By Dan Daley
SVG Audio Editor 

Getting up close and personal sound took a dramatic leap forward when Quantum5X Systems hooked up the latest version of their PlayerMic with the NBA. The original PlayerMic was a transmitter encased in an aluminum housing with a hardwired lavalier microphone attracted to it. That kind of hard metal casing worked fine for the full-body uniforms of baseball and hockey. (Nicely padded uniforms in the latter case, as well.)

But NBA players tend to be a bit more exposed, so to speak: shorts and tank-top jerseys are the norm. Quantum5X developed the QTR-1000, a microphone/transmitter package in which the “R” stands for “rubber,” a friendlier substance for people who often take nasty spills on hardwood floors.

“The fact that basketball players’ uniforms have less fabric and almost no padding, the falls on hard floors and the moisture issues were what the NBA brought up to us when we discussed personal microphones for their players,” says Allen Kool, president and CEO of Quantum5X Systems, based in London, Ontario. “The rubber housing was the best solution since it’s softer, moisture-proof, durable and flexible. It can absorb the impact of a fall and keep working."

The NBA’s personal microphones are a frequency-agile transmitter coupled with a hard-wired Countryman EMW omnidirectional lavalier with peak frequency response and a 3-pin XLR connector. The moisture-resistant capsule has low noise characteristics, which Kool says made it the perfect choice. “The other thing we had to consider is the acoustical environment basketball is played in: it’s harsh, loud and has lots of reflections,” Kool explains. “The EMW’s peaked response tested best in situations where there is a high-noise environment but little noise associated with the clothing it’s attached to.”

Quantum5X Systems started beta-testing the QTR-1000 at the NBA All-Star game in Houston two years ago. A revised version appeared at the game in Las Vegas the following year. By the All-Star game, in New Orleans on Feb. 17, Kool says the unit had achieved perfection. “This microphone really took viewers inside the action,” he says.

You’ve heard theses personal sports mics before. ESPN had them on a player during a regular season baseball games four times during the 2006 season during its "Sunday Night Baseball Presented by Nextel" telecasts  (the network first used the PlayerMic on then-Oakland catcher Ramon Hernandez during a game at Seattle).

The baseball and hockey version is Velcroed to the players’ uniforms or padding. The NBA’s version started out being sewn into a pouch under the player’s armpit, but it was quickly determined that this was the worst place for moisture accumulation on the body as well as a poor RF reception site. Now the transmitter is secured in a pouch sewn into the waistband of the player’s shorts, invisible with the jersey draped over it. The microphone follows the seam of the jersey and tops out at the shirt’s V-neck, held fast by tape.

Next up from Quantum5X Systems is the QTR-2000, a remote-controlled version of the system that will let the mixer or A2 flip frequencies as the RF situation changes during a game, as well as control the on/off function and track battery level.