Hear Technologies Hear Back Four Pack

I was hesitant to get this... and the first time I looked at it,as soon as I saw the Cat 5 cables... came an immediate "no way do I want to run cables... what a hassle...etc"

I had been using the RME mix matrix and mixer, which works well... however, as a session wore on (in live settings and my own bands rehearsals in the studio) I seemed to spend a lot of time re-adjusting headphone mixes as ear fatigue set in (or someone turned up/down)... In fact...I was sick and tired of the whining and complaining! "I can't hear myself", "All I hear is him", "there's too much ... (take your pick)"

I took the plunge. The 4 pack comes with a D-sub x 8 1/4" cable and 4 50' Cat 5 cables. I chose to run my own cables so as not to have any excess ....(only recommended for those with lots of patience)

The mixers have a standard microphone mount on the back and I used Altas podium mounts, and a short extension for everybody but the drummer who got the podium mount and a mini-boom. Each mixer handles 8 channels!*

was originally using an Aphex 141 D/A converter to sent mixes from the RME into a Presonus HP60. so I redirected the lightpipe and the D-sub to the Hear Back rack unit.

The unit supports up to 8 mixers. Each mixer will run 2 headphones (same mix....and I haven't tried it)

I ran extra cables in case we get a permanent player... which means I'll need to get another mixer (~$240...)

THIS WORKS GREAT!!!!!! plenty of volume, a limiter so they can't blame me for going deaf... no more whining and complaining!!!!

I bought mine from Sweetwater and they matched the best e-Bay price (I thought that was pretty cool)

so plenty of pros.... and yes, a few cons* I wish channel 1 & 2 could be unlinked... while 3/4, 5/6 am\nd 7/8 can be linked, 1/2 cannot. I wish there was the option on an insert on the rack unit instead of just the mixers... and lastly (though I realize I'm reaching) it'd be superb if you could mix analog and digital inputs..

I read one dissenting opinion on one of the forums that complained about the 1.5 mSec latency....(?) all I can say is "Brother, your ears are a lot more astute than mine)

You want the ability to have individual players be in charge of what they hear? This this is the real deal! I will very likely add a couple of more mixers to my studio (conveniently located of course!)