As the use of personal monitoring systems has become more common, we have watched the price of earpieces come down substantially. You can get universal-fit models that rival the sound quality of customs that once cost more than a grand and can even find some custom fits for about ¼ of what was once the “standard” cost. While that has been happening with the earpiece side, the wireless transmitter/receiver part of the equation has remained pretty resistant to price reductions. Yeah, there have been some downmarket models introduced, but even those are fairly pricey and the “rider-able” ones remain in the “more than a grand per” category.
The Gear
Hear Technologies has made a great package of personal monitoring tools that is affordable, flexible and capable. Full disclosure here: I own and use both their Mix Back matrix mixer and Hear Back personal mixers and I am a big fan. But wireless is a whole ‘nother thang, and I have to admit approaching the review with a bit of trepidation. It’s kind of like going to see a friend’s band that you have never seen before and really hoping they are good so you don’t have to tell them otherwise when they ask for an honest opinion.
I had nothing to worry about. The Freedom Back is a well-made piece of gear that does just what it needs to without a bunch of unnecessary and expensive bells and whistles.
It comes in a nice plastic carrying case, which most FOH readers will likely never use, as it will end up in a rack. The ½-rack unit ships with rack ears and a BNC cable and coupler for moving the whip antennae from the back of the unit to the front for rack use. The transmitter — unlike most units in this price range — has a metal case. Looking at the front from the left, you have a ¼-inch headphone jack with a volume control. Next is the control module with an LCD panel, Up, Down and Set buttons for scrolling through and changing parameters and a power switch. Pretty simple.
The rear panel has an input jack for the wall-wart power supply (yes, we wish it had and onboard power supply, too, but at this price range you just won’t find that), a mono/stereo switch, a pair of balanced Neutrik combo input jacks, a -12 dB pad switch, a pair of input level controls and the antennae jack.
The beltpack receiver is plastic, but with a nice rubberized finish that looks like it can take some abuse. (I dropped it three of four times and it had no discernable effect.) The top has the antennae, an RF signal LED, 1/8-inch earphone jack and volume control. The front has a backlit LCD and the same Up, Down and Set buttons as on the transmitter.
Very simple to use: I actually pulled it out of the box, turned it on and started using it without even cracking the manual because the settings are so few that setting it up is a no-brainer. Depending on whether you are using the A or B unit, you are running in the 584–608 Mhz or the 655–679 Mhz range with 120 channels grouped in 10 groups of 12. Frequency range is 40 Hz–16 kHz
The Gigs
I used this both myself and with another singer in a loud rehearsal environment in Las Vegas about 100 yards from the backsides of the casinos on the west end of the Strip. This is not an RF-friendly area and I have had problems with other “prosumer” level wireless in the same room. I never had a blast of RF static or a dropout over two days of constant use. Battery life is published at four to five hours, but I ran it three hours each day and it still showed life on the receiver.
So what doesn’t it have? One interesting thing is that there are no “loop through” connections for running multiple performers on the same mix. Instead, the Freedom Back takes the approach of using unlimited receivers on the same channel to accomplish the same thing in a much more cost effective manner.
It sounded great, had plenty of volume and an automatic limiter on the transmitter that saved me a few times when someone plugged in a mic without muting the channel first. And the price is way below the “pedigreed” stuff.
Hear Technologies Freedom Back
What it is: Wireless PM system
Who it’s for: Bands, HOW and “non-rider” soundcos
Pros: Well-built, simple, sounds good
Cons: External wall wart power supply
How much: $599 MSRP
Web site: www.heartechnologies.com
