Lectrosonics and Heil Sound recently announced a partnership which resulted in the Lectrosonics UTPR20, a combination of Heil dynamic mic technology and Lectrosonics wireless designs. Karl Winkler, Lectrosonics Director of Business Development, told Gearwire the two companies want the change the standards for pro wireless mic systems, and that the UTPR20 is the first step in that direction.

The UTPR20 gives Heil lovers the chance to take the sound they are already happy with from a Heil dynamic mic and go wireless with it. According to Winkler, another advantage will please those who rely on Lectrosonics wireless gear. ". . . Because the UT transmitter and related receivers use our Digital Hybrid Wireless technology, there is no compandor in the audio path and thus the wired and wireless versions of these microphones should sound identical." Winkler added, "Today, almost all wireless handheld mics employ an audio compandor, which robs the capsule of some of its sound quality."

"Our approach with the Lectrosonics/Heil microphone will be to again appeal to the artists by demonstrating that they can have the great sound of their Heil microphone in a wireless package."

Developing the UTPR20 wasn't as simple as grabbing a Heil mic and putting it together with a Lectrosonics wireless system. A careful screening of mics, capsules, and performance aesthetics had to be conducted. Says Winkler, "We started with Bob sending me various microphones and capsules and our
team here looked at the physical construction and dimensions of the capsules, and also did some subjective listening tests. We ended up choosing the PR20 as the best for our purposes."

All the mics had to have their tech data measured against Lectrosonics existing wireless systems to see where designs needed altering. "Part of this was the desire to change as few things as possible in the transmitter circuit, thus avoiding developing a complete product from the ground up, unless absolutely necessary. As it turned out, the transmitter has an input circuit and sensitivity well
suited to handle the output of Heil's capsule."

The next phase in the process is to select the mechanical mounting, and for a dynamic mic capsule there are many factors to consider. "Since a dynamic capsule is much larger than a condenser, and any directional microphone is very sensitive to handling noise, this is not a small consideration. We evaluated a number of potential mounting designs before choosing the final version for production."

The UTPR20 is made for on-stage vocals. Heil and Lectrosonics designers are keenly aware of the need to appeal directly to the needs of the person holding the mic combined with the challenge of building a mic or mic system capable of improving on tried-and-true designs.

"In terms of catering to the market, vocal microphone selection is very much driven by the artists and the people with whom they work, such as monitor engineers, front-of-house engineers, etc. And today, there are a handful of popular performance mics so it is difficult to get traction with something new.

"Several years ago, I was in a similar position as an employee of Neumann/USA, because at that time, they were introducing the KMS105 condenser performance mic. Sound companies weren't terribly interested in it so we started approaching the artists directly through marketing and relationships. The basic idea was that vocalists were settling for sub-par microphones in terms of sound on the stage, but were very conscious of what they were using in the studio. We made efforts to appeal to them on the grounds that there was no reason they shouldn't sound amazing on stage the way they do in the studio."

The Lectrosonics UTPR20 is scheduled to hit the market in February. MSRP is estimated at $1695.