Sennheiser XSW-D XLR Base Set

I use a pair of Lucas Nano 608i's to provide PA for a church worship team. The system works great and I wanted to make it super quick to set by replacing the cabling with wireless units.

When choosing the wireless components, the BIG question I had was: "Will these 2.4Ghz wireless units operate correctly when the receivers are plugged into the mixer in very close proximity to each other"?

I read many reviews, watched loads of YouTube reviews, spoke to techy people, and yet I could not find an answer which would give me confidence that it would work. So I bought five Sennheiser XSW-D Base Sets to try it out for myself.

After charging all the XSW-D units and learning about the function of the single button and LED on each unit, I plugged the receivers into the mixer XLR sockets, plugged the transmitters onto SM58 microphones, and it all works great. It could not be simpler.

I personally cannot tell the difference between the wireless versus cable performance. I’m really impressed with both the simplicity and performance of the XSW-D units, and excited to use them for real with the worship group. I can now set up the two portable Lucas Nano 608i's, with singers and instruments and be ready to go in minutes.

I also feed a separate guitar signal into the mixer using a 2.4Ghz Line6 G50, and everything works without any issue.

Each unit can operate for up to five hours on a charge, which is plenty for our worship group. However, to provide 100% confidence on it's first live outing, I will provide each singer with a K&M Smartphone holder mounted to their mic stand, to hold a VARTA Powerbank, with a short USBA-C lead to connect the VARTA to the Sennheiser XSW-D Transmitter. And similarly, I'll use a powered USB hub at the receiver side.

(I’ve since learned that a maximum of five XSW-D transmitter / receiver pairs can be used at the same time. I have asked Sennheiser if this is literally a system limit, or if it is the number that would guarantee a good performance. I’ll update when I get a response.)

I've used this with my Sennheiser E945 and it's just fantastic. I've tested it first during a rehearsal and then on the stage. In both cases it performed really well and I haven't noticed any dropouts even when it was in a really noisy environment (lots of Wi-Fi routers). The sound is clear and without any interference.

It's really easy to use, you just click a button on both devices and they pair. Altough it's mainly made of plastic it feels pretty sturdy.

I can't tell much about the battery life as our gigs are usually about 1 hour long and I haven't tested it all the way down to 0 %. A better battery indication would be good though.

Wireless for any Mic with XLR. A little tricky to connect but when you get it, its fine.

Range is ok for stages (up to 75 m) but as any wireless, dont let brick walls come in between the antennas.

I have now 2 pairs and they work flawless. As I understood you can use up to 5 pairs together. Above that number is not possible. Therfore only 4 stars. Soundwise: Sounds great.

I pondered spending this kind of money on what I could essentially get from another manufacturer for a fraction of the cost. I do not regret it for a moment! The quality of the signal is so true to a cable connection I still can not hear the difference. Even in my soundproof studio. It's really rather impressive. Yes, the battery indicator takes some getting used to but I've used this set up for 3 hour gigs with no problem. They link together incredibly easily and feel high quality. BUT! I am SO annoyed that for this price they do not come with a single to double USB charger, there are 2 of them after all! And there is no case or soft bag to put them in whilst travelling. Just the ridiculously oversized cardboard box they come in. I think for the higher price Sennheiser needs to up it's game there. That being said these really are great and so far I've had no dropouts in signal. Even in busy rooms and when 10 meters away.