: £. To start this review, let’s address the elephant in the room. Are these KAM mics or not? Well, yes and no.

Unless you have been asleep at the decks for the last few months, you will have heard of KAM's sad demise. This presented an opportunity that the team behind Q Audio have jumped on, and they have taken over the design rights to the KAM range of microphones. Q Audio is a brand-new company, but these are the popular KAM mic system designs with a few tweaks here and there. Q Audio will be using these designs as a jump-off point for future product development, so going forward we can expect to see more additions to the existing line up.

80 80 If you were at BPM this year you will probably have seen the Q Audio stand. If you were unlucky enough to be around on Monday afternoon you may also have caught my impromptu karaoke performance, which was my first hands-on experience with the QWM 1960HH. I was suitably impressed, and was keen to get hold of a set to try out thoroughly. So, what is in the box?

On opening it, the first thing you see is the receiver unit and the first thing that jumps out is the huge display screen. On the back of the unit you have the usual complement of twin antenna connections, a pair of balanced XLR outputs, a ¼-inch jack mixed unbalanced output and a PSU input. Up front there is a power switch and either side of the display are Up, Set and Down buttons to control each mic. The unit is fully rackmountable with both single receiver 1U and twin receiver 1U rack kits, as well as a 1U antenna plate, available separately from your local dealer.

Moving onto the lower layer of the box, you’ll find your actual microphones, a pair of antennas, a ¼” jack cable, 4 x AA batteries and a power supply. KAM power supplies were always awful, and notoriously fragile, which explains the pile of universal power supplies sat in my cable box! Fortunately, this is something Q Audio have been able to address and the one supplied with this set is far superior. The microphones themselves have all-metal bodies, which at first I was unsure of, as my experience with metal mics over the years is that they tend to get slippery in hand with prolonged use.

I’ll come back to this point later, but straight away I found that they feel good in the hand with a decent weight and nice balance to them with the batteries installed. Now, the big question, just how well do they hold up to use? To test these mics I have taken them out as a DJ, a karaoke host and speed quizmaster. But first let’s take a general look at how they work.

Turning on the receiver confirmed my initial impression, the display is amazing. I honestly have never seen such a clear mic display of this size; you can read it easily from a few feet away! It’s split in two, as you would expect, with a section for each microphone. Along the top you have the handset signal level and below that the actual input level from the mic.

Off to the side is an antenna symbol with a letter A or B next to it, so you know which antenna the mic is currently using. What is unusual for mics in this price bracket is to have this Q AUDIO QWM 1960HH V2 functionality at all! It’s called True on the front of Diversity, which means the receiver the battery automatically, and seamlessly, the procedure switches antenna to whichever is you just have receiving the best signal from the the padlock mic.

The result should be a rock channel and then solid signal as the mic is moved IR indicator around a venue. turned on, you near the IR Under this you will find the channel and it will lock-on. and frequency information, back on, the which is nice and clear and easy the mic’s battery to read. Finally, on the bottom The mic’s display row of the display there is an the channel, IR signal icon (that looks like a level. mute symbol) which switches to a battery meter when you turn I was quite the mic on, a padlock that shows discover the the unit is locked so you don’t function, especially accidentally knock it off-channel, a take a second hi/lo power indicator and a volume when you power indicator.

As you can see, it is very catch you on comprehensive! I especially like the careful. On the battery level indicator, as it’s all too few second easy to hand a singer a near dead to turn it off. mic! Now, with the QWM 1960HH, of the V1 it’s easy to check the battery level switching the with a quick glance at the display. but that is now To use the mics you first have to My first test lock them to a frequency with the sleepy village IR feature, which – if I am honest – I quiz night hosted wasn't looking forward to, as I own venue is small the original version of the KAM low roof.

We 1960 and know what an absolute J12 active faff it is to set. However, on this a notepad updated Q Audio V2 version, it is mixer. Our first child’s play! Firstly, the IR sensor is QWM 1960HH Q AUDIO QWM 1960HH V2 Q Audio QWM 1960HH V2 the mic, not buried in There was very little handling compartment.

Secondly, noise and the mic tone was nicely is extremely simple, balanced, with very little of the to press ‘set’ until typical popping you tend to get on goes out, choose a cheaper mics. Wireless operation hold ‘set’ until the throughout the venue was perfect; flashes. With the mic the signal remained on full for the then hold its front entire quiz and following an hour sensor on the receiver and a half of use the battery level The padlock turns remained on full.

