Xvive XU3 Wireless System

Simple, effective and idiot-proof. It’s compatible with any XLR device too, so you can connect (for example) a Helix, AX8 or similar without the pain of running long cables

MSRP £249

PROS:

Wireless convenience with any mic or device

Totally transparent sound

Rock solid performance

CONS:

Price range could be out of reach for many

If you forget to charge it, you’re stuck

SPECS:

2.4GHz band

Less than 5ms Latency

5 hours of battery life

24-bit / 48kbps Audio

Guitar Interactive star rating: 4 stars

Xvive XU3 Wireless System

Billed as providing a simple and straight-forward solution to the problems of using a traditional wired and wireless microphone systems, the Xvive U3 Microphone Wireless System offers a compact, flexible and reliable solution to a variety of problematic scenarios encountered by live entertainers and sound crew. Here is Nick Jennison to offer some insight into this latest product from Xvive.

I hate cables. Genuinely, there’s nothing worse than cables onstage. They take forever to unwind and plug in, they unravel in your bag and cause mayhem, and once you’ve got them all set up you trip over them. The problem with wireless microphones is that they’re expensive, bulky, require just as much setup (or more, with all the wall-warts and antennae) and you can’t change the “microphone” part without considerable expense and inconvenience.

The U3 from XVive basically solves all of these issues by being essentially an XLR cable without the “cable” part. It’s two tiny little units that look like the ends of an XLR. One end goes in your mic, the other goes in your mixer/stagebox and that’s it. No power adaptors (thanks to the internal batteries), no antennae, nothing. It’s about as simple as it gets.

The units operate in the license-free 2.4gHz range, and there are 12 available channels. Press the lone button on each unit until they’re on the same channel and you’re good to go. The “microphone end” transmitter has a switch for line or mic level operation, and that’s about it. Simple, effective and idiot-proof. It’s compatible with any XLR device too, so you can connect (for example) a Helix, AX8 or similar without the pain of running long cables - after all, the convenience is a big part of why you bought such a unit, right?

In terms of performance, the U3 is absolutely faultless. Compared to an XLR cable, and the U3 was identical in every regard. The sound was indistinguishable from a cable, there was no additional noise, and the dynamic range is very much intact. Also, we found it very hard to “upset” the unit - even resorting to waving an iPhone with the personal hotspot engaged around the transmitter in an effort to throw the U3 off its game. It was totally fine, with no interference, dropouts or noise.

The U3 is a very intuitive, compact and great sounding solution for anyone who, like me, finds cables a total pain in the neck. It’s tiny, comparatively inexpensive and totally idiot-proof. Be sure to check one out!

For more information, please visit:

www.jhs.co.uk