Hello All.   
      
      
      
   [SNIP]   
    RW> For those who might not have seen the thread there, my   
    RW> position is basically that folks who've worked with   
    RW> ensembles that use primarily amplified instruments the art   
    RW> of blending with other elements is often lost.  IT's easier   
    RW> to engage in the volume arms race and just "turn me up"   
    RW> instead of work with others to get a good balance.   
    RW> The few folks lurking here in music education might have   
    RW> some relevant comments here.   
      
   I can add a few comments here, Richard, as I work for Quantum   
   Technologies, Inc. (parent company of Hear Technologies) as the   
   technician/service manager.   
      
   Hear Technologies makes the Hear Back personal monitoring   
   system.  The basic system consists of a Hub and from one to 8   
   Hear Back Mixers.   
      
   The Hub accepts any of 3 input modes; analog via an 8 pair TRS   
   or XLR terminated input cable, ADAT (digital) via an optical   
   input or Hear Bus which enables cross linking more than one Hub,   
   enabling a multitude of Mixer outputs. The mixers connect up to   
   the Hub via standard Cat 5 cable, up to approximately 200 feet   
   in length.  The hub has no controls other than an input selector   
   switch and a power switch.  The ADAT optical input is apparently   
   compatible with a good number of digital mixers.   
      
   Each mixer (in its standard configuration from the factory) has   
   6 individual and 1 stereo pair sets of controls plus a limiter   
   control.  It has 2 independent headphone outputs and 2 line   
   level outputs (left - right) as well as a line level input.   
      
   There is an optional modification offered where the mixer loses   
   the Limiter and becomes a full 8 channels.  The stereo 1-2 input   
   becomes channel 1 and the limiter becomes channel 2; the rest of   
   the channels remain unaffected.   
      
   In the service department I see lots of them (there are many   
   tens of thousands out in the field.) The come from lots of   
   churches, recording studios, educational institutions and   
   individuals.   
      
   Multimedia churches and recording studios comprise a large chunk   
   of the client base, as do live performance sound reinforcement   
   companies.  They all seem to love the flexibility of letting   
   individuals control what they hear in their own monitor mix,   
   without having to have an additional person sitting FOH to try   
   and "administer" the monitor mix.  The compact in-ear headsets   
   (ear buds) seem to be the favorite.   
      
   The fact that all this is done over one cat 5 cable from the main   
   mixer is a big plus.   
      
   I'm going to defer to my colleague Charles Snoddy for further   
   comment from the recording studio/performance standpoint... once   
   he gets a few minutes in his crowded schedule to write his   
   views.    
      
   Hopefully this will give you a little more understanding of the   
   hardware end of at least the Hear Back version of the personal   
   monitoring system.   
      
   Best regards,   
   Marc   
      
   --- timEd/2 1.10.y2k+   
    * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS-Huntsville,AL-bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)