Sennheiser Says Goodbye to G4 Series, Shifting Focus to New EW-DP System

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Sennheiser Announces End of Life for G4 Wireless System

Sennheiser announced that its popular analog G4 wireless system has reached the end of its product lifecycle, meaning the acclaimed wireless microphone system will no longer be produced or fully supported. The end of the G4 puts the spotlight solely on its successor, the Evolution Wireless Digital EW-DP, which debuted last year.

Sennheiser Evolution Wireless Digital EW-DP
Sennheiser Evolution Wireless Digital EW-DP

So why make the move to digital in the first place? To fit an analog signal into the limited bandwidth available today, compression needs to be applied, which is then reversed at the receiving end in a process known as companding. This process inevitably produces artefacts and noise, negatively impacting your audio quality.

With digital UHF technology, this can be avoided due to the greater efficiency of transmitting digital signals. Since your audio data has been quantized as 1s and 0s, it takes up less frequency bandwidth. This not only helps to ensure clean, artefact-free sound, it also improves transmission range, offering up to 330’ of reliable transmission range.

Thanks to the upgrade to digital, this setup also unlocks the ability to adjust and monitor your wireless audio in real time with handy app control, such as with the dedicated EW-D Smart Assist app for iOS and Android devices. Through this app, you can automate set up, operation, and monitoring, engage auto-frequency coordination, and create stable wireless connections for up to 16 systems. You also get the added benefit of smart notifications which provide suggestions for errors that occur, inform you when you have overly hot signals, or let you know when your batteries are running low.

Bluetooth sync lets you synchronize devices simply, quickly, and at a distance, without the need for line-of-sight infrared. Not to be forgotten is Sennheiser’s equidistant tuning grid, which removes the need for frequency coordination, allowing you to operate up to 146 mic channels simultaneously. And with an increased bandwidth of 56 MHz (up from 42 MHz on the G4 series), you have access to more available frequencies, providing more opportunities to find a clean channel.

The EW-DP manages to be reliable too, its receivers offer true diversity with its auto-scan and Intelligent Switching Diversity design, providing you with two independent, yet linked, receiver circuits. This essentially means that dropouts and other interference-related anomalies can be virtually eliminated thanks to a second receiver circuit that has its signal compared to the first for optimal wireless quality. This seamless switching between antennas only occurs during header data, thus never affecting the audio information.

Another vital improvement is dynamic range with the EW-DP transmitter’s mic preamp sporting an impressive 134 dB of dynamic range. This is incredibly important, because all the reliability in the world won’t save you from a distorted microphone input. When combined with the system’s pristine 24-bit conversion, EW-DP makes it supremely easy to get clean, clip-free audio from your transmitter.

Gain control is now available on the EW-DP receiver, rather than having to futz with the transmitter. This allows you to keep your transmitter set up as is, especially helpful when dealing with subjects that have been directly mic’d with bodypacks. A front-facing OLED display allows for easy menu navigation at a glance, in any light. On the receiver you can also activate a mute switch (or via Smart Assist app), monitor directly with a built-in headphone output, and charge while the receiver is in use with USB-C.

Sennheiser EW-DP Receiver
Sennheiser EW-DP Receiver

Speaking of charge, digital technology also means greater power efficiency. With the BA 70 lithium-ion rechargeable battery pack, you can achieve longer runtimes than were possible on the G4 series. The battery pack gives you up to seven hours on the receiver and 12 hours on the transmitter. You can also power the receiver with two AA batteries when bus power or the battery pack aren’t available. Intelligent battery management also ensures you can always keep an eye on your remaining charge.

The new mounting design of the EW-DP series offers flexible mounting options via the magnetic cheese plate included with the receiver. This allows you to mount the receiver directly atop camera cages and accessory arms and use magnetic attachment to stack a second receiver for situations where you are shooting two on-camera personalities. With Sennheiser’s optional combiner cable, you can record both receivers to a camera’s single 3.5mm input.

Sennheiser SKP plug-on transmitter
Sennheiser SKP plug-on transmitter

Finally, the SKP plug-on transmitter (sold separately) is a new add-on accessory worth mentioning. This convenient transmitter adds 48V phantom power support for condenser mics and 32-bit float recording for near-complete elimination of clipped audio transmissions. In addition to the XLR connector, the SKP transmitter also provides you with a lavalier microphone connector and a switchable low-cut filter for removing unwanted rumbling and handling noises.

Of course, the EW-DP is only one part of a larger Evolution Wireless Digital family which also includes configurations with tabletop/rackmountable receivers. For more information about the Sennheiser EW-DP wireless system, including additional features, specs, and highlights, be sure to check out the detailed product page. Or drop us a line below, and we’ll do our best to answer all your comments and questions.

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