Hear Technologies Mix Back and Hear Back Combo System
By Bill Evans and Jamie Rio
Monitor World has changed. Blame it on the increasing use of personal monitors and higher expectations on the part of performers, but the bottom line is that three or four mono mixes and a couple of sidefills will most likely not do the trick on most gigs. Especially in venues–like churches–where a small footprint is needed and where you need to squeeze maximum flexibility from a crew with often limited technical know-how. We have found a solution that works well for us. At a trade show in 2003, we went introduced to an affordable, easy to use and flexible system called the Hear Back from a company called Hear Technologies. The Gear
The Hear Back is a system that consists of a hub and individual mixers that mount to a mic stand. The hub gets eight audio signals either via an analog snake or a single ADAT digital input. Those eight signals go out over standard Cat5 (Ethernet) cable to as many as eight mixers and each of those mixers has a stereo aux input plus stereo line outs, a pair of powered outputs for headphones or personal monitors plus an adjustable limiter. The line outs can feed either a powered wedge or monitor amp or a personal monitor wireless rig.
That basic system has recently been augmented with the introduction of the Mix Back–a 16 x 12 x 2 x 2 mixer that is designed to integrate with the Hear Back system, extending its capabilities to include more input and mix options.
The Mix Back is rack-mountable with all of its connections on the back of the mixer similar to other rack-mountable monitor mixers on the market (the Crest VX, for example). Each of the 16 inputs has a passive split for feeding the house, plus an insert point and four bands of smooth, well-centered EQ and two aux sends for adding effects. Each channel gets sent to a pair of main stereo mixes and up to 12 other mono outputs.
Looking at the back of the console, you will see XLR inputs and split outs for each channel along with a 1/4-inch line input and an insert send/receive jack. Each channel also has an individual switch for turning phantom power on or off and a ground-lift. In the bottom half of the back are 1/4-inch ins and outs for each of the two stereo mixes and all 12 busses plus mono send and stereo returns for the auxes. Pretty standard.
What makes the Mix Back different is in the middle. Here you will find a pair of outputs in RJ-45 and ADAT optical format that allow the Mix Back to integrate directly with a Hear Back system. Each of these outs sends a digital bundle of signals to a Hear Back hub which means you can run two completely separate Hear Back systems from a single Mix Back console. You will also see inputs for a talkback mic, as well as Hear's optional talkback remote–a pad with buttons that correspond to each of the bus outputs that allows the monitor engineer to talk directly to the entire band or to individuals with a simple button press.
The Gigs
The Mix Back can be used in a number of configurations, including a traditional monitor mixer (inputs go to the Mix Back and from there to the house mixer via the passive splits), a monitor mixer with Hear Back integration (more in a minute) or as a combo monitor/ FOH console using the main stereo mix to run the house–which is how we used it.
The gig we used the system on is an outdoor concert series with a nine-piece R&B band with a horn section and five singers. This is a side-of-stage mix position gig with both house and a couple of monitor mixes being run from a single console. Pretty typical for this kind of gig.
Given that setup, all audio sources ran to the Mix Back just like we would have run them with any other console, and the splits were not used. Instead, we used the HearBus output to feed a Hear Back hub, which in turn fed six Hear Back mixers mounted to the mic stands of various players. Each singer got a mixer, with the bass player sharing a mix with the drummer and the horns sharing a single mix. All singers were using personal monitors while the bass player and horns used the Hear Back to drive a powered wedge. This is one place where the fl exibility of the system shone through. Because each Hear back mixer has both line outs and headphone outs, it was a snap to use one unit to feed both the drummer's personal monitors and the bass player's wedge.
Once everything was hooked up it was time to route signal to the Hear Back mixers, and this is the only time when things got a bit confusing. Remember we said that the Hear Back gets eight audio signals from the hub? Well, using the Mix Back console, those inputs are set as stereo output L-R plus busses 1-6 on the first Hear Back output and stereo output number two plus busses 7-12 on the second output. There is a good reason for this that we will get into in a minute, but the numbering system does not match up with what is printed on the Hear back mixers, which caused some confusion. The band had all of the Hear Back mixers pre-labeled for the way they had used them in rehearsal without the Mix Back and it was just not possible–using the console as house and monitor mixer–to route things the same way. This meant some frantic re-labeling on the Hear Back system and some confusion at the Mix Back. The confusion was worsened because it was very hard to find space to label channels on the Mix Back. This is a good small-frame monitor mixer and there is a lot of functionality shoved into a limited amount of space–which is great, but doesn't leave room for even a strip of tape to label channels and busses. A cheat sheet helped (Bus 1 = channel 3 = male vox (inputs 10-12). Bus 2 = channel 4 = bass and drums (inputs 1-4), etc.) but some tape on the mixer would have made things a lot easier
Let's look at the routing between the Mix Back and Hear Back for a second. The Hear Back has eight knobs, one for Stereo 1-2, and one each for inputs 3-8 plus a knob to adjust the built-in limiter. That's great and it fits perfectly with the Hear philosophy that the key to a good personal monitor experience is a good "baseline" mix for everyone. That is why the Stereo 1-2 input on the Hear Back is hard wired to the stereo main mix on the Mix Back. What was on that knob on the Hear Back was exactly what was going out to the house and served as our baseline mix. Then, each of the other six knobs became "more me" channels allowing each member of the band to dial in more male vox, female vox, drums and bass, guitar, keys or horns. That works great for vox and direct inputs like the keys. But for louder instruments (i.e. horns and drums and guitars), what was in the stereo baseline was not really true to what was being heard in the house as the house sound was a combo of what was coming through the mixer and what was coming off of the stage as a straight acoustic source. That is one place where the "more me" mixes come in handy.
