Impressive looking Personal Monitoring system for Studio by Behringer (Seriously)

[True North]

By choice, I don't own any Behringer gear except for a DI Box. A buddy told me about a new studio monitoring system they created and I have to admit that it looks pretty awesome. They bascially copied the Aviom setup and then upped the ante by giving you a 3 band eq w/mid sweep for EACH Channel.....HOLY $hit.

It's pretty ram packed with features. I don't like the fact that you have to insert the Cat5 connectors to the front of the system but other than that it looks like a real winner .

I can't find pricing anywhere but I am assuming it follows Behringers current pricing strategy, which is to say...it will be WAY cheaper than Aviom. My guess it that it will come in and around the price range of the Hearback setup

Check out the pics and links
Distribution Hub
BEHRINGER: P16-I
Personal Mixer
BEHRINGER: P16-M



Here some text from the site on the personal mixers and the distribution hub

POWERPLAY 16 P16-M

• 16-Channel Digital Personal Mixer
• 16-channel digital stereo mixer to create your personal monitor mix
• Ultra-intuitive "analog" operation with total recall and 16 presets for custom mixes
• State-of-the-art 24-bit D/A converters for premium audio quality
• 16 Channel Select buttons with dual LEDs for perfect overview
• Level and Pan/Spread control per channel with LED meter
• 3-band EQ per channel with mid-band frequency control
• Solo and Mute functions per channel
• Global Level and EQ controls plus Panic Mute function
• High power and "drummer proof" headphones output
• Fully adjustable limiter protects your ears and headphones
• Additional mono/stereo line output to connect your powered monitor
• MIDI IN port for real-time remote control of all channels by external MIDI device such as BEHRINGER BCF2000, BCR2000, etc.
• Standard CAT5e connection delivers power and 16 signals to each Personal Mixers
• ULTRANET connector to daisy-chain up to forty-eight P16-M mixers for large systems (in conjunction with P16-D)
• Ultra-low system latency of less than 1 millisecond
• Powered via external power supply (included) or P16-I / P16-D
• Mounts easily on a mic stand with the P16-MB mic stand mount (not included)
• Extremely rugged construction ensures long life even under the most demanding conditions
• Conceived and designed by BEHRINGER Germany

POWERPLAY 16 P16-I HUB

• 16-Channel 19'' Input Module with Analog and ADAT Optical Inputs
• Converts 16 analog inputs into 24-bit digital audio to be transmitted via standard CAT5e cable
• 2 x 8-channel ADAT optical inputs with auto detect and priority select
• 16 balanced, high-headroom TRS audio inputs
• State-of-the-art 24-bit A/D converters for premium audio quality
• 4-position gain switches per channel pair (-10, 0, +4, +22 dB)
• Digital inputs support 44.1 and 48 kHz sample rates
• Ultra-low system latency of less than 1 millisecond
• Signal Present and Clip LEDs per channel plus ADAT status LEDs
• Standard CAT5e connection delivers power and signals for up to 6 Personal Mixers
• ULTRANET expansion network connector (RJ45)
• Internal autorange power supply for maximum flexibility (100 – 240 V~), noise-free audio, superior transient response plus low power consumption for energy saving
• Extremely rugged construction ensures long life even under the most demanding conditions
• Conceived and designed by BEHRINGER Germany

[Retinal]

I do start to believe that the "fusion" midas/behringer will actually bring smart units
These look interesting indeed, let's wait and see the price

[studio825]

This has got to be about the same price as the Furman HSHR series.I hope!!!!!!!

[mobius.media]

What's Behringer trying to do? Become a legitimate brand?

Neat concept.

[PMoshay]

The overview of this looks very good, they very well could have a great product to sell here. They have always been a company that tries to bring affordable products to people and seem to engineer in as much bang for the buck as they can. Their latest offerings seem to state that they wanna up their game and really give lots of features for your money.
I hope this product delivers, it would be a great asset to many studios and musicians to have this kinda system.

[Shy]

I'm completely unimpressed. Also, no higher than 48kHz is even useless to me.

[True North]

I wasn't aware that Behringer bought out Midas.

This product is pretty ambitious but it sort of falls in line with their strategy of copying someone else's great idea, in this case Aviom, and sell it for a fraction of the price.

I sent an email to my contact at Alto Music and they said they won't have pricing until next week.

I'm going to check it out at NAMM next week. I don't think I have ever been this interested about going to the Behringer booth at NAMM before

[True North]

Originally Posted by Shy

I'm completely unimpressed. Also, no higher than 48kHz is even useless to me.

What do you currently use that impresses you, that allows each of the musicians recording in your studio, to mix up to 16 individual signals and EQ each one of them ?

Why is sending a 48K mix to a musician useless to you? Is it that you just prefer to send mixes at a higher sample rate? Do you not record multiple musicians at the same time? Do your musicians not use headphones? Do you only record yourself?

[dbjp]

If this is Behringer price, then I think I'll get it. Keep a couple of extra hubs around if (when!) the ones in use break.

[John Suitcase]

Conceived and designed by BEHRINGER Germany

My favorite line in any Behringer material!

"Hey, have you seen this Avion thing?"

"No, looks cool!"

"I have a concept! Let's design a knockoff!"

"Call China!"

[barryjohns]

Originally Posted by Shy

Also, no higher than 48kHz is even useless to me.

I would say that if you are recording above 48k, you just don't know enough to realize that recording above 48k is a waist of resources.

Do some homework.......You'll save yourself a lot of hard drive space.

[barryjohns]

Just from a Concept Perspective, this thing is stunning

[Chrisc_o]

Originally Posted by Shy

I'm completely unimpressed. Also, no higher than 48kHz is even useless to me.

