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Lectrosonics M2 Duet Digital Wireless Monitor System
By Rob Nevalainen
Lectrosonics recently sent me its latest in-ear monitor system offering , the M2 Duet , to put through its paces . I am always looking for innovative products that help sound technicians better manage their audio palette , and was excited to see what this latest generation could provide .
A little about my background : I have been mixing in-ear monitors since 1991 ( wow – that ’ s a really long time !) and have had the opportunity to use just about every in-ear monitor product out there . It has been quite a journey through the evolution of these products , and the M2 Duet is now on the cutting edge of this progression .
The Details The M2 Duet system is a next-generation digital wireless in-ear monitor system or IFB . It consists of a half-rack transmitter and a small bodypack receiver . One of the big considerations of digital monitoring systems is that of latency ; if the value is too high , the net result feels unnatural . The M2 has a very low native latency of 1.4 ms , well within the range where I feel the listener will not notice the difference .
With the usable frequency spectrum continually shrinking while events and tours demand more available channels , frequency diversity has become very important . The M2 Duet has a tunable range of 470-608 MHz , which covers everything currently available in the UHF band for North America . This means that for a rental company , instead of having to buy multiple groups of frequencies , you only need to invest in one transmitter / receiver group to be frequency diverse across the entire available range .
In Use One of the first things I noticed taking the system out of the packaging is how robust the build quality is . Lectrosonics has a reputation for building products that last , and this is no different .
The M2R is a bodypack made from aluminum that feels solid in your hand . It has a very nice colour display with four buttons below allowing you to control a large number of functions . One of the nicest features is that the display allows you to see a lot of information at one time , including RF strength , battery life , mono / stereo setting , frequency , bodypack name , and very nice high resolution left / right audio metering . And , maybe understated , is the ability to see a numeric value for the output volume . I ’ ve often encountered the situation where the artist wants to replicate the same pack output volume every night but “ guess-timates ” the level based on where the volume pot appears to be . With this system , they can accurately set the level exactly where they had it at the previous performance .
Another great feature of this system is its small footprint . Two stereo systems fit in a half rack space , or four stereo systems can occupy a single rack space . It can also be used as four mono IFB channels in a half rack space or eight mono systems in a single rack space . Four XLR input connectors on the back allow the user to connect analog inputs , and there is a Dante option for digital inputs . The front panel allows the user to configure either one or both of the units for digital or analog inputs .
My battery rundown tests with non-rechargeable lithium batteries gave me seven hours of use while rechargeable NiMH batteries yielded about five-and-a-half . This is plenty for most performances . As mentioned earlier , there is information on the display to show the percentage of life left , as well as an LED on the front that
changes colour as the percentage goes down in case the display is set to sleep mode .
During my walk test , I was able to consistently get approximately 200 ft . of range with the stock whip antennas . The diversity seemed to seamlessly switch .
The M2 has a feature called Smart Tune that , when engaged , scans the local area and determines the best available frequency . It ’ s a great , quick set-up option that can make sure you are out of the way of neighbouring transmissions . There is also a FlexList that allows the user to set up to 16 different profiles , by name , to directly listen to any of the mixes in your system .
Wireless Designer is the company ’ s software to control the system remotely . It easily allows the user to name the individual systems and to control any of the parameters on the M2T over a network or USB . Connectivity was straightforward , and this was a nice to way to configure a large system .
Summary At the end of the day , as much as the functionality is important , the sound of the system is what most users are interested in . I played a few higher-quality MP3 recordings through the system and was pleasantly surprised at how natural the sound was . The stereo separation was sensational ! It was definitely one of the best stereo listening experiences I ’ ve had . I moved on to some Pro Tools show recordings I ’ ve recently made and found that the instruments sat beautifully in the stereo field . The imaging almost made it feel like I was witnessing the show again , with a nice depth of field and everything in its place .
Considering the constraints of digital television transmission and the crowded airspace we face , moving to digital RF transmission systems seems inevitable . The Lectrosonics M2 Duet gets you there today with amazing audio quality and a fantastic set of tools to allow for a quick and painless set-up .
Rob Nevalainen is a veteran audio professional and the owner of Gearforce , a pro audio rental company based in Vancouver . www . gearforce . com .
22 PROFESSIONAL SOUND