I have been using the Hear Back for several years and with just that part of the system, my monitoring life got easier. The addition of the Mix Back makes the system about a thousand times more flexible and I like it a lot. But is it for you? Depends. While the Mix Back did just fine as a house mixer, we did find the lack of faders and channel mutes difficult to work with. On the other hand, we had features not often found at this price point, including switchable phantom power for each channel (not the grouping typical of lower-priced mixers). This really is a monitor system that we pushed to run both house and monitors. If you are "attached" to an act that you mix all of the time, then adding the Mix Back/Hear Back can be a great way to get individualized monitor mixes even if the house console has just a couple of auxes. Just add the Mix Back before the house console (use the splits to feed house). You can even do this when you are stuck with the "system du jour" at the local club. Just add the Mix Back to the FOH position and feed the split outputs to the house console. Once you have used it a few times and have the numbering/ labeling issues sorted out, it is a simple addition to the system that will give you back way more than what you put into it.
Best part is that it is quite affordable as monitor rigs go. The Mix Back runs $2495 and a four-pack of Hear Backs with a hub and cables is another $1495. Additional mixers run about $250 each. Especially for the growing number of artists using personal monitors, this rig is something to seriously consider. We can't count the number of times we have been told by an act at soundcheck that one or more band members were using personal monitors and had to reply that I only had three monitor mixes available, so the personal monitor people could share two with the rest of the band getting a single mix or vice-versa. Not a way to win popularity contests.
The combo Mix Back/Hear Back system ensures enough mixes to keep a large band happy and it gives additional flexibility without a huge price tag and in a fairly compact space. For us, this one is a keeper.
Beyerdynamic Opus 89 Vocal Mic
Bill Evans
The world is awash in good dynamic vocal mics. If you take your standards down a notch and include the knockoffs and almost knockoffs coming out of China, then you have a veritable flood on your hands. While most of the new wired dynamic mics coming out from the major mic players over the past few years have been "budget" versions or MIpriced versions of their "big boys," Beyer has taken a different tack and actually put out a new pro-grade dynamic that is worth a peek.
The Gear
If you have seen the Beyer TG-X 80 just put a nickel-colored head on it and ditch the spaceagey red rubber ring and you have a pretty good idea of what the Opus 89 looks like. And looks are not all that it shares with the TG-X 80 as the twoóat least on paperósport very similar performance specs and the same weight and size with a different color scheme. The big difference is that Beyer made this more of a vocal mic, rolling off the response below 35 Hz which helps clear the mud. Like any hypercardiod mic the polar response shows a pretty big lobe at 180° from the front–something to keep in mind when placing monitors.
With a presence bump between about 5K and 12K, the Opus 89 boasts some of the highend clarity found in good live condenser mics. The mic ships with a clip that fits and a nylon carrying bag. While it shares some specs with the TG-X 80, to my mind at least, the Opus 89 is just a whole lot nicer looking.
The Gigs
We used this on a four piece rock band in a small, loud club. We placed a pair of the Opus 89s on two male singers–one a principle vocalist and the other doing mostly backups and just a few leads. Despite the volume onstage, the tight pattern kept feedback from being a problem (nary a squeal all night long). One of the mics was plugged into a channel that had been used for a condenser vocal mic the night before, and it sounded good out of the gate with the previous EQ settings still dialed in.
The mic was introduced in Europe at PLASA almost a year ago and in the U.S. during Winter NAMM last January. Still, we did a Web search and could not find a retailer currently stocking the Opus 89 in the U.S., but a U.K. search turned up a unit at 162 pounds sterling or about $259 in Uncle Sam's dough.
Finally, gig over and band packed up, it was time for the drop test. Five feet straight down to concrete. The grill dented pretty significantly leaving the mic looking lopsided at the impact point, but everything still worked fine.
[Post Script: I never do this, but I just have to make a late addition to this one. After writing the review, I used the beyer mics again– this time in a rehearsal situation without the pressure of a live gig, and where I was really able to listen and compare. We don't do headto- head shootouts in FOH, but I will say that I used five vocal mics with this band–the two beyers and a trio of the mid-line condensers the band normally uses. Those condensers have always beat out a dynamic on the same stage. But the beyers–the dynamics–absolutely smoked the condensers. Hotter output, more detailed high-end, better intelligibility–all of the things we usually depend on a condenser to provide. The vocalists who used the beyers asked if they could use them all the time. These things rock. -Ed]
Peavey VSX Speaker Processor
Mark Amundson
When Peavey announced the VSX series of speaker processors two years ago, I knew from the brief specifi cation and computer generated front panels that these speaker processors could become standard items in better sound systems. While Peavey was "late to market", that tardiness allowed for some industry settling on what speaker processor should, and should not, do.
