How do I choose a wireless headset microphone for a fitness instructor?
The key is “Fit for Purpose”, excuse the pun. By fit for purpose we mean:
1) Is totally sweat resistant, and we mean totally. The warranty should not exclude damage by sweat permeation. Check carefully as there are a lot of pretenders out there offering sweat resistance and a two-year warranty but the fine print reads differently.
2) Has an omnidirectional microphone, not unidirectional. An omnidirectional mic receives signals from all directions. A unidirectional mic is more focused and only picks up sound from one direction. At first reading you probably think the unidirectional makes more sense as you only want to transmit the fitness instructor’s voice and many a well-meaning sales person might say the same thing, offering you a fuller sound. However a unidirectional mic capsule is more susceptible to sweat damage and usually has moving parts and adjustable hinges that permit the ingress of sweat and this will also lead to corrosion.
3) Is lightweight and flexible
4) Can withstand high sound pressure levels without distorting or blowing, for example if you’ve a few Sergeant Major types on your team!
5) Has high quality steel cable, not standard copper cable, once again due to the sweat issue
Do not underestimate the need for a genuine sweat resistant product. The sweat damage will begin to cause the system to cut out or crackle. The diagnosis of the fault will lead to further wear and tear on the transmitter packs and connector pins as the instructors disconnect and reconnect to try and identify the issue. Ultimately it will cause failure and copper sulphate will form. Copper sulphate is toxic and contact should be avoided.
So what product would we recommend?
The Aeromic is the only headset in the world that was designed and developed from the ground up for the fitness industry. It is built tough and incorporates many features that set it apart from the ‘wannabies’:
· The Aeromic “drip ring” - the entire headband is a fully sealed unit
· The cable is all stainless steel
· There are 4 layers of sweat defence at the connector
· The capsule is protected by a special mesh that, when sweat lands on it, the sweat simply beads and drops off
· It now comes standard with the "multimic" connector - it can be used with any 4-pin mini-xlr transmitter pack
Sweat cannot penetrate these defences to cause an early demise of the product. In our experience the Aeromic will outlast any other headset used in the fitness industry, making it a more economical and sound choice in the long run.
By using Aeromic and a sweat resistant transmitter pack like Fitness Audio and a dab of E-Gloop silicone grease you have a solution that will last 10x longer than a set that was never designed to be “Fit for Purpose."
Download a pdf on how to choose a headset for group fitness instruction
