Wireless systems advice please

[Guitar guy]

I recently tried out the Positive Grid Spark Link wireless system, I was impressed by low latency and the tone. But I did notice more noise or background hiss than I am willing to accept. I was trying it out with a crunch gain Plexi tone. The noise/hiss was too high, hiss is much lower with that same rig but using a cable.

My thoughts are that the PGSL is impressive for the money, but too noisy for me, and I probably need to buy something a lot more expensive to get the audio quality and S/N ratio I want.

I’m considering the Shure GLXD+, been checking out YouTube reviews. But is this high end enough to offer a noise floor that’s no higher than would be the case if using a cable?

I realise there are other factors to consider when choosing a wireless system, but I’d like to narrow the search by looking at noise/hiss levels as a starting point.

Any thoughts?

 

[Lysander]

My thoughts are that the PGSL is impressive for the money, but too noisy for me, and I probably need to buy something a lot more expensive to get the audio quality and S/N ratio I want.

My trusty ol' Relay G10s is dead silent but, before even going that route - are you sure the wireless system is the culprit here?

Spark Link has a slightly lower S/N ratio than average (96dB), but that should still be plenty to prevent audibles hiss.

 

[deathbyguitar]

FWIW I've been using the Xvive A58 for a while and it's great. Has an advertised SnR of 110db and you can pick them up in person at Guitar Center if that matters. A lot less noise than my previous U2 units. Might be worth a shot?

 

[Guitar guy]

My trusty ol' Relay G10s is dead silent but, before even going that route - are you sure the wireless system is the culprit here?

Spark Link has a slightly lower S/N ratio than average (96dB), but that should still be plenty to prevent audibles hiss.

Thanks, I’ll look into the G10s.

I’d seen before buying that the PGSL claims a s/n ratio of 96dbs, and you’re right, that would seem to be more than enough for quiet operation. But it’s definitely noisy, I tested it carefully, so I don’t know what’s going on there. I looked up Amazon reviews and whilst lots are positive, I saw several from people complaining of hiss.

I’m fairly new here, is it possible to upload 16bit 44.1k wav files? I could upload a couple of the test recordings, people could hear the difference between cable and PGSL when all other factors were exactly the same.

I think that whether players notice background hiss will have a lot to do with their playing style and performance context. A guitarist using a completely clean tone probably won’t hear any hiss, whereas a saturated high gain tone is more likely to reveal the noise floor. And hiss will be more noticeable in a quiet studio than at a gig with a loud band all going for it.

What kind of music do you play? Cheers.

 

[Guitar guy]

FWIW I've been using the Xvive A58 for a while and it's great. Has an advertised SnR of 110db and you can pick them up in person at Guitar Center if that matters. A lot less noise than my previous U2 units. Might be worth a shot?

Cheers for the suggestion. I’ll investigate the Xvive A58. 110dbs sounds like an improvement on 96dbs. But then even 96dbs should be enough for a quiet s/n ratio, so I’m not sure how much I can depend on the official specs.

Interesting to me that so far the suggestions have been of units in a similar price bracket to the PGSL.

 

[Guitar guy]

The Positive Grid Spark Link wireless receiver plugged into my Plexi head. The cab was miked with a Neumann U87.

 

[GuitarBilly74]

FWIW I've been using the Xvive A58 for a while and it's great. Has an advertised SnR of 110db and you can pick them up in person at Guitar Center if that matters. A lot less noise than my previous U2 units. Might be worth a shot?

yeah I've been using the A58 too. Played about 25-30 gigs with it so far. No issues at all.

 

[Guitar guy]

I had the volume and tone on my Strat on 10. I also profiled my Plexi (using cables!) and then tried linking the Strat to the Kemper Plexi profile using the Positive Grid Spark Link. Noise gate off, and two other noise gate settings, comparing cable to PGSL.

 

[Jarick]

No idea about the Positive Grid one, but I had a $50 wireless unit off Amazon (the popular 5.8 model). It worked well but charging the unit was annoying. I ended up grabbing a Line 6 Relay G10S which has a few nice features...it can mount on a board easily, it has adjustable cable capacitance, and you can charge the transmitter in the receiver.

One thing I found is that the wireless units can get weird if you have wifi signal bouncing around. Are you using wifi on the Kemper? Do you notice noise issues with just the Plexi?

 

[JasonE]

My opinion on wireless units is a little different than many others. With wireless, IMHO, you get what you pay for. I won't buy a unit that doesn't have Shure or Sennheiser on it. I have been using units from these two companies for years. I think the cheapest I have ever bought one was around $400. I have very rarely had issues with these units. I have a Shure GLDX unit and I have run into a rare occasion where I have had to scan for a clean channel on it in some venues. These places had a lot of WiFi traffic. My Sennheiser units are not digital. If I couldn't find a clean channel on the GLDX I would switch to one of the Sennheiser units. I used to run the Shure and the Sennheiser at the same time. I ran them on some PRS guitars that have piezo systems in them. I run the magnetic pickups on one wireless and the piezo on another. I have been more than happy with the units I have.

 

[Lysander]

What kind of music do you play? Cheers.

Anything but i do high gain quite often, and the G10 copes perfectly with it.

 

[Alex Kenivel]

You do get what you pay for. I haven't used a Shure or Sennheiser wireless for guitar but I have used a variety of IEM systems and my Shure has been the best quality of all of them.

The best sound I've had from a wireless system was from the Line6 Relay G10 (2.4gHz) which after a few years of abuse either began to impart a little high frequency whine depending on what guitar I was using, or perhaps it was always there and I didn't notice it right away.
I bought one right about when they came out 9 years ago. Very good noise floor otherwise and no ground hum. The tone vs. a cable was very comparable.
It has great range in most situations as long as I stay away from wireless routers. I could walk around and right out of most buildings and still be heard through my amp whereas one place I couldn't be 6ft away from the receiver.
The shape is a little awkward on guitars with side-mount jacks. I've bashed the transmitter a few times on desks, doors, gates and things, forgot to unplug it before I stuck my guitar inside it's gig bag, and it's only a little crooked, never broke.
The receiver is big and awkward for a pedalboard and the micro-USB power jack is just waiting to be broken. I've usually used a 90° angled magnetic cable just so I don't accidentally break the jack off (heh) in the unit.


In 2021 I bought a ~$60 Lekato WS-50 (5.8ghz). I had an issue right away when I brought it to a jam and I experienced crosstalk from someone's MacBook. I learned how to change channels on it and it has been pretty solid. No high-pitched whine like I experienced from the G10 but not so good of a noise floor, not that it makes a huge difference live. I wouldn't use it for any serious recording whereas I have with the G10.

I bought a couple of cheap little UHF systems and they were trash, including the Lekato WS-70 that altered tone and killed dynamics.

I more recently got the the Nu-X B-5RC but haven't used it a ton. I keep it as a backup to the WS-50 but haven't really needed it so I can't even remember if it is noisy or not

Unfortunately where I sit and play music most of the time is right below a wireless router so using these devices at home are sketchy at best, but playing out live I'd rather live with some noise and be able to walk freely without needing to worry about tripping over my own cable. Stepping out in front of the stage for sound checks is super useful too.

I think if you do stick with using wireless guitar systems, have an extra unit for a different frequency band, keep good charging habits and always have a cable just in case you need it.