 32-bit float redundancy recording is just another added bit of security.
There are a tonne of incredibly useful features with this system, but just being able to adjust the gain directly from the receiver or app makes a huge positive difference in my workflow.
Overall the EW-DP system is fantastic. If you are someone like me, who does a lot of work on your own I can't recommend it enough. It's a reliable professional system, that you can use in a whole variety of situations.
I hope you found this video useful, as always if you have any questions, let me know in the comments and if you'd like to see more videos like this, you can subscribe or click on one of the videos here.
I'll see you next time, take care.