Still not sure what’s the best wireless headset microphone for singing live? We’ll help you make the right choice. We even included several perfect wired models in our list of the best wireless headsets for old-school guys.
The days of stringing a wired mic around carefully on stage are slowly changing. Instead, a fresh breed of wireless microphones takes their place – reliable, high quality, and adaptable to many roles.
Enter headset microphones! They’re versatile bits of kit that meet performance demands while also suiting themselves to other hands-free mic activities. They’re helpful for film and TV or military personnel, for musicians or YouTubers, etc.
A headset microphone’s main attraction is that they allow the user to have both hands free. That means musicians can walk the stage freely and play instruments. As mentioned, this is especially useful for keyboardists and drummers. In addition, leaning up or down to a microphone isn’t good for your posture, and these microphones allow musicians to circumvent this risk.
Okay, let’s look at our list and understand the best wireless headset microphone for singing live.
Top 6 Best Wireless Headset Microphones for Singing Live:
Audio-Technica PRO 8HEx (Editor’s Choice)
This isn’t a wireless model by default and is a wired headset microphone. So you’ll either need a USB interface to use it or a microphone preamp for amplification. However, it has an XLR connection so that you can plug it straight into hardware for recording or amplification. You won’t be able to plug this straight into a PC, though. You can plug this straight into an Audio-Technica UniPak Transmitter, though, so you can use it wirelessly!
As a standalone mic, though, it’s acclaimed for its quality, which comes at a relatively low price.
This microphone has a stable fit for singing drummers, keyboardists, and other instrument players for singers. This mic is perfect for home or professional use.
Features
It is a dynamic hypercardioid microphone, and thus, it will precisely pick up your voice without picking up the background noise. That optimizes its use for singing. In addition, it provides a simple design in its solid design, which fits comfortably. On the other hand, the microphone is sensitive, and it may pick up your breathing. Such sensitivity may be a boon or a hindrance.
Audio
This microphone has excellent noise-canceling features combined with sensitivity. You can eliminate a great deal of background noise, and the frequency response is designed well for the human voice. It filters below 200 Hz, removing unnecessary muddying bass, and extends up to 18Khz with a crisp high end. It’s an excellent headset microphone for vocals or home use, provided you can connect it up.
Shure SM35-TQG Performance Headset
Shure wireless headset mics enjoy steadfast popularity with singers, musicians, orators, comedians, recitalists, actors, and all other categories of entertainers. The Shure SM35-TQG Wireless Performance Headset Condenser Mic offers full leeway to singers, vocalists, soloists, and orators to articulate themselves.
This wireless headset microphone is supremely affordable yet does not compromise performance, significantly amplifying your voice or vocals.
The SM35-TQG headset mic features an ergonomically designed headband that fits comfortably on heads of different sizes and effectively keeps out off-axis sounds. This wireless headset optimally exploits crisp unidirectional cardioid polar pattern technology for capturing your voice lucidly while rejecting any audio source not directly in front of the mic.
This headset mic checks feedback and signal leakage onstage thanks to the Shure SM35-TQG’s exceptional capability to block external noise, particularly off-axis audio sources.
No wonder the SM35-TQG performance headset finds extensive applications in arena tours, large settings, and small clubs that generate noise. The Shure SM35-TQG ensures that your audience will be all ears whether you’re giving a product demonstration, offering a presentation, or singing.
It has two windscreens that minimize wind and breathing noises, while the adjustable gooseneck profile facilitates customized positioning for better isolation.
This microphone headset’s innovative design ensures a comfortable and perfect fit, eventually enabling hands-free use and thorough uninhibited movement onstage.
Pros
- Wireless headset with condenser mic, snap-on windscreens, and 4-pin TA4F (TQG) connector
- Low-profile form factor and lightweight design for extended use without discomfiture
- Designed and engineered with care for consistent performance and long-term use
- Bespoke frequency range response fine-tuned for crisp and crystal-clear vocal reproduction
- Taut, unidirectional cardioid polar pattern for blocking off-axis audio sources
Cons
- Not quite durable
- Designed for working optimally only with a Shure bodypack
- Many users have found the headset somewhat heavy
Countryman E6OW 5T2SL Springy E6 Omnidirectional Earset
The Country E6OW5T2SL Springy E6 Omnidirectional Wireless Earset has been and continues to set the industry standards for wireless headsets. As an omnidirectional and low-profile superlative mic, the E6OW5T2SL is fully capable of capturing and reproducing your natural voice.
On the other hand, the E6 earset eliminates feedback and ambient noise, thereby enabling high-quality vocalization.
A comfortable ear clip and a slim boom help keep the ultra-small electret condenser element close to your lips for immaculate voicing. This omnidirectional condenser element is almost impervious to breathing and wind noise even if you do not use a windscreen. On the other hand, the condenser element helps keep the thin boom near your mouth for superb isolation.
Weighing a mere 1/10th of an ounce, the E6 Springy Omnidirectional Earset is one of the lightest, smallest, and most user-friendly headsets out there. Though a receiver or transmitter is not included with the Countryman E6OW5T2SL E6 wireless headset, the earpiece features a 2mm Duramax-aramid reinforced cable.
This 2mm cable supplied with the wireless headset aids in connecting with numerous Trantec, JTs, Carvin, and Shure transmitter models. In addition, the wireless-compatible, hands-free mic enables singers, performers, and entertainers to move around freely without any problem. Constructed out of steely material, this mic is incredibly durable and resilient and is practically unbreakable.
If you use these wireless mic headphones with a hardy frequency-response cap, the earset resists water and sweat effectively.