My wife was signal bar lights up, and initially unsure of the mics, as they meter appears. have a flat top as opposed to the also then shows domed mics she is used to, but was frequency and battery suitably impressed and now wants to steal them! disappointed to Now the acid test; for karaoke lack of a mute these needed to perform very as the mic can well, as I insist a mic must be good or two to lock-on enough for me to sing on before I it up and this can will let my singers near it.

The gig the hop if you’re not was in a student-filled rock venue upside, it takes a with a long bar, tightly-packed press of the button tables and lots of bodies. If the A constant bugbear mics were going to drop, this was system was singers the place it would happen as there mics off accidentally, was so much stuff between my rig no longer an issue. and the singers. My equipment for the night was a pair of FBT CS1000 venue was a typical speakers fed from a Behringer pub for a speed XENYX 1222 mixer and Pioneer DJ by my wife.

The SB2 with VDJ8. I’ve got to admit, I and compact with a was a bit nervous handing the mic host on a single FBT over to the first singer, John, not speaker run through least because he was debuting a Behringer song he had written and recorded impressions of the himself that I had never heard V2 were excellent. before! THE EARLY DAYS udio QWM 1960HH V2 The output from these mics is loud, away by how good so I had to knock a fair amount of money you pay.

If gain out of the channel, but the market for a nice pair result was fantastic. John’s vocals mics, then for were clean and crisp and his song definitely fit the was good; not very child friendly, use alone, you’re but very funny. Next up was an to beat these. There’s outrageous parody version of the plus column it is ‘Stacy's Mom’ from Calvin and Dave, signal strength really and again the mics continued to throughout all my impress me. managed to get much as a bar, let After two hours of almost solid The mics themselves karaoke use the mics were on about good solid construction half power.

Nobody had managed weight to them. The to accidentally turn them off or receiver is stunning, complained they were sweaty in mountable to boot hand, so all is good. Crucially, the either Channel 38 signal level to both mics remained Q Audio are clearly on full all night. I also had them Whatever you need running side by side with my handheld microphones, original KAM 1960 unit and all four do you proud.

The mics, when set to clear channels, have is the lack of did not trip over each other. lock-on delay when switched on. But My final test was for standard DJ use at a 50th wedding anniversary party. The guests used the mics for speeches and again the clarity and overall pick-up was very impressive. I’m sure we’ve all come across those guests who talk in the general direction of the mic, but not necessarily into it!

Fortunately, with the QWM 1960HH V2 I found that when I increased the gain the mics were remarkably sensitive without feeding back and handled the speeches away across the room with ease. The signal also didn't waver; the receiver just flicked back and forth between the two antennas without any interruption to the audio. Battery life is listed by Q Audio as 5 hours from a pair of AA cells. I use Energiser rechargeable 2750mAh batteries and 5 hours continuous use is about on the money.

But, of course, if you use cheap batteries then your mileage is going to vary. To sum up, I am quite simply blown 82 these are for the issues can easily be managed with you are in the a tweak to my presenting style. of affordable £199 these I talked to Q Audio at BPM and bill. For karaoke whilst they are very keen to distance going to struggle themselves from the KAM name, so much in as they are a totally unconnected ridiculous! The company, they won't deny it’s is amazing; mostly the same hardware.

The tests I have not bonus of this is Q Audio parts will them to drop as work on the old KAM equivalents. alone lose signal. Another tick in the box! Based on also have this excellent start, which builds with a nice on the foundations of the popular display on the KAM mic range, I look forward to which is rack seeing where the Q Audio brand and available at goes from here. or Channel 70. onto a winner! Hopefully this review has answered to do with a few questions and settled some these will arguments.

I look forward to doing only quibble I more hardware reviews for you all in mute and the the future, but for now this is Matt the mics are signing off… I'm heading out to buy both of these another pair of these microphones! Q AUDIO QTWHME E1A9R6L0YH DHA VY2S With your of your With Find out more and YO DJ Event Planner you’ll be able to manage business from anywhere, anytime. Keep track bookings, appointments, clients, employees, equipment and most importantly, your time! all your tools in one place, you can handle every aspect of your business and ggeett bbaacckk time for you! get a free trial at UK and US Based Support Team