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Author Topic: Digital Wireless IMD (Sennheiser 6000 vs. Axient Digital)  (Read 4458 times)

Diogo Nunes Pereira

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Digital Wireless IMD (Sennheiser 6000 vs. Axient Digital)
« on: May 07, 2018, 06:19:16 AM »

Hi all.

This last week I had the opportunity to visit RF World at the Eurovision Song Contest in Lisboa. Sennheiser is providing all mics and IEMs for the show and invited a bunch of EU techs to attend a seminar and tour the ESC backstage. Lucky to be among them... pretty impressed with the ESC setup.

All wireless mics are Digital 6000 systems and during the seminar they demonstrated the ability to have lots of transmitters in close proximity.

Scans from this setup were IMD free, and all transmitters were equally-spaced 600kHz. (To bad I didn't take a photo of the analyser on-screen. You'll have to trust me on that one...)

The ability to equal-space digital transmitters in frequency gives some great advantages over analog and I thought all digital wireless produced no IMD. I did make this statement in conversation and a Sennheiser gentlemen told I was wrong - that not all digital wireless produce no IMD, that their systems are free but not all brands digital RF systems perform the same...  ???

Luckily enough, a friend in Lisbon I went to visit after the seminar had a Axient Digital demo-rack in the warehouse, and I had some time to kill before taking to the airport. So I gave it a go and made some measurements:

I had four Axient digital transmitters (2 packs + 2 handhelds) in close proximity. Equally spaced them 400 kHz, because WWB profile allows for 350k spacing in the "More Frequencies" compatibility setup. With 2mW power some very low IMD could be perceived, but at high power (20mW) in the bunker I was in IMD was well noticeable.

So it does seem not all digital wireless is the same. Now, will you help understand why?

All scan files and additional screenshots in my dropbox. Link:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/sfx28bn9eol7lh2/AADt2rMzNn5e0h3x-YVOn1-Ia?dl=0
« Last Edit: May 07, 2018, 09:22:36 AM by Diogo Nunes Pereira »
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Diogo Nunes Pereira
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Dan Currie

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Re: Digital Wireless IMD (Sennheiser 6000 vs. Axient Digital)
« Reply #1 on: May 07, 2018, 09:29:54 AM »

I haven't had a chance to measure a Digital 6000.  However, my intuition is the IMD are there, just under the noise floor of his SA.

Here are picts of 2x AD1 on top of each other.  The only difference is I used my hand to cover the antenna in the first picture.  This effectively lowered the noise floor of the SA revealing the IMD.



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Jean-Pierre Coetzee

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Re: Digital Wireless IMD (Sennheiser 6000 vs. Axient Digital)
« Reply #2 on: May 07, 2018, 10:44:09 AM »

I agree with Dan, I don't see how changing from analogue to digital changes the laws of physics.
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Jason Glass

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Re: Digital Wireless IMD (Sennheiser 6000 vs. Axient Digital)
« Reply #3 on: May 07, 2018, 11:54:44 AM »

Hi all.

This last week I had the opportunity to visit RF World at the Eurovision Song Contest in Lisboa. Sennheiser is providing all mics and IEMs for the show and invited a bunch of EU techs to attend a seminar and tour the ESC backstage. Lucky to be among them... pretty impressed with the ESC setup.

All wireless mics are Digital 6000 systems and during the seminar they demonstrated the ability to have lots of transmitters in close proximity.

Scans from this setup were IMD free, and all transmitters were equally-spaced 600kHz. (To bad I didn't take a photo of the analyser on-screen. You'll have to trust me on that one...)

The ability to equal-space digital transmitters in frequency gives some great advantages over analog and I thought all digital wireless produced no IMD. I did make this statement in conversation and a Sennheiser gentlemen told I was wrong - that not all digital wireless produce no IMD, that their systems are free but not all brands digital RF systems perform the same...  ???

