IEM: Behringer P1 Upgrade

[Lee-Man]

Hi all,

I'm looking to upgrade my Behringer P1 IEM amp. I'm happy enough with it, but just feel its time.......GAS!

Has any one compared the Behringer P1 directly with one of the Fischer IEM amps? What about the Shure p9hw, is it really worth the significant price difference? Is there anything else out there I should try?

[Dood]

The[url="http://fischer-amps.de/en/in-ear-monitoring/in-ear-stick-new.html"] Fischer Stick[/url] I have certainly has a lower noise floor, is lighter, doesn't require two XLR cables to weigh you down to go stereo /dual mono. My Fischer Stick also seems to run forever on two AAA batteries, yet my keyboard player has given up using her P1 as she's always reaching for fresh batteries (we gig a lot).

Yes there are probably other offerings including Behringer's cheaper copy of the Stick coming out, the P2. That could be a good option, but I think I'd still be inclined to stump up for the Fischer. It's a great bit of kit. - I do run stereo IEMs and love that the stick can carry a stereo signal down a single XLR cable, which works well over long cables. I've had OBBM make me a splitter cable, which is AWESOME and I highly recommend his custom cable work.

[EBS_freak]

[quote name='Lee-Man' timestamp='1504019579' post='3362154']
What about the Shure p9hw, is it really worth the significant price difference?
[/quote]
Its a really nice piece of kit. Worth the money? Probably not - as it gives you nothing but a nice case, an LED screen, a limiter and umm.... an expensive bill if you need to replace the propriety cable. Oh - it also has an EQ... but you'd always use the EQ off the aux sends anyway as that will be far more useful than the one which is built into the Shure pack. If it was 200 quid, it would be a nice purchase... £400? Well, with £400 you may aswell keep going and aim for an EW300 - or cheaper, a PSM300 premium.

Edited August 29, 2017 by EBS_freak

[Lee-Man]

The P9HW does look nice, but your right about the cable and I won't the eq. The 64 Audio pack looks interesting if priced right, but that magnetic connector seems a faff + potentially expensive. I'm thinking of a Fischer Ear Stick + Rev33 as a better solution. Wireless doesn't really appeal as I'm stood on a bass board with an MD mic and a couple of iPads so can't move too far.

[EBS_freak]

[quote name='Lee-Man' timestamp='1504100487' post='3362687']
The P9HW does look nice, but your right about the cable and I won't the eq. The 64 Audio pack looks interesting if priced right, but that magnetic connector seems a faff + potentially expensive. I'm thinking of a Fischer Ear Stick + Rev33 as a better solution. Wireless doesn't really appeal as I'm stood on a bass board with an MD mic and a couple of iPads so can't move too far.
[/quote]

Exactly the same concerns about the 64 Audio pack. What is it with all these specialist cables?

[Lee-Man]

I can't see the benefit other than weight. As the supplier of course you get to sell a spare propriety cable as any one gigging is going to want at least one just in case.

[Lee-Man]

Also, not sure about the Rev 33, but by the end of 3x one hour sets on IEM's I'd try anything that might cut ear fatigue.

Edited August 30, 2017 by Lee-Man

[EBS_freak]

[quote name='Lee-Man' timestamp='1504106547' post='3362729']
Also, not sure about the Rev 33, but by the end of 3x one hour sets on IEM's I'd try anything that might cut ear fatigue.
[/quote]

Learn how to EQ and compress for inears... say goodbye to ear fatigue... oh and the volume at which you listen to your ear mix is the greatest influencer of how quickly your ears fatigue. There's not a great deal that you can do about it.

[Lee-Man]

[quote name='EBS_freak' timestamp='1504108002' post='3362737']
Learn how to EQ and compress for inears... say goodbye to ear fatigue... oh and the volume at which you listen to your ear mix is the greatest influencer of how quickly your ears fatigue. There's not a great deal that you can do about it.
[/quote]

What settings do you use on your output? Not been super happy with anything I've tried so far.

[EBS_freak]

[quote name='Lee-Man' timestamp='1504109455' post='3362754']
What settings do you use on your output? Not been super happy with anything I've tried so far.
[/quote]

Depends on the band Im playing with - but for me, recessing the highs off at 10k and above with help loads with ear fatigue... also, clean up the mud in the lows and for me, 2-4k is a hot spot... recess that but not too much because that is where all the details and stuff is in the vocals but it is where you war is sensitive so can tire you ears quickly. I think a good quality headphone amp helps also - running the inears straight off an aux is not great as there's mismatched impedance and an introduction of distortion if your drivers aren't powered correctly. A decent headphone amp will help you out no end. (Maybe that is the justification for the Shure as the amp in that is actually really nice)

Loads of people tend to compress the hell out of IEMs... thats not good for ear fatigue either... the less compression in your ears the better really - a limiter for protection is good but don't get carried away with loads of multi band compressors and limiters to get mega loud mixes - they will destroy your ears in no time When I talk about compressors btw, I am talking about what you do with the output bus for your monitor sends as opposed to the individual channels - I would expect a certain amount of compression on the individual channels - but don't mush your inear mix into a tiresome mush. This is also one of the reasons why decent companders are so important - pants companders will squish the hell out of your mix and give you an overly compressed mess. Also- make sure there is no clipping anywhere...!

Go stereo if you can! Mono mixes are more fatiguing - separate those instruments out so they don't just clump in the centre of the mix.

[Lee-Man]

[quote name='EBS_freak' timestamp='1504118931' post='3362848']
Depends on the band Im playing with - but for me, recessing the highs off at 10k and above with help loads with ear fatigue... also, clean up the mud in the lows and for me, 2-4k is a hot spot... recess that but not too much because that is where all the details and stuff is in the vocals but it is where you war is sensitive so can tire you ears quickly. I think a good quality headphone amp helps also - running the inears straight off an aux is not great as there's mismatched impedance and an introduction of distortion if your drivers aren't powered correctly. A decent headphone amp will help you out no end. (Maybe that is the justification for the Shure as the amp in that is actually really nice)

Loads of people tend to compress the hell out of IEMs... thats not good for ear fatigue either... the less compression in your ears the better really - a limiter for protection is good but don't get carried away with loads of multi band compressors and limiters to get mega loud mixes - they will destroy your ears in no time When I talk about compressors btw, I am talking about what you do with the output bus for your monitor sends as opposed to the individual channels - I would expect a certain amount of compression on the individual channels - but don't mush your inear mix into a tiresome mush. This is also one of the reasons why decent companders are so important - pants companders will squish the hell out of your mix and give you an overly compressed mess. Also- make sure there is no clipping anywhere...!

Go stereo if you can! Mono mixes are more fatiguing - separate those instruments out so they don't just clump in the centre of the mix.
[/quote]

Yeah I avoid compression on the IEM sends and roll of the low and some low mids mud. Might have a go at the 2-4k range as I've left that alone so far. I might start running stereo I think as its mainly the keys and guitar FX cluttering my head by the end of the night.