After looking around for a pair of new wireless mic's on a budget and hearing some good things about this particular model, I decided to purchase a pair of Audio Technica Liberator 202's. For less than £100 each these mics are ideal for anyone with a limited budget wanting a decent microphone, they are available on a choice of three unlicensed frequencies and have a number of different transmitters available as well as the handheld, including a guitar beltpack amongst others.

Upon opening the delivery box I was pleasently suprised to find that one of the microphones included a case, this is not something that had been advertised as included on the site I bought from. The other one I ordered didn't come in a nice plastic carry case, which was a little disappointing, but they are available to buy seperately direct from Audio Technica or their suppliers. So anyway, down to business! Included in the package is the following:

ATW-T202Handheld liberator wireless microphone ATW-R200 receiver Power supply 13A plug to IEC (kettle plug) lead 1/4" jack to jack lead Padded carry case

The specifications state the maximum operating range as about 200ft, and in practice under most conditions there appear to be no problems operating at something close to this range, as long as thereceiever is in line of sight view of the transmitter. For DJ use you probably wont ever need 200ft operating range, so dancefloor obstructions aren't a problem! For other live uses it is likely that you will be able to get the receiever in a fairly high position near the stage, so again range probably wont be a problem here.

Both build and sound quality seem excellent for a microphone of this price, and should be more than good enough for those wanting a cheaper alternative to the SM58 wireless. Another nice touch is the location of the power switch, as can be seen from the photo opposite. Having it on the bottom of the unit helps to prevent users other than yourself from 'accidentally' switching off or muting the microphone, I have had this problem with the SM58 so I can tell you this is a real lifesaver.

The receiver has two antennas, although unfortunately this is not a diversity receiever. It's not a major problem and I don't think you can really expect a decent microphone AND diversity receiver at this price. The power supply fits neatly inside the receiver and is connected into the back via a DC power plug, you can also remove it which gives you the length of both the mains and DC power leads, another very useful feature. Input to the power supply is via an IEC connector, and a plug in lead is included to run off a standard UK socket. You can see from the photos that the back of the receiver also has a 1/4" mono jack socket for signal output, along with a squelch control. For thos not familiar with exactly what the squelch control does, it simply allows you to adjust the level at which the receiver automatically mutes the output, preventing you from getting white noise or a bad signal at the output when the mic is switched off or too far from the receiver. You shouldn't really need to adjust it, but its nice to know that its there if you ever needed it. On the front you can see the indicators for power, RF and signal peak. As with most units, there is also a gain control to adjust the output level.

The microphone itself feels pretty solid, with the top half of the body constructed from metal and the slip off cover made from some form of tough plastic. Both sections have exactly the same finish, so you can't really tell the difference between the two materials just by looking. As already mentioned, the sound quality from this microphone is very good. Sure, you can buy better, but not without spending at least double the amount! If you unscrew the bottom half of the body you can gain access to the battery, which is the usual 9v PP3. It's simply a case of slotting the battery in and out, no annoying little battery clips to mess with or hanging wires to get damaged. You can't see it in the photo, but on the opposite side there is also a small screwdriver which can be removed and used to adjust the previously discussed squelch control on the receiver.

So, final thoughts? This is probably the best microphone you will find in this price range. There are others by manufacturers such as Kam and Numark which appeared to be aimed more at the DJ market, but I wouldn't imagine they come anywhere even close to these in terms of quality. They are, however, a little cheaper and would probably be ideal if you want something to use for karaoke with less cost to replace if it gets damaged by a punter.