Luckily enough, a friend in Lisbon I went to visit after the seminar had a Axient Digital demo-rack in the warehouse, and I had some time to kill before taking to the airport. So I gave it a go and made some measurements:

I had four Axient digital transmitters (2 packs + 2 handhelds) in close proximity. Equally spaced them 400 kHz, because WWB profile allows for 350k spacing in the "More Frequencies" compatibility setup. With 2mW power some very low IMD could be perceived, but at high power (20mW) in the bunker I was in IMD was well noticeable.

So it does seem not all digital wireless is the same. Now, will you help understand why?

All scan files and additional screenshots in my dropbox. Link:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/sfx28bn9eol7lh2/AADt2rMzNn5e0h3x-YVOn1-Ia?dl=0
The typically low IMD strengths of digital modulation schemes are not strictly by virtue of them being digital, or even AM. They are far more the result of tech advancements making their hardware more linear, better shielded, and more narrowly bandpass filtered at the desired frequencies of operation.

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Lyle Williams

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Re: Digital Wireless IMD (Sennheiser 6000 vs. Axient Digital)
« Reply #4 on: May 07, 2018, 04:38:50 PM »

Intermodulation products are created, but are scattered far and wide by all the source signals being constantly moving.
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Henry Cohen

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Re: Digital Wireless IMD (Sennheiser 6000 vs. Axient Digital)
« Reply #5 on: May 07, 2018, 10:09:11 PM »

The typically low IMD strengths of digital modulation schemes are not strictly by virtue of them being digital, or even AM. They are far more the result of tech advancements making their hardware more linear, better shielded, and more narrowly bandpass filtered at the desired frequencies of operation.

This is key.
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Henry Cohen

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Henry Cohen

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Re: Digital Wireless IMD (Sennheiser 6000 vs. Axient Digital)
« Reply #6 on: May 07, 2018, 10:15:31 PM »

Intermodulation products are created, but are scattered far and wide by all the source signals being constantly moving.

Not moving, Rather spread out, akin to a fully deviated FM signal. Presuming highly linear gain stages, if there is any mixing of of signals, it will result in an overall rise in the noise floor, not defined carriers experienced with typical FM systems.
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Henry Cohen

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Henry Cohen

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Re: Digital Wireless IMD (Sennheiser 6000 vs. Axient Digital)
« Reply #7 on: May 07, 2018, 10:17:56 PM »

I agree with Dan, I don't see how changing from analogue to digital changes the laws of physics.

Same physics, but different constituent carrier spectral mask, thus the results will be different form that of analog.
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Henry Cohen

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Chris Eddison

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Re: Digital Wireless IMD (Sennheiser 6000 vs. Axient Digital)
« Reply #8 on: May 08, 2018, 02:04:41 AM »

I was speaking to a Sennheiser rep last week at a trade show here in the UK and he too mentioned about 6000 being intermod-free. He said that they were using isolators on the RF output to ensure nothing got “back up em’ “ (Dad’s army quote for anybody this side of the Atlantic).
I was actually looking at the G4 EW100’s in the 1.8GHz frequencies and he said these had the same isolators as the 6000 because there was space on board due to the higher frequencies and therefore smaller component sizes.
I’m seriously considering buying some of these G4 systems to move me away from 2.4GHz (which I’m currently using with Line6, so the prospect of simply spacing my channels by 600KHz is quite appealing.
« Last Edit: May 08, 2018, 03:24:02 AM by Chris Eddison »
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hugovanmeijeren

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Re: Digital Wireless IMD (Sennheiser 6000 vs. Axient Digital)
« Reply #9 on: May 08, 2018, 07:57:54 AM »

He said that they were using isolators on the RF output to ensure nothing got “back up em’ “

That is correct, Sennheiser 6000 series is 'intermodulation free' because of extremely linear rf amps and the use of rf isolators in all transmitters.
I'm not absolutely sure whether the Shure Axient Digital is also using isolators, but I don't think they have them...
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Hugo van Meijeren

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Re: Digital Wireless IMD (Sennheiser 6000 vs. Axient Digital)
« Reply #9 on: May 08, 2018, 07:57:54 AM »


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