Boss WL-30XLR Microphone Wireless System

For the money I did no find the units worth it. I experienced drop out at less than 30 feet at different channels and there is a level of hiss that I would condider to be unacceptable. I would not recommend this unit as I have had better performance with other bluetooth units.

I'm a bit wary of wireless systems generally, but thought I would give the Boss system a try. I haven't used it on a gig yet, but having thoroughly tested it at home and in rehearsals I'm impressed, and will give it its first public outing tomorrow. I can feel the purchase of a few more of these systems coming on

I purchased this product to operate with a battery operated sound system. The WL30 XLR states that it will operate well within 50ft = 30 Mtrs. I found that the microphone would start cutting out within 10 to 15 Mtrs if you put your body between the transmitter and receiver even with fresh new batteries in the receiver and transmitter. The product is well protected in a hard case that I bought especially for it so there's no damage from heat or knocking around. I hate it when I spend a lot of money on something that doesn't work properly.

Beware

I bought the wireless systems from Sweetwater. They failed to tell me that I couldn't have anything else wireless and play at the same time it will interfere. Found out the hard way after purchasing wireless guitar chord and wireless head monitor. Have to use one or the other. I could have spent that money on something else. Just asked them first. They seem eager to sell. Other than this I do get a few things from Sweetwater.

Boss WL-30XLR

The day I plug in this device together with 4 sets of Sennheiser XS wireless digital XLR base set into the mixer, The sound performance of Boss is ok except with hissing around whenever I performed singing. I've tried to change the channel from 1 to 4 but the problem is still there. The only reason to explain because the Boss unit received the frequency around and bring into the system. A very bad experience in using Boss product and it's not worth at all.

Exactly what I was looking for

Using a Zoom L20R allows me to properly mix from the audience but from time to time I have harmonica parts that would require a long XLR cable. This unit allows me to join the band from my table

Great product

Great wireless for microphones. This is my 2nd purchase of similar product.

It works but only if you stay close

I used this system for 4 gigs. 2 went fine, 2 did not. The short version is that you need to keep the transmitter and receiver pretty close together, but the long version is:The wireless range is only good if you’re going to stay on stage. You can dance around a bit and perhaps benefit from not getting tangled in a cable, but if you try to go out onto the dancefloor and sing amongst the crowd, you will start to hear audio dropouts. This can happen at as little as 5m distance. I tried moving the receiver closer to the front of the stage - this is possible since you can use an XLR cable between the receiver and your mixing desk. Unfortunately even with the receiver at the front of the stage, up on a mic stand (so not down on the floor or anything like that) we still ... MoreI used this system for 4 gigs. 2 went fine, 2 did not. The short version is that you need to keep the transmitter and receiver pretty close together, but the long version is:The wireless range is only good if you’re going to stay on stage. You can dance around a bit and perhaps benefit from not getting tangled in a cable, but if you try to go out onto the dancefloor and sing amongst the crowd, you will start to hear audio dropouts. This can happen at as little as 5m distance. I tried moving the receiver closer to the front of the stage - this is possible since you can use an XLR cable between the receiver and your mixing desk. Unfortunately even with the receiver at the front of the stage, up on a mic stand (so not down on the floor or anything like that) we still had dropouts when the singer went out onto the dancefloor with the party guests. Tried different wireless channels too without success, and this happened on 2 separate gigs in different venues.The advertised wireless range of “70 meters (line-of-sight propagation)” may well be true, but you really will need a perfect line of sight between the transmitter and receiver units, and in reality when is that going to happen? If you hope that with minor obstructions to the line of sight, you might get as much as half of the 70m range, or anywhere near - think again! The user guide mentions avoiding obstructions between transmitter and receiver, and if you delve into the Support/Knowledge Base on the Boss website, it says “The distance of travel is shorter if there are structures in the vicinity that impede the radio waves”. However this doesn’t just mean things like walls and doors - human bodies very much count as structures as far as the WL-30XLR is concerned. It also mentions that performance can be impeded “if there are many devices that use the 2.4 GHz band”. Well, good luck performing in an environment where everyone has the wifi and bluetooth disabled on their phones! I’m sure you can sense my dissatisfaction here, but I also had 2 gigs where everything was ok because the singers didn’t move about. Though in that situation do you really need to go wireless? It was, of course, enough for me to be outside of the returns window when I started having problems.Signal-to-noise ratio isn’t all that great. It’s fine for high volume party/function gigs where there will always be background chatter etc, but I would hesitate to use this system for acoustic gigs or some kind of seated concert where people might actually be quiet and listen. In that kind of environment you will probably notice the hiss. Using a noise gate may help I guess. This wasn’t a deal breaker for me since I was using it for function gigs. Sound quality in general seemed ok for my line of work.Battery life is excellent. The instructions state that alkaline batteries must be used - I actually found that it does just as well with rechargeables too for what it’s worth. Range/signal seems to be the same either way.Back to function gigs - if you tried using this system for the wedding guests to do their speeches after dinner, you might run into range/signal problems if the speaker wants to wander around. Likewise the hiss could be noticeable in that environment. Best stick to singing on stage.One advantage to this kind of system (over a dedicated wireless mic) is that if you do have any wireless dropouts, you already have a normal wired mic in your hand ready to go, you just need to revert back to an XLR cable as your backup.I’ve tried to be honest and balanced here - I was frustrated with my experience but depending on your use case it might work for you. I sold mine on eBay and I wish the new owner all the best - the warranty is transferrable. I do feel that the manufacturer’s description of the wireless transmission is too optimistic, bordering on dishonest.

Not worth it

I have tried at the hall and signal keep breaking. Try at my home studio also not working well. Sent it the Boss repair centre they said nothing wrong and have tested hours and nothing wrong with it. Then I try again and still have the same problem ( the signal is on and off). It’s an expensive way to try out the product for me. Not worth it!

Sounds great, feels good...

It has a weight and don't feel like a plasticky. When I test, it sounds like a normal wired xlr no problem at all. Am not expert on wireless, but I know what sounds good, what feels good, what quality is this system.