Not to be out done Sennheiser have arrived with a neat radio mic system called the XSW-D system.
Got to admit when I first this new system I was completely confused, but makes a lot of sense when you look into it with a bit more depth thanks to You Tube videos.
The one downside of the RODE system in my books is the size of the transmitter its huge compared to any other system on the market today. I think Sennheiser have addressed this with the new easy to setup system.
My only reservation is Sennheiser’s insistence on calling it an entry level system this will stop a lot of pro users buying this kit.
This is a very flexible and useful system. Like yourself, I was also confused when I first learnt about this system. Sennheiser’s own videos (not the PVs) were particularly confusing. A visit to their homepage to see the list of kits available sorted out my confusion.
I think it would have helped if the receivers had a silver band (or similar) to help distinguish between receiver and transmitter. Not a big deal and bit a of coloured gaffer tape will fix working out which one is which if you happen to add 5 kits into your camera bag! Realistically, most of us will have one or two kits at most though.
More importantly than the above minor niggle (most likely to manifest in use I imagine), I do wish the XLR receiver was hinged in some way to help avoid accidents and not have the receiver sticking out to the side or out the back. Still, yet here again, a very short XLR cable between camera and receiver will solve this problem and the receivers are so light and small than a bit of velcro will attach it anywhere that is convenient.
This system is absolutely great for going overseas with, even more than the RODE system. With airlines being ever more stringent with the size of carry-on luggage and the weight of carry-on luggage, the lighter and smaller our accessories are the better. I’m glad that this product has come from Sennheiser as it will help to increase competition in this realm of 2.4GHz range systems and will likely encourage RODE to re-look at their system and innovate further – not that I’m complaining about the RODE system in any way, but their achilles heel is undoubtedly their bulky size.