Xvive U2 Guitar Wireless System

First off, these products arrived on time and for the most part, undamaged. Why We Bought Them (2 units): My wife and I are physicians who travel back and forth between states via clinical rotations. Along with our love for healthcare, we are both active musicians. Combined we play: violin, cello, ukulele, banjo, acoustic/electric guitar, acoustic/electric bass guitar, ocarina, flute, saxophone, drums, and a few other instruments. As such, since many of these instruments require cable connections (whether for amps, headphones, or microphone settings), we thought that it might prove productive to purchase 2 sets of these wireless units to utilize on our clinical rotations and thus leave the snake pile of cables behind. Since we own a farmhouse in one state and rent an apartment in another, we were very curious to see if these units could function in a manner that would aid us in not disturbing neighbors in adjacent units (at the apartment) while having the open range advertised at our farmhouse. We were also curious if they would function in tandem (ex: 1st unit from guitar to “In” effect pedal board with one unit on one channel, and 2nd unit from “Out” pedal board to headset and/or amp on a different channel). Being able to play electric guitar through my pedals back to my headset was a wondrous idea to me since this would completely resolve any late night practicing noise issues while in an apartment setting. We were also curious if these units would function on active and passive pickups with the same functionality. Before I list the pros and cons, it is important to mention that we initially bought 2 units. However, those 2 units did not function as advertised and resulted in a lot of frequent and sporadic loses in signal, thus making there unitization very difficult, unreliable, and honestly a bit aggravating. As such, we contacted the seller (Xviveaudio) and within a few hours we were pleasantly greeted and assisted by Xviveaudio’s General Manager Nancy Lee. She was very kind and professional and quickly introduced us to her technical adviser named Fischer. After attempting a few different methodologies and unit configurations they decided to make some changes based on our concerns and they sent use 2 new units. Unfortunately, the next two units functioned even worse in terms of signal distance, cutting out, charging, and unreliability with active pickups. However, once again, Nancy and Fischer listened to our concerns and instrumentation experiences and they made even more changes to the units and immediately shipped us 2 more units. These units were winners. They do “almost” everything we wanted. Pros & Cons (as sent to Xvive via email): 1) To start with, these units already charge better than the last 2 sets received. The last sets (the first replacement sets we received) presented with an individual unit that would not stop blinking red no make what we attempted. In these current replacement units, all transmitters and receivers lit up and did as the manual suggested. 2) When utilizing one unit by itself, we appear to be getting a good signal up to 30 - 35 feet. This 30 - 35 foot distance is unobstructed and we must be facing the unit when this is accomplished. After 30 - 35 feet, the signal starts to cut out randomly which makes playing difficult. In addition, when we are facing away from the receiver (thus our body blocks the signal slightly), our range reduces to about 20-25 feet. That being stated, when continuously facing away from the units, you can still detect a sporadic signal loss that occurs almost once every 15 seconds. At this point, the Blue LED flickers with each lost signal. That said, in a concert and/or performance situation, I don’t think we would be facing away from the units long enough for that to matter significantly; however, it is still a concern to play live shows with these units due to their potential loss in signal. 3) When 2 units are utilized in tandem (1st: guitar to pedals, 2nd: pedals to amplifiers), a similar 30 foot range can be achieved as long as no obstructions are in the way. However, if you walk within 5 feet from the amplifier, the signal cuts out continuously. As such, if you needed to make changes on your amplifier during a song, it would not be a smooth process. One issue I discovered is when I utilize the units in tandem with headphones (1st: guitar to pedals; 2nd: pedals to headphone set). Sadly, the units connected to the headset and the guitar must be too close to allow for a constant uninterrupted signal. This is too bad since this would have greatly helped in my ability to practice quietly during my clinical travels. However, I can definitively say, they do function much better than the last units and even the first units we received. 4) We have noticed absolutely no difference in range or signal when we utilized active and/or passive pickup instruments as of this time. As such, this is a nice aspect for us via our collection of instruments. We have tested electric violins, electric cellos, and both acoustic and electric basses and guitars with active and passive pickups. As mentioned, the units seem to function the same with each instrument with only one exception, which I will list as number 5 below. 