“Do you find that your keyboard player’s laryngitis hasn’t cleared up like he claimed and his backing vocals throw you off? Simply select his channel and mute him. Does your lead guitarist not know that the treble knob on his amp also turns down? Select his channel and turn it down with the P16-M’s onboard EQ.”
P16-M Personal Mixer Monitoring System
As musicians it is vital on stage to hear each other and particularly yourself in order to perform with confidence. In the often chaotic realm of live performance it can be difficult to rely on the engineer to give you exactly what you need to hear, through sometimes battered and unreliable wedge monitor speakers.
Behringer have introduced a brand new portable monitoring system for performers in the form of the Powerplay Personal Mixer monitoring system that gives musicians direct control over what they hear on stage and in studio, letting the engineer focus on delivering the best sound to front of house or to tape. The system consists of the P16-M 16 Channel Digital Personal Mixer, the P16-I Input Module (and the optional P16-D expansion Distributor) and is compatible with powered external monitors, wireless in-ear monitors or headphones.
The P16-M
This stereo mixer puts the control of your personal monitor mix at your finger tips. The control panel features a 3 band EQ (including sweepable mids), stereo panning, mute and solo switches, channel link, group, store and recall options as well as channel volume, all of which are assignable to each of the 16 channels. A variable output limiter protects monitors and one’s ears from harmful sound pressure levels and finally an output level control adjusts overall volume to the monitors.
Thankfully, unlike some high-end digital units, this personal mixer operates at the extremely low system latency of less than 1 millisecond.
The unit’s In and Out options include CAT5e Ultranet Input (receiving up to 16 channels of audio from the front of house mixer via the P16-I input module) and Thru (for daisy-chaining the signal to another P16-M mixer), a MIDI input allows control of the unit via a MIDI controller such as Behringer’s BCF2000, and a mono/stereo 1/4inch line-out sends your mix to active monitors or to a wireless in ear monitor transmitter. This unit is powered by an included 12v Power supply.
The P16-I
The input module can receive up to 16 analog or 2x 8 ADAT optical signals from the main mixing console and converts them to either 44.1 or 48 kHz digital audio via a quality 24 bit A/D converter. Each channel has four switchable gain levels (-10, 0, +4, +22 dB). The P16-I feeds up to 6 P16-M Personal Mixers via CAT5e cables.
The P16-D
The distributor is a simple expansion unit for the P16-I with one input feeding eight bus-powered outputs, meaning that six of these connected to the P16-I could feed up to 48 personal mixers!
Setup
Setting up the system is as simple as connecting the P16-I to direct or ADAT outputs of the main mixing console, and up to six P16-M Personal Monitors, which feed either wireless powered monitors, in ear monitors or headphones. The optional P16-MP mounting bracket gives you the option of attaching the compact Personal mixer to a mic, music or drum stands. This configuration alone should be enough for most bands but adding even just one of the optional P16-D expansion modules doubles the number of personal mixers.
Use
Each P16-M receives the same unaffected audio channels that can then be individually mixed to personal taste without affecting anyone else’s. For example, a bass player might want to mix in a little bit more of him or herself and the drums so that they lock in better. A drummer might want the same but with more vocals and the vocalist would in all likelihood mute the lead guitarist. While the P16-M’s intuitive control panel allows you to ‘set and forget’, it is just as easy to recall up to 16 preset mixes for different songs that were stored at sound check as well as tweaking mid-performance.
Do you find that your keyboard player’s laryngitis hasn’t cleared up like he claimed and his backing vocals throw you off? Simply select his channel and mute him. Does your lead guitarist not know that the treble knob on his amp also turns down? Select his channel and turn it down with the P16-M’s onboard EQ.
Conclusion
In this day and age technology is putting more and more control at the fingertips of performers. The importance of putting on your best performance no longer needs to be left entirely in the hands of the sound engineer’s reliability to get the monitor mix right onstage. The Behringer Powerplay P16-M Personal Mixer monitoring system is an incredibly convenient and easy to use system that will stop potential inter-band volume wars, while giving each individual the control to hear exactly what they want in order to perform at their best. Its use will make front-of-house engineers lives easier by reducing excessive on-stage volume that can often negatively affect the front-of-house sound. It may even save you time, especially when attempting a sound check at a venue with dodgy acoustics, or in studio, where a lot of expensive recording time is often spent by an engineer getting the monitors just right when there are a million other things to do.
While similar systems exist, the P16-M promises great versatility, expandability and value for money.
Features
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
Suggested Retail Price : P16-M: R 2,999-00 | P16-I: R 3,799-00 P16-D: R 2,399-00
Supplier : ProAudio | Tel. No : 011-8221430
