Shure TwinPlex Microphone
Designed for broadcast, theater and speech applications,
Shure’s new TwinPlex TL46 omnidirectional lavalier
microphone features an interesting twist: The lavalier,
which has an invisible super hydrophobic nanoscopic
coating, includes an interchangeable sweat and moisture-
resistant frequency cap to prevent "sweat-outs." What does
this mean? In plain terms, this lavalier will be very useful
in sports, reality TV, documentary or any situation where
microphones on talent are subjected to lots of perspira-
tion, which with normal lavaliers can result in the micro-
phone shorting out or the diaphragm being clogged with
moisture, resulting in a loss of high-end frequencies and a
reduction in overall audio quality.
The TL46 features a paintable 1.6mm diameter cable that
resists memory effect and kinks, while the dual-redundant
ground in the microphone’s cable serves as a secondary shield for
longevity. The TL46 lavalier also includes three flat-response fre-
quency caps and two presence-response frequency caps, allowing
the user to tailor the microphone’s overall frequency response to
their taste.
Shure’s dual-diaphragm design yields twice the surface area of
other subminiature microphones for a pristine, natural response
and robust low frequencies.
Shure makes great microphones, but it has generally not
made many inroads into television and film with its lavalier
microphones, unlike Sanken, DPA, Countryman and other
popular lavalier microphone brands. The TwinPlex might
be the start. It's available now for around $400.
Tentacle Sync Track E 32-Bit Float Point Audio Recorder
The Zoom F6 is certainly an exciting new 32-bit floating-
point audio multitrack recorder. But what about a 32-bit float-
point single-track portable recorder that’s smaller than most
wireless lavalier transmitters?
Tentacle Sync, the company that makes the Sync E Bluetooth
time-code boxes, has developed the Track E, which uses pow-
erful 32-bit floating-point technology to maximize the dynamic
range in recordings. So, what’s important about this is that if
your audio was recorded at too low of a level, it can be raised
in volume without raising the noise floor. Also, 32-bit floating
point means that no digital clipping will occur.
In terms of size, it’s almost as small as the Sync E. That means
it can easily fit just about anywhere, even on the tiny hot-shoe
on most mirrorless cameras. The Track E also allows mobile
operation as a recorder for a clip-on microphone, eliminating
the need for a radio link.
Bluetooth Sync: The Track E offers synchronization over
Bluetooth based on Tentacle Sync’s already-proven wireless
TC sync technology. After the initial syncing process, the
Track E devices will run independently with less than one
frame of drift in 24 hours. This means that the Track E will
be very useful for recording sound in environments where
regular wireless transmitters might not work very well, areas
with a lot of UHF or RF noise in the air, for instance. I own
three of the Tentacle Sync E boxes and have found them to be
simple, reliable and easy to use. Hopefully, the Track E will
follow suit and be as easy to use.
Pricing hasn’t been released yet, but if the Track E is
anything like the Sync E, which it should be, then it should
cost around $300 per unit or less. DPPThe Track E marks Tentacle’s entry into the portable recorder market
space with the smallest, lightest 32-bit float point recorder available.In addition to its rugged construction and moisture resistance, the TL46
offers user-selectable frequency response caps.62 | Digital Photo Pro digitalphotopro.com