Hello All.   
      
      
      
   ML> Hear Technologies makes the Hear Back personal monitoring   
   ML> system.  The basic system consists of a Hub and from one to 8 Hear   
   ML> Back Mixers.   
      
    RW> YEp knew you'd be able to throw out something relevant.   
      
      
      
    RW> The product that generated the thread that spun me off on   
    RW> this tangent as I think I noted is one that one could   
    RW> control with an iPhone iPod or iPad.   
    RW> I note one significant thing I'm curious about.  YOu wrote:   
      
   [SNIP]   
   ML> There is an optional modification offered where the mixer loses the   
   ML> Limiter and becomes a full 8 channels.  The stereo 1-2 input becomes   
   ML> channel 1 and the limiter becomes channel 2; the rest of the   
   ML> channels remain unaffected.   
      
    RW>   I hope you folks recommend against that one, I can   
    RW> understand offering it, but ... I never run headphone or   
    RW> in-ear monitor (those little earbud) mixes without a   
    RW> limiter. But then, to me that's a safety issue.   
      
   Actually it's very popluar.  Although the SPL available at the ear drum varies   
   with the type of headset, it can get quite uncomfortable.  It's rather up to   
   the individual to exercise common sense.   
      
   ML> In the service department I see lots of them (there are many tens of   
   ML> thousands out in the field.) The come from lots of   
   ML> churches, recording studios, educational institutions and   
   ML> individuals.   
      
    RW> I'm curious how many of them you see where they've used that   
    RW> modification.    
      
   I've installed about 80 of them so far; it is a new offering as of a few   
   months ago. (I'm the guy that does all the mods.)   
      
   ML> Multimedia churches and recording studios comprise a large chunk of   
   ML> the client base, as do live performance sound reinforcement   
   ML> companies.  They all seem to love the flexibility of letting   
   ML> individuals control what they hear in their own monitor mix, without   
   ML> having to have an additional person sitting FOH to try and   
   ML> "administer" the monitor mix.  The compact in-ear headsets (ear   
   ML> buds) seem to be the favorite.   
      
   ML> The fact that all this is done over one cat 5 cable from the main   
   ML> mixer is a big plus.   
      
    RW> OH yeah, it sure would be.  See our recent thread on digital snake   
    RW> for remote truck .   
      
   IIRC, I believe we also have an adapter to take ADAT optical input and produce   
   a Hear Back output (Cat 5).  I'll check on that - that's something I never see   
   in the service department.    
      
   ML> I'm going to defer to my colleague Charles Snoddy for further   
   ML> comment from the recording studio/performance standpoint... once he   
   ML> gets a few minutes in his crowded schedule to write his   
   ML> views.    
      
    RW> Remember a lot of my work back in my live sound   
    RW> reinforcement days was mixing monitors.  I recall when I   
    RW> first read the phrase "friends don't let friends mix   
    RW> monitors."  I've found though back when I was doing it that   
    RW> performers who knew you were being diligent about getting   
    RW> them what they needed to perform well did indeed thank you   
    RW> for it.  i actually enjoyed it more than not.  When I didn't it was   
    RW> suually working with less than professionals who   
    RW> engaged in the volume wars all during the performance.   
      
   That's where this type of system comes into play... virtually eliminating the   
   volume wars and making it SO much easier for the FOH guy.   
      
   ML> Hopefully this will give you a little more understanding of the   
   ML> hardware end of at least the Hear Back version of the personal   
   ML> monitoring system.   
      
    RW> I've used one but only in the studio, and only in someone   
    RW> else's.  ONe time, and this was years ago, producing an   
    RW> album project for some people who were less than   
    RW> professional.  I'm comfortable in my own skin getting a   
    RW> blend of what I need to hear whether on stage or in the   
    RW> studio, but my encounters with personal mixing stations were doing   
    RW> producer/engineer, hence the other side of the glass.   
    RW> MOst of the performers picked up on the concept and could   
    RW> work with it, but one in   
    particular couldn't quite wrap his   
    RW> head around it.  I finally hooked a paralleled set of cans   
    RW> up, set his mix up and told him to leave it alone from that   
    RW> point on so we could finish the foundation tracks .   
      
   There's one in every bunch, Richard.    
      
   Best regards,   
   Marc   
      
   --- timEd/2 1.10.y2k+   
    * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS-Huntsville,AL-bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)