JonneWilkinson

I fully agree with all the excellent feedback posted above. I'm using the harness with a heavy PortaBrace AO-2X bag. Here are my pros and cons after a brief field test: Pros Superb weight distribution and back support (hardly any weight on the shoulders, which is great for booming). The rigid spine system actually works (and is adjustable)! Extremely comfortable, even with a heavy bag. Leaving the neck area open frees up neck movement and prevents chafing of the skin (an issue with certain "tight-neck" harnesses). Good quality materials and excellent breathability. Ingenious forward-pulling strap tightening mechanism. Folds up nicely into a convenient storage pouch. Looks great! Cons The six mounting points add to the stability of the design, but also complicate the process of clipping the harness onto the sound bag. The swivelling carabiners are awkward to grab hold of and attach. Gearing up with the KSHRN1 is not as quick and intuitive as it should be. Possibly easier with K-Tek's own Stingray bag (or an instruction manual!). Difficult to wear the harness without a bag attached due to the lack of a waist belt. The harness is a snug fit when properly adjusted. Unfortunately, this means that some bags (incl. the PB AO-2X) will be reined in to the extent that they start exerting pressure on the abdomen, causing discomfort. The only way to counteract this is to loosen the middle straps (or to add padding, as suggested above) at the expense of optimal weight distribution. Overall, this is without a doubt the best harness I've ever used. It offers excellent back support, rigidity and comfort, and does a wonderful job at weight distribution (even with heavy bags). A few minor niggles that I'm hoping will be addressed in future revisions.

My pleasure, Dan. May it help someone.

I've never had any issues with range. Besides, we have a max. 50mW limit here in Sweden. The only time I've had to switch to 50mW was when the talent was roughly 100 yards away and on the other side of a 4-way intersection in the midst of rush hour. 50mW got me through it just fine. For really challenging scenarios, I use the Tascam DR-10C recorder with Sony AK-DR10CR adapter, just to be safe. I know the DR-10C is not available stateside, but for those of you in other parts of the world thinking of using your Sony lavs with this handy little recorder, a word of caution: Tascam shows an incorrect (Sony ECM88 config) pin out on its website. I've informed them of this and they have assured me their marketing people will correct the error. To ensure Sony lav compatibility with DR-10C, the correct pin out is the Sony ECM77 config: Pin1 = Bias, Pin2=GND, Pin3=Signal, Pin4=GND (see attached pics). It was a painstaking troubleshooting process that led me to this discovery. I ended up having to get most of my lavs rewired from ECM88 to ECM77 (I mostly have Sanken COS11 lavs and Sanken - unfortunately - recommends ECM88 wiring for DWX). ECM88 is basically ECM77 with the phase inverted. Since DWT-B01 has balanced input circuitry, both ECM88 & 77 phases will work just fine. This is not the case for Tascam's DR-10C (AK-DR10CR).

Indeed, HL Audio in Berlin sell the DC-WL800 MKII battery eliminator (made by Ambient) in both single and dual versions. Works great for powering Sony DWT-B01 Tx in a bag. I've been using Sony DWX for more than a year now, with fantastic results. Love the system for its audio clarity, reliability and remote control features. I will normally use the AES/EBU digital out, but whenever I need six channels into my 664 I will use the Rx analog outs and go through a Kortwich VCP-M6 preamp (the analog output of the DWR-S01D is at -40 dBu mic level). Attached is a picture of that particular setup. I spoke to Markus Warlich - product specialist for Sony DWX in Europe - a few months back and asked him why they haven't been aiming their best-in-class digital wireless audio system more at the location sound mixer crowd. I was trying to understand why Sony's marketing and design of DWX had been geared almost exclusively towards ENG camera operators and why - as a consequence - so few sound mixers are using it (and being told to use the cheaper UWP instead). Ergonomically, the DWX system is clearly not intended for mixer bag use (bulky slot-in adapters DWA-01D&F01D). My guess was that Sony prefers to sell DWX as an expensive add-on to their high-end camera packages. Here is what Markus Warlich replied: "I understand you concern in thinking like an sound engineer and not as a camera operator. The DWR-S02D is made an developed for ENG camera operation and the DWA adapter are an ad on for a different use. Maybe we can show in the future other receiver versions which feed more the needs of sound designers. Until know the system is at it is." The somewhat ironic conclusion of all of this is that Sony is consciously marketing their best ever digital wireless audio system to camera operators. Only a matter of time until they start marketing their best ever digital camera to location sound mixers. That'll be the day!