"We bought the d:fine mics essentially because of the ease of fitting them," explains RG Jones' Owen Relfe, who was on radio mic duties for the tour. "We have eight people per show to fit within a 15 minute window, and they're all athletes and sports stars who don't like standing still. They've all noticed the new mics, and we've had some great comments from them.
"They especially like the rubberized ear fitting, which allows them to put them on and forget about them. If they can't feel the mics, they tend to fiddle with them less, and this reduces the self handling noise by a massive amount."
Relfe has been fitting the mics on an ever-changing cast, as besides regular presenter Sue Barker, referee Andy Collins and team leaders Phil Tufnell and Matt Dawson, there are four new team members for each show.
"I like the fact you can slide the capsules up and down to adjust the boom length for different faces," says Relfe. "Women tend to have a shorter distance from ear to mouth so I can adjust them really easily. I can fit a microphone in a minute, so it's less stressful for me, and the artists. Regardless of what they are doing with their head, the d:fine stays in the same place. As long as you've got the tension right on the cable at the back, via a little clip which attaches to clothing, it stays put and looks really tidy."
After 22 dates across the UK, Relfe is pleased to report that the d:fine mics performed impeccably. "I've used them on people of all shapes and sizes and they've fitted everyone really well," he says. "The rubberised earpieces have shown no sign of getting broken and the rubber has lots of memory, so it always goes back to the same shape."
(Jim Evans)
