Vanessa Paradis and her team put Spectera handheld to the test On her 2026 tour, the wideband wireless system gives peace of mind to engineers and artists Paris, June 2026 – For Vanessa Paradis’ 2026 tour, the audio team around monitor engineer Matthieu Speck have adopted Sennheiser’s Spectera wireless system, including the new SKM handheld transmitter.
The tour is visiting an exciting mix of big arenas, large indoor venues and festivals, so the team was looking for a system that would be reliable, with stable RF and transparent audio – in brief: capable of building complete trust with the artist from the very first soundchecks. The set-up for this tour includes two Sennheiser Spectera Base Stations, complemented by a backup unit, and 28 SEK bodypacks. Two Spectera handheld microphones handle the vocals; the monitoring is operated at 96 kHz.
Eight Neumann MCM 114 clip-on microphones pick up percussion and brass, while four MKH 8018 stereo shotgun microphones capture the audience ambience. Alongside Matthieu Speck at monitors, Vanessa Paradis’ audio team includes Julien Decarne (FOH), Nelly Robert (RF) and François Kerjan (sequencing). Vanessa Paradis’ audio team (left to right): Julien Decarne (FOH), Matthieu Speck (Mons), Nelly Robert (RF), François Kerjan (sequencing). Photo credit: Matthieu Speck A decision driven above all by trust For Matthieu Speck, the main challenge was to integrate a new technology into a demanding live production.
For Vanessa Paradis, who usually sings with wired microphones, adopting a wireless microphone represented a significant step. “Vanessa has sung with wired microphones her entire career; this is the first time she has accepted using a wireless mic on stage. Quality and reliability are a must,” points out Speck. This level of expectation shapes the entire approach to the tour.
Spectera is seen as a solution that safeguards the connection between the artist, the musicians, and the production team, ensuring continuity in an environment where each show presents its own constraints. Simpler and faster RF management One of Spectera’s key advantages lies in its special wideband technology which allows both bidirectional audio and control data to be carried within a single RF channel using time slots. This replaces the traditional RF coordination approach and significantly simplifies set-up and operation. “The Sennheiser WMAS technology replaces the traditional frequency plan. It is an extremely stable and more intuitive approach,” explains Speck. The time savings with wideband are particularly evident when fast set-ups are required, especially at festivals. Nelly Robert, RF manager of the tour, benefits from a significantly simplified workflow for RF set-up, as well as for deploying packs and preparing the microphones. The absence of repeated manual synchronisation allows the team to focus more on stage control, soundchecks and listening. Spectera DAD antennas on stage.
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