100% that Sound

Over 20 channels of Sennheiser Digital 6000 were deployed at last month's GRAMMY Awards in a the first 'end-to-end' Digital Signal Chain for vocal mics.

Broadcast live on January 26th, the 62nd Annual GRAMMY® Awards saw an industry first as Sennheiser’s Digital 6000 wireless microphone system helped deliver a completely digital signal path for wireless vocal mics for the first time in the award show’s illustrious history.

The evening’s highlights included captivating performances by Lizzo, Brandi Carlile, Blake Shelton and others as more than 20 channels of Sennheiser Digital 6000 RF were deployed in both production and MC capacities at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

In light of an ever-congested RF environment and an unrelenting demand for wireless frequencies, this year’s technical deployment was nothing short of a milestone accomplishment. After receiving the microphone signal, each receiver channel of the Sennheiser Digital 6000 wireless was then relayed across a dual redundant Dante network which carried multiple streams of identical multi-channel audio all the way to various digital mixing consoles located throughout the venue.

“This is the first time the GRAMMY Awards has been able to deliver the vocal wireless mics on a completely digital path all the way to every mixing console,” observed Jeff Peterson, PA Designer of ATK Audiotek.

According to GRAMMY Awards audio coordinator Michael Abbott, by combining a high-quality digital wireless microphone system and a Dante network as a transport protocol, the show has achieved a vastly improved frequency response. “The mixers have commented on how they are able to do less EQ carving in the low-mid frequencies, and the extended high frequency response we are getting with the wireless mics is introducing low pass filtering – which we have not had to do in the past.”

Abbott, who has been using Sennheiser systems on the GRAMMY Awards for more than 30 years, specified the Digital 6000 system for all the production and MC microphones at this year’s show. “We appreciate the frequency agility of the Digital 6000 in such an RF-intense environment,” he says. “This allows us to deploy multiple transmitters and receivers with reliable performance.” “The RF on this show is complex to say the least,” adds Peterson. “Monitoring, control, and flexibility are the features that help us the most, and we benefit considerably by the Digital 6000’s resistance to interference, in addition to its efficient use of bandwidth.”

Stephen Vaughn, Coordinator for Soundtronics Wireless, ensures that all the wireless microphones and in-ear monitors work in harmony with each other for the duration of the program. “The Digital 6000 is impressive,” he states. “The amount of frequencies I can get in one TV channel is the part that really helps me out in today’s environment. Even if you don’t have a scope, you can just look at the quality meter on the front of the unit and tell whether or not you are taking on interference or not. Also, the fact that the Digital 6000 transmitters use rechargeable batteries is a key factor for me, since I am tired of dumping hundreds of batteries in the trash. With the 6000, there is none of that: you just recharge them and just reuse them. I am leaving a much greener footprint during these shows and I feel more comfortable using these over disposable batteries.”

Want to find out more about the latest innovations from Sennheiser – they’ll be exhibiting at Integrate on Stand E36. To find out more about exhibiting your brand in 2020 click here. For more information on Sennheiser products, visit their website.