Wired Or Wireless?

The question of whether or not to use wireless systems seems to come up often in musician and sound reinforcement forums.  I will address this topic by going over the pros and cons of each approach and finally give my opinion.

Wired systems, such as a guitar tied directly to an amplifier via an instrument cable or a microphone tied directly to a mixing board have been the standard practice for decades.  This approach has been used for so long primarily because wireless technology is a relatively new technology.  Just like any technology that has been in use for years, wired systems have matured to the level where they have been improved greatly in terms of performance, reliability and cost.  Initial wired systems were prone to noise interference and unreliable (poor connectors, conductors, etc).  Those issues have largely been removed with all but the least expensive systems.

Wireless systems, such as wireless microphones, are relatively newer technologies than their wired counterparts, but they have also matured.  The initial wireless systems had issues in terms of radio interference, poor sound quality and reliability.  Again, as the technology has improved these issues have been addressed in all but the least expensive systems.

So why would one choose one system over the other?  There are many factors. I will list the pros and cons in general terms of each.

[table type=”table-striped”]

Wired Pro	Wired Con	Wireless Pro	Wireless Con
Great Sound Quality	Performer mobility	Performer mobility	Cost
Reliable		Can improve ground loops in some cases.	Reliability (dependent on battery power, interference)
Cost			Complexity
Simplicity			Standards in flux
Standardized			Sound quality generally perceived as less than wired systems.
Passive Interconnect			Can have reception problems in some venues.

[/table]

One of the reasons for leaning towards wired systems is that I have lost count of the times a pastor or singer has forgotten to un-mute their wireless microphone which always leads to that awkward fifteen seconds of silence, confusion and (soundman) stress.

In general, what I recommend to people who have a choice is to use wired systems unless they need or prefer the mobility and cleaner stage look that wireless affords.  In terms of wired I recommend the shortest wired length that allows the mobility the performer needs.  In other words, do not get a 100 foot instrument cable if you do not move more than two feet from your amplifier when playing guitar.  However, if you prefer having some high frequency loss due to the cable, you could intentionally use a long cable.  I saw a video interview with a guitar tech for Carlos Santana who said that Carlos uses a 50 foot cable to help remove some of the treble of the pickups.  Many (myself included) consider Carlos Santana the foremost authority on great guitar tones.

In summary, there is no right or wrong answer in terms of using wired or wireless systems.  Weigh the pros and cons and decide what meets your needs the best.