Best headphone monitor system

[KAJI]

You'll need some dough, but IMHO:

- Aviom (over ethernet)
- Mytek Private Q (DL connectors that we all love)

Let us know what you find/go for.

[tko]

Hey there we have been using this system for about 3yrs.

Hear Technologies - Hear Back Personal Monitor Mixer System

Its brilliant and you can add to as you go. Also the parts aren't expensive to add, mixers new are about $250US.

Cheers.

[dbjp]

These are great for the price. Uses only ethernet cables and expandable, again, via ethernet. Four mono channels + 1 stereo in its basic configuration.

Furman HDS-6 & HR-6

[Idiophonic]

Just an FYI,

I've seen a lot of those ethernet-based systems with broken or loose CAT-5 connectors. I've known people to replace the connections with other more sturdy connection types.

[numrologst]

the hearback is the best

[True North]

Cost to Performance ratio - it almost impossible to beat the Hearback

If money wasn't really an option the Aviom is the best that I have seen

The only potential downside with the Aviom is that it almost has too much flexibility as it has ability to mix 16 different signals

I still run into problems with people trying to mix 8 channels on the Hearback because the average musician doesen't understand basic gain staging so I still get stupid comments like

"I can't hear the guitar" (well why don't you turn down the other 7 channels that you have cranked and turn up your master volume to compensate once you get the overall balance working for you)

I have my hearback set up a little differently than some might set it up. The designer created the Stereo channel to manage an overall stereo mix and then have the remaining channels augment the overall mix

I have the drums in the stereo mix and then put everything else on seperate channels.

Anyways you won't go wrong with the Hearback

[ryancork]

we use our hearback the same as True North. I have my drums on Stereo 1-2 and then everything else in mono channels, usually click in 7 and talkback in 8. which leaves room for guitars, bass, vox, keys? I haven't ever had a problem with not enough channels, and since you're only asking for four or five channels I would imagine eight is plenty.

We made our own Cat-5's with metals ethernet connectors and have had no problems. We also have a Cat-5 patchbay to quickly change where the eight sources from the HearBus (main sending unit) are routed. We have five rooms, four with two sends, and one with four sends.

I've also used the aviom system, and although it sounds by far the best, it is priced high and in some situations there is such a thing as too much control.

My only caution with the Furman is the connectors and cables are very large and heavy and if you plan on moving them a lot, figure out some sort of strain relief on both ends or you'll have broken connectors on all your units. The 4 channel units are much easier to use than the 16 channel units.

[dbjp]

Originally Posted by Idiophonic

Just an FYI,

I've seen a lot of those ethernet-based systems with broken or loose CAT-5 connectors. I've known people to replace the connections with other more sturdy connection types.

Interesting. I've had them in my studio for over 2 years and haven't had any problem at all.
Maybe because of the booth being relatively small and therefore the lack of need to move them around too much.

[Idiophonic]

Yeah, at an engineering school I attended, they took a lot of abuse and had long ago been changed from ethernet to a multi-pin locking cable. I'm sure that they can work, but those ethernet connectors seem like a weak link to me.

[animix]

I had a Furman HDS-16 system with 5 x HRM-16 remote mixers until recently.
FurmanSound.com - Pro A/V Product - HDS-16
I had each remote mixer paired with an outboard reverb box (the old Alesis Wedge units worked perfectly for this purpose). It was capable of 8 x mono and 4 x stereo mixes with independent reverb sends and shelving EQ. I actually sold the entire system to a fellow slut here a while back when I went to a more powerful system that could run native at 1.5 ms.

These aren't cheap, but I've heard just about every cue system out there (except the Manley.......haven't used that one) and the fidelity and headroom of the HDS-16/HRM-16 system exceeds any I've heard except the Mytek Private Q. The line level feed through those big 10ga cables just had a different set of "balls" on it as compared to what I was hearing over ethernet/fibre based systems. I dunno, maybe just my imagination.....but anyway...No problem with 600 ohm cans. It's almost as expensive as the private Q though. If you want good fidelity, I'd look hard at this one.

[seanmccoy]

Originally Posted by dbjp

Interesting. I've had them in my studio for over 2 years and haven't had any problem at all.
Maybe because of the booth being relatively small and therefore the lack of need to move them around too much.

Same situation here, with no problems in nearly seven years using the Furman system. We installed the Hearback system at a client's studio I designed a couple of years ago, and it has been very effective for live band sessions. I find the D/A in the mixers to be a little harsh, but none of the players has ever complained.

On a side note, Hearback has fantastic customer service. Our base unit died a few months after we got it, and they sent a new one out immediately, no questions asked, simply requesting we return the broken one "at our leisure." Now that's how it's done!

[FossilTooth]

+1 on the Hearback system. I'm amazed at how well they've held up over the years. They don't feel like a bulletproof piece of hardware, but they've held up to years of smashing, banging and toppling. I was suspicious of the how they might sound based on the price point, but they're really clear.

Not limited in flexibility and sonically pinched like the Furmans, and not total overkill in a medium studio like the Avioms. A thoroughly decent choice.

[bassjam]

PrivateQ all the way!

[HudHudson]

I can only speak of the Aviom system, having used it for more than four years. Clients love it, it's easy to set up and tweak. We have 8 stations at yellow DOG.

[Zeppelin]

Wouln't it be great if Avid released something like this:
Avid | Personal Q

..for pro tools?

So that you could store presets, and help the artist set up the mix if they got lost?

[Dj_AmTraX]

I like this one. So much so I bought TWO. Very neutral, loads of power. No bells or whistles, just great sound. Sennheiser used this amp at the HD800 press release. Not cheap and you can get the pro version with XLR.
http://www.lehmannaudio.com.au/amp/line/headphone.html