So analog inputs doesn't solve that issue for you? Strange...

[Louis Bernstone]

works for me. I bought that cheap furman system, but finding I need more than 6 channels. This would plug in to my existing wiring and away we go! my only concern would be the actual latency, as the furman uses analog across ethernet, so zero latency as far as I am aware.

[studio825]

I will be purchasing this set up for sure.Even if it only does 48k.LoL!

[True North]

Originally Posted by Louis Bernstone

works for me. I bought that cheap furman system, but finding I need more than 6 channels. This would plug in to my existing wiring and away we go! my only concern would be the actual latency, as the furman uses analog across ethernet, so zero latency as far as I am aware.

I currently use a Hearback system which has been an absolute godsend for me. It's a similar system to the Aviom and this Behringer but it is not as feature rich as either of the above.

The musicians love it, it saves me a mountain of time not having to set monitor mixes for each musician. Want more ld gtr? Turn the knob.There is inherent latency in the system but I have never checked what it actually is as I have never had an issue with it. The Behringer site says it has a latency of less than 1 ms which for my needs will be plenty good. I would imagine it would be good enough for most.

[foldback]

Originally Posted by Shy

I'm completely unimpressed. Also, no higher than 48kHz is even useless to me.

I was going to say "wtf, it's just a monitor rig" but then i decided nevermind, use your boutique headphone system, i'm sure it's awesome.

btw, anyone know the country of origin for 90% of Furman products?

Happy New Year everyone!

[Kieftenbelt]

Just not like Furman products, this also have exact the same idea as Hear Technologies.

I'm curious about the quality of the converters!

[ajcamlet]

Im very much interested in this... is that amount of latency a problem for say- percussion overdubs?

[True North]

Originally Posted by ajcamlet

Im very much interested in this... is that amount of latency a problem for say- percussion overdubs?

Less than a ms of latency is like having sample latency buffer somewhere in between 32 and 64 samples which more than adequate.

[JoFo]

Wow this is pretty cool. the fact that you can go in either digital or Analog would be very handy!

looking forward to seeing the street price.

[AlexK]

Originally Posted by True North

Less than a ms of latency is like having sample latency buffer somewhere in between 32 and 64 samples which more than adequate.

Or the same time it takes sound to travel 1 foot. Nothing really...

[True North]

Just went to the booth to get some pricing

The mixers have a MAP of $199 and the hub is $250

There seemed to be some confusion on whether the mixer was $250 and the hub was $199 so it may end up being the other way around.

This means you can probably pick it up at 'friendly' pimp for about $220 on the hub and $175 on the mixer which is an incredible deal

Bad news is this does not get released until the summer

[RonT]

Will be getting this. Right now I will just do with either making mix 1 or mix 2 for people in the live room. Oh well deal with it!

The other offerings were just to expensive for me to deal with now but hey, this actually looks great!

[Louis Bernstone]

I am using the furman 6 channel one, which is pretty cool as was very cheap, and uses analog over ethernet....ie no sample delay! Works very well, but needs 4-6 more channels....

[True North]

Originally Posted by Louis Bernstone

I am using the furman 6 channel one, which is pretty cool as was very cheap, and uses analog over ethernet....ie no sample delay! Works very well, but needs 4-6 more channels....

Actually, as far as I can tell the HDS-6 uses Cat5 cables to connect to the mixer units just like the Behringer. The Behringer also offers 16 analogue inputs with less than a 1 ms of latency.....which is more than adequate.

FurmanSound.com - Pro A/V Product - HDS-6

The 6 channel Furman system will cost roughly the same as the Behringer system, with less than half the capabilities of the Behringer.

Comparing Apples to Apples, the Furman HDS 16 is a fairer comparison. The Furman 16 channel hub (HDS-16) is over a $1000 retail. The Mixers (HRM-16) are about $750 each.

Don't get me wrong, if all things were the same I would trust the Furman name over Behringers but at the price Behringer is offering, you can buy extra units for redundancy purposes and STILL come out way cheaper then comparable systems.

[hgen]

One of the few things Behringer has done well is Headphone amplifiers!! How much?

[Louis Bernstone]

As far as I am aware, there is no conversion in the Furman....so works with analog latency ie none. 1ms is negligible, so the behringer probably is gonna be great value, if they manage to build it in one of the "good" factories!

Originally Posted by True North

Actually, as far as I can tell the HDS-6 uses Cat5 cables to connect to the mixer units just like the Behringer. The Behringer also offers 16 analogue inputs with less than a 1 ms of latency.....which is more than adequate.

FurmanSound.com - Pro A/V Product - HDS-6

The 6 channel Furman system will cost roughly the same as the Behringer system, with less than half the capabilities of the Behringer.

Comparing Apples to Apples, the Furman HDS 16 is a fairer comparison. The Furman 16 channel hub (HDS-16) is over a $1000 retail. The Mixers (HRM-16) are about $750 each.

Don't get me wrong, if all things were the same I would trust the Furman name over Behringers but at the price Behringer is offering, you can buy extra units for redundancy purposes and STILL come out way cheaper then comparable systems.

[dino321]

Originally Posted by barryjohns

I would say that if you are recording above 48k, you just don't know enough to realize that recording above 48k is a waist of resources.

Do some homework.......You'll save yourself a lot of hard drive space.

That has not been proven either way. People with very impressive audio credentials still argue this point.

[RonT]

Originally Posted by hgen

One of the few things Behringer has done well is Headphone amplifiers!! How much?

And A/D/A converters!

Now mix these two together and ummmmm.....Houston, I think we have a winner!