5) For some unknown reason, it appears as though these units have “some” difficulty sending signals with lower stringed instruments. For example, on my 9 string Schecter Guitar, the bottom 3 strings are a hit or miss in terms of maintaining an accurate signal. In many cases, when playing these strings, the signal seems to cut out more frequently which is accompanied by the Blue LED flickering on the units. This same issues occasionally occurs with my 5 string Johnson Bass Guitar, 5 String Dean Bass Guitar, and my 4 String Gibson Bass Guitar. It also occurs on the C string of our electric Cello off and on. With that taken into consideration, I am curious if these lower wavelengths (from the lower strings) are affecting the unit’s ability to maintain their signal. 6) When utilizing both units on different instruments we still experience an annoying issue. If you are not at least 5-10 feet away from the other musician who is also utilizing the units, there still is sporadic signal cuts. However, this is nowhere near as bad as the last units we had to replace. It truly is a complete difference. That being stated, this 5-10 foot distance creates 2 issues: 1) you can’t play a small venue (café or small stage) without risking a interrupted signal via the close proximity to the other musician using another Xvive U2 unit. 2) If you have the correct distance between the musicians, you still create issues if their amplifiers are near (within 5-10 feet) each other (via the close proximity of their receivers). With that stated, I feel these units will meet our needs from practice at home, but not for shows. 7) We have tested these units near active and inactive wireless routers. Ironically, there was no noticeable difference in range nor longevity of the signal as of this time (unlike the prior units). That being stated, we tested these units in an apartment setting and the neighboring routers might not be utilized to the same high degree since the test was during the day and not afternoon (more people home from work thus more router utilization). The prior 7 points are what we sent Xvive. They quickly followed up by writing: “Really appreciate your thorough test and report. It is great to hear that it is much better than before. For the Items 3, do you mind let me know the channels the units your assignment , I would suggest you use one unit for channel one and the other units apply the channel 3 , this would be helpful to the situation. Regarding to the low strings , I would look into it . Thanks for your help Best Regards Fischer” “Just talked with my designer about your question on the 9 strings bass signal issue. For The U2 , the frequency is from 20HZ to 20KHZ , for your nine string bass, I guess the last three string's frequency is lower then 20HZ , which is the reason why there is the signal cut out . As I know for the 5 string bass, the low key string's frequency is 23Hz , should have no problem….” “Thanks for your suggest on the 3 frequency per channel , I think it is a creative idea and we would do some experiment and let you know the result.” All the Best Fischer” Conclusion: These units are wonderful for the price range. Sure they might not offer the 100% reliability to play without concerns at live shows via the potential for obstructions, close proximities to other instrumentation using these systems, and wifi routers/signals (like in café setting); but it does offer a fantastic methodology for practicing and leaving a pile of cables at home when you travel with your instrument(s). After experimenting with these units, we rarely get losses in the signal anymore. As Fischer kindly suggested, channel 3 does help with the lower strings. There are still some cutouts with the lower string frequencies (cello C-string, bottom 3 of my 9 string guitar, and 5 string bass), but it is not a constant disturbance. The Xvive U2s’ best feature is, few to no cable utilization. This truly makes practicing a treat when playing alone and/or in a group setting. My wife and I have made even more suggestions to Xviveaudio, and we would love the opportunity to test future products. Even though we have had a few hiccups with the first 2 rounds of units sent, Nancy Lee and Fischer were so kind and professional that we are nothing more than completely satisfied with the end result. They truly cared about our concerns and instead of just reshipping the same faulty products, they proactively made changes based on our concerns and shipped replacements immediately. That is almost unheard of anymore. We know they are always looking at ways to better their products so I can only assume this product, or at least future generations of this product, will soon be concert leave/quality. This is something my wife and I are really looking forward to in the current price range. That last thing to consider is… are there other units that function better the Xvive, honestly yes; but those units are hundreds of dollars more expensive, typically are much more bulky (annoying to perform with), and still have signal issues from time to time. As such, for the price and fantastic customer service, you can’t go wrong with this product. We hope this review helps.