Pros
- Amazingly hard-wearing and flexible
- Reinforced with standard gain sensitivity for normal voicing or vocalizing with an effervescent boom
- Uses Omni-directional voicing technology for ensuring class-leading voice pickup while simultaneously eliminating ambient noise
Cons
- The cable provided with the headset is somewhat flimsy and fragile
You may have to opt for extra accessories for noise isolation
Shure WH20XLR
No microphone list is complete without a Shure microphone. Shure’s headset microphone complies with its strict quality benchmarks, offering audio quality comparable to handheld models. However, this microphone is similar to the previous Audio-Technica – it’s a standalone mic. That means you either need to connect it to a transmitter for wireless use or into a USB interface or preamp.
Features
It’s a comfortable headset mic that Shure has engineered to be worthy of vocal performance. This microphone is comfortable, portable, and relatively inexpensive. It’s also designed to be tough and can be collapsed for easy storage. With an XLR, you can connect it to interfaces or preamps for amplification.
Audio
This microphone has a smooth and natural frequency response, which is suited to the human voice. With roll-offs on bass frequencies and crystal clear high-end, it resembles larger microphones in tone. In addition, it’s a cardioid dynamic microphone, so it should filter background noise through its pickup pattern.
Audio-Technica System 10 ATW-1101/H92-TH
This wireless microphone system is much smaller and more compact than most of its competition. As a result, it’s more of a stealth mic system, with no monitor headphones, much the same as the Sennheiser but even more discreet.
It’s cheaper than the Sennheiser, and its receiver can handle ten simultaneous channels – so ten mics, with reportedly small amounts of interference. That’s quite a bold claim. The reality may be more like 5 or 6, but these are guaranteed to run smoothly and without hindrance.
Features
This setup has the microphone, transmitter, and receiver in its neat package. The receiver is powerful with all the modern tricks like automatic optimal frequency scanning. In addition, it has a dual antenna design, which decreases the chance of dropouts or interference.
The receiver also auto-switches for the best frequency on the fly, impressive! As mentioned, this can handle multiple sources and pass them out through one output. You can pair other mics like the one included or different types of mics, like handheld wireless mics. The receiver comes with modern fail-safes for monitoring interference between multiple mics. Many people report this system works very well at reasonable distances with multiple mics in areas like theatres, where there’s lots of potential interference.
Audio
This system provides a crisp and clear sound that is stable and defined. That’s what you need, and it does the job very well with tons of extra features and expandability. Thanks to its interference protection over long distances, it’s an excellent headset microphone for singing and live performances like theatre or comedy.
When you’re at this price point, headset microphones do deliver a solid level of audio quality. The Audio-Technica System 10 is a lightweight solution and is suited to discreet headset microphone roles.
Sennheiser XSW 52-B XS Wireless Headset System
Sennheiser has been amongst the top rank of microphone manufacturers for decades. The XSW 52-B XS is a full package wireless mic system with a transmitter, receiver, and headset.
It’s easy to use, you need to plug the mic into the transmitter, which is usually mounted at your waist, connect to your receiver, and you’re good to go. You can move around freely with this microphone, whether that’s on stage or in conferences, classrooms, etc.
Features
This headset microphone features 960 available frequencies for transmission, which is a considerable amount – more than most mics like this. These are arranged in banks, which allows you to transition between channels effortlessly. That means you can always find an interference-free channel for any space.
You won’t need to find it manually, though, because it has an automated scanning process that finds an optimal channel with the lowest amount of potential interference. This Sennheiser mic unit has a long range of 250 feet, and the signal doesn’t drop quickly at its fringes. This mic features a comfortable headset too, which is stable and easy to fit.
Audio
In terms of sound quality, this microphone delivers crisp quality from its cardioid mic. It’s certainly very clean and high-fidelity, which you need for most singing performances that involve these mics or speeches, etc. If you’re using this in a musical setting, you can use FX later on in the sound – it has a clean and pure tone.
How to Pick the Best Headset Microphones for Singing Live
There are many headset microphones on the market. Some are expensive, but many are now coming down at a price. Most packages come with a transmitter and a receiver. The transmitter sends a signal wirelessly to a receiver, converting it into an audio output for amplification or recording. For singers, headset microphones must also meet the demands of dynamic live performance.
Headset microphones are designed with a natural frequency response that suits the human voice. They provide a crisp and clear sound, but you can pass this into FX or amps for more gain, saturation or reverb, etc. Headset microphones now rival their traditional counterparts, and though you can spend thousands, some great sets cost under $500 for the entire system.
Standard Features of Headset Microphones
- Some receivers have two antennae, with one serving as a backup in case signal drops.
- Some microphones for performance are more stable and comfortable on the head.
- Many sets come with receivers that can accommodate multiple microphones.
- Some are very discreet and feature just a microphone, whereas others incorporate monitor headphones.
- Some headset microphones are standalone microphones that you can plug into a wireless transmitter, a USB interface, or a preamp.
So, What’s the Best Headset Microphone for Singing Live?
Finding the best headset microphone depends on your criteria. For singing, this criterion is quite demanding – you need crystal quality without interference or background noise. Fortunately, manufacturers can now create microphones that perform this job well. If you’re looking for a microphone system with expandability, the Sennheiser XSW 52-B XS Wireless Headset System or Audio-Technica System 10, ATW-1101/H92-TH are both great systems.
If you’re looking for the best wireless headset microphone specifically, the SM35-TQG headset is the best of the best.
They make use of all the latest in interference control without breaking the bank. You can’t easily split them. For standalone mics, both entries here weigh in as great microphones that can be hooked up to systems or used as wired mics. You just can’t split these. They are some of the best headset microphones available for their prices.