I had a little brainwave whilst using some of my audio recording gear at church this morning to record the sermon, so I thought I’d share it on here and hopefully someone else will find it useful!
Problem: The locking ring on the Sennheiser ME2’s jack cable stops it fitting firmly into audio recorders such as the Zoom H1, so it comes loose and spoils audio.
Back in August 2014 we shot a wedding in Germany, doing both photography and video of the big day. Since our broadcasting licence only covers use of our Sennheiser Wireless System
The trouble with that was that the locking end on the Sennheiser ME2 lavalier microphone’s cable fits quite loosely into the jack input on the H1 due to that not having the locking ring mechanism, so as the groom walked around during his speech it unfortunately came loose in his pocket and as a result the sound kept coming in and out. The trouble is that the male end of the jack doesn’t quite go all the way in until it ‘clicks’.
I could use a different lav mic but I like the ME2 so wanted to use it with the H1 in places where I can’t use the wireless system (or for times when I don’t need to). I spent some time searching the internet and videographer forums etc. but couldn’t find anyone who’d come up with a solution.
My initial plan to remedy this for future events was to solder together a custom-built extension for the ME2’s cable by getting an Inline Stereo Locking Jack Socket (from eBay) and soldering it onto the end of a right-angled jack extension lead (also from eBay). I worked out the wiring required to let the audio fill left and right but my soldering skills have gone downhill a bit in the last 10 years so I made a bit of a mess of it:
Sennheiser Locking Female Jack
Then I realised that since I got the CL 1 cable (described on the Sennheiser website as “Line output cable for EK100G3 with 1/8 in. miniplug to 3.5mm threaded ew connector“) with my wireless system (it’s what connects the receiver into your camera/audio recorder if you need a jack ended cable) all I needed was a Female-Female Jack Coupler
A Jack Coupler joining the Sennheiser ME2’s cable to the CL 1 cable which plugs into the Zoom H1.
If you’ve not got a Sennheiser CL1 cable, try searching eBay for one.
When connected up with a coupler it looks like this:
The great thing is that the CL 1 cable has a right-angled end on it already, meaning the Zoom H1 can slot easily into the pocket of whoever’s wearing the lavalier microphone, and despite not having locking ends, the jack coupler I’m using seems nice and tight so should hopefully stay put. I’ll try it out and put it though its paces, and I can always put some gaffer tape over the ends if I need to – but if I can avoid that then it won’t get all sticky.
I hope that little tip helps someone out there, and let me know if you’ve had a similar problem and found a different or better solution!
Items mentioned in this post:
Paul regarding the coupler the only problem I see is that the ME2 lapel still does not screw into the coupler. Did you find that to be a problem? Does it seem to “snap” into the coupler? I am wanting to use the ME2 lapel on a Zoom H4N but need to find an adapter to go from the lapel to 1/4″. Found this
http://www.ebay.com/itm/SENNHEISER-SONY-MICROPHONE-3-5mm-LOCKING-JACK-PLUG-INLINE-STEREO-FEMALE-SOCKET-/271682528767?hash=item3f418a65ff
any ideas? Can you email me about “does the lapel stay snapped into the coupler” and ideas to go into the H4N” Have a great day! Allan from Pittsburgh!
Hi Allan,
Thanks for your comment! I found that the coupler holds the jack in firmly enough that it doesn’t pop out – at least not in my tests anyway. Hopefully you can find one which is as tight as the one I have – fractions of a millimetre will make all the difference I’d imagine.
That eBay link you’ve posted is to the same one I was going to use – if you can be bothered soldering it and you know the correct wiring, that should also work and give you the piece of mind you need with it screwing in.
Good luck! Let me know how you get on.
Cheers,
Paul
Hi,
Is there a noticeable difference when you use this mic with only one channel ? (so if the mic don’t fit entirely and only one channel is registered).
Thank you in advance for your answer.
Best regards,
Michaël
Well it’s mono so that wouldn’t be the end of the world, you can just fix that in post to fill the other channel with the recorded one. The problem may be if there are nasty clicks etc. if the connection comes in and out, which you’d have to try and fix in something like Audition (or Audacity) but better to get clean audio in the first place! 🙂
Ok, thank you for your answer. I confirm that it’s a good option.
I use this cable : http://www.amazon.fr/gp/product/B011SRZWPG?keywords=Panneau%20Montage%203%2C5%20mm%20M%C3%A2le%20Vers%20Femelle%20Verrouillage%20%C3%A9crous%20St%C3%A9r%C3%A9o%20adaptateur%20c%C3%A2ble%2050%20cm&qid=1453989355&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1#productDetails
So I can plug it directly in my panasonic X920. The sound is mono, but at least the cable don’t move. Then I copy the sound on the other cannel.
Here an example of the result. : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yj2o9zvSekM
Hi Michael.
You use this cable so with a Sennheiser mic ??? Not sure to understand your answer with your Panasonic 🙂
Hi Paul,
Thank you for your article. I’ve the same problem as you, trying to plug the microphone on my camera (but the sound only in one channel).
Do you think that this cable will work (the gold one) ?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sennheiser-sony-3-5mm-locking-stereo-socket-female-extension-cable-lead-balanced-/272070315154
Have a nice day 😉
Michaël
Hey, thank you for this. I’m posting to ask if this would work with a GoPro camera. Specifically, the Hero2 has a 1/8 external mic jack and I just bought the ME-2 but the cable from the mic just doesn’t fit into the camera and doesn’t work at all.
You may not have a definitive answer, but do you think it’s worth me getting this cable and trying this out?
Not your problem…but it’s hard to say if this mic jack will even power this mic… Anyways! Insight is appreciated! Thanks in advance
I found this : http://store.speechrecsolutions.com/6-inch-me3-adapter-p12.aspx
Great find! 🙂
Hi Paul,
Great article. Very frustrating that sennheiser made a piece of kit that should work easily with a range of devices but is limited by a locking ring. They definitely should have included a way to remove this without having to hacksaw it apart or use all these extra adaptors!
I just wanted to add the solution I have just found which is to use a jack extension cable. I just tried plugging my Sennhieser ME-2 into a 1.5m jack extension and it clicked right in! This is the extension cable I have:
http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/maplin-35mm-stereo-jack-extension-cable-15m-a15nw
All the best!
Nice !!! I was more brutal with my ME-2 (I use a saw to cut this fucking ring) … and as ugly people stole all my stuff, I had rebought everything and wanted a clean solution … and here we are : THANKS !
Amazing. Thanks for sharing this solution. I shoot to a GH4 and recently upgraded to a Sennheiser mke II Gold. Didn’t want to deal with wireless mics for studio shooting, so bought a 5M CL1, female to female adapter, and I think that should be the ticket. Thanks again Paul.