The two-in/six-out format of the Peavey VSX 26 Digital Loudspeaker Processor fi ts most main speaker applications. On the front panel there is blue and gray over black chassis cosmetics with what has become the typical speaker processor layout of vertical LED bars over mute switches for the 2 inputs and six outputs. To keep the cost reasonable, each channel mute switch has a corresponding red LED indicator and just one green/yellow/red LED for signal present and clip. While other brands will have adjustable limit/clip indications for the LEDs, the VSX has fi xed values at about -20dBu green, +18dBu yellow, and red at +20dBu.
The rest of the user interface is pretty much six menu buttons and a rotary encoder/ switch to select and adjust parameters. The menu buttons are Setup, EQ, Dynamics, X-over, Delay and Tools. Other nice user features are RTA mic input, USB inputs for memory stick and computer interfacing. The back panel is the usual all-business end with an IEC power inlet with eight XLR connectors for ins and outs.
I like the no-nonsense way the Peavey VSX 26 user interface works. As with any speaker processor, it takes a bit of time to get used to its operation; I did like the fact that the VSX 26 provided a lot of fl exibility and kept the features minimalist. The Setup menu is pretty much the main screen, allowing the user to customize the in/out patching and start with eight common confi gurations. When you have established a preset you like, you press the Tools menu button to save the preset; I recommend doing this often, just like you periodically save your work in progress on a PC. The Tools menu also lets you upload or download one of the eight internal presets from the VSX 26 or from the two USB ports.
The EQ menu is typically my last spot for tweaking in a preset, but the VSX26 provides a 27-band graphic EQ section for each input, and 5 bands of parametric EQ for each output. Do not be in a rush to place those fi lters as you also have more fi lters in the X-over menu for each bandpass and on each side. The usual choices are Butterworth and Bessel fi lters from 6 to 48 dB/octave and Linkewitz-Riley fi lters from 12 to 48dB/octave. And the X-over can also be used to setup relative levels for driver sensitivity correction.
The Dynamics menu is a single compressor/ limiter for each input and output. The adjustments are the normal threshold, ratio, attack, release and gain choices. The Delay menu is extremely friendly as the delay for each input and output on the VSX 26 is represented in milliseconds, but also provides the equivalent distances in feet and meters. The only worry is that the menu does not indicate if the distance computation takes into account temperature and humidity conditions. So if it is important, double check the computations.
The VSX menu system has undergone one other significant upgrade, with the addition of a GUI interface that users can operate on any computer–Mac or PC–with a web browser. The GUI software for the VSX 26 allows you to adjust and save all of the parameters of the unit with your mouse and computer. The large graphics on the computer interface are more intuitive than the very small graphics on the built in LCD screen and there are some additional features that are only available when using the GUI. These include a "reset" control (to reset a module to it's zero point) and an "A/B" switch that allows the user to switch back and forth between two settings of a single parameter, allowing the user to listen to the change just made and compare it with a previous setting. The GUI is a free download from the Peavey website and anyone interested in exploring the tools included in the unit can explore them on their computer without having an actual unit connected. Also available on the website are presets which contain very precise settings for Peavey speakers (and according to Peavey will soon include settings for other brands). These settings were developed using in-house tools not available to most users and use some non-traditional approaches by in-house engineers to achieve optimum acoustic crossovers and minimize phase interference caused by multiple drivers. A user can go to the Peavey website and download, for free, any combinations he chooses and then transfer them to his VSX26 by means of a USB jumpdrive.
I found the Peavey VSX 26 processor easy to use with a short learning curve. My first test was the all-important "power-up, power-down and power-up" test for output transients to simulate the loss of power during performance. I found no spikes while listening and checking my oscilloscope, and felt that the VSX 26 could be trusted with my amplifiers and speakers.
Sound quality-wise the Blackfin DSPs and 24-bit ADCs and DACs provided extremely transparent processing and no noticeable artifacts of its presence in the signal paths. I liked the idea of permanent +24dBu drive outputs and inputs even when using the VSX 26 closer to +7dBu limits. But there is a humanly undetectable noise floor penalty that is paid for this.
Looking for niggles on the VSX 26, my only minor one was the encoder push switch was sometimes a bit variable in push resistance. It may be a sign of its newness, or could be a modest quality issue. Other than that, the VSX 26 is certainly a bargain of capability for its price.
Out at the gigs, I put the Peavey VSX26 through paces on mains and monitor mix duties. I had no problems with the unit and was happy with its operation. If I had to wish for more on something, I guess it would be more signal gradations and LEDs on each channel; but there is a price increase for those features.
