matrix mixer for headphones

matrix mixer for headphones

I'm looking into setting up a more flexible headphone monitoring
system for live tracking. I've got the direct outs free on my main
board and thought I'd pick up a cheap line mixer, feed the some of the
DO's (or the buss outs) to it and use aux sends off the extra mixer
to feed a collection of headphone amps. That would let me put the
headphone board out in the performance area and let performers make
their own mixes. I have enough amps around so it would just be a
matter of the mixer and the cabling. Can anyone recommend a small
mixer with at least 6 inputs and at least 4 aux sends and preferably
very little else?
Thanks, Andy

Re: matrix mixer for headphones

On May 4, 10:52 am, apa <tacom...@hotmail . com > wrote:
> I'm looking into setting up a more flexible headphone monitoring
> system for live tracking. I've got the direct outs free on my main
> board and thought I'd pick up a cheap line mixer, feed the some of the
> DO's  (or the buss outs) to it and use aux sends off the extra mixer
> to feed a collection of headphone amps.  That would let me put the
> headphone board out in the performance area and let performers make
> their own mixes.  I have enough amps around so it would just be a
> matter of the mixer and the cabling. Can anyone recommend a small
> mixer with at least 6 inputs and at least 4 aux sends and preferably
> very little else?
> Thanks, Andy

You might be able to find a used Yamaha 01V for under $500. It will
also let you store presets for different setups . it comes with 12 mic
pres with line ins on every input plus spdif in and out plus 2 stereo
ins. I use one all the time for a side mixer to my Yamaha DM2000.

Re: matrix mixer for headphones

In article <daac4863-75b3-4198-af9e-2ca88dadf1f1@m3g2000hsc.googlegroups . com >,
apa <tacoma57@hotmail . com > wrote:
>I'm looking into setting up a more flexible headphone monitoring
>system for live tracking. I've got the direct outs free on my main
>board and thought I'd pick up a cheap line mixer, feed the some of the
>DO's (or the buss outs) to it and use aux sends off the extra mixer
>to feed a collection of headphone amps. That would let me put the
>headphone board out in the performance area and let performers make
>their own mixes. I have enough amps around so it would just be a
>matter of the mixer and the cabling. Can anyone recommend a small
>mixer with at least 6 inputs and at least 4 aux sends and preferably
>very little else?

The OZ Q-Mix is designed for the application, and Roland used to make
a larger matrix mixer. More convenient than fiddling around with a console
designed for general purpose work.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

Re: matrix mixer for headphones

On May 5, 9:52 am, klu...@panix . com (Scott Dorsey) wrote:
> In article <daac4863-75b3-4198-af9e-2ca88dadf...@m3g2000hsc.googlegroups . com >,
>
> apa <tacom...@hotmail . com > wrote:
> >I'm looking into setting up a more flexible headphone monitoring
> >system for live tracking. I've got the direct outs free on my main
> >board and thought I'd pick up a cheap line mixer, feed the some of the
> >DO's (or the buss outs) to it and use aux sends off the extra mixer
> >to feed a collection of headphone amps. That would let me put the
> >headphone board out in the performance area and let performers make
> >their own mixes. I have enough amps around so it would just be a
> >matter of the mixer and the cabling. Can anyone recommend a small
> >mixer with at least 6 inputs and at least 4 aux sends and preferably
> >very little else?
>
> The OZ Q-Mix is designed for the application, and Roland used to make
> a larger matrix mixer. More convenient than fiddling around with a console
> designed for general purpose work.
> --scott
> --
> "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

Thanks Scott. From the info I could find, that Q-Mix box looks ideal -
too bad it doesn't seem to be made anymore. I'll keep my eyes peeled
for a used one.

Re: matrix mixer for headphones

apa <tacoma57@hotmail . com > wrote:
>
>Thanks Scott. From the info I could find, that Q-Mix box looks ideal -
>too bad it doesn't seem to be made anymore. I'll keep my eyes peeled
>for a used one.

The expensive ideal solution is the modular mixer from Crest, which allows
you to buy a power supply and one 1U module for a single headphone feed,
then stack up more 1U modules to generate more feeds; they all stack
together with a multipin pass-through cable. It's not cheap, sadly,
but it's a grown-up version of the Q-Mix.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

Re: matrix mixer for headphones

On May 5, 1:13 pm, klu...@panix . com (Scott Dorsey) wrote:
> apa <tacom...@hotmail . com > wrote:
>
> >Thanks Scott. From the info I could find, that Q-Mix box looks ideal -
> >too bad it doesn't seem to be made anymore. I'll keep my eyes peeled
> >for a used one.
>
> The expensive ideal solution is the modular mixer from Crest, which allows
> you to buy a power supply and one 1U module for a single headphone feed,
> then stack up more 1U modules to generate more feeds; they all stack
> together with a multipin pass-through cable. It's not cheap, sadly,
> but it's a grown-up version of the Q-Mix.
> --scott
> --
> "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

Just for the record, I also came across the Shure AuxPander, which
seems also to be discontinued. It doesn't have headphone amps. It's
just a matrix mixer.

Re: matrix mixer for headphones

apa wrote:

> From the info I could find, that Q-Mix box looks ideal -
> too bad it doesn't seem to be made anymore. I'll keep my eyes peeled
> for a used one.

The Mackie HMX-56 is a later day version of the Oz. I've never known
anyone to own one so maybe they never sold any, but it's still in their
catalog. I'll bet if you can find a dealer who has one in stock you can
get a great deal on it. A quick Google search showed none in stock at
the more popular dealers, and a couple have declared this product
"discontinued" as well. But it seems that the going price was $150 and
that's hard to beat for the functionality if you can find one.

* w w w .mackie . com /products/hmx56/index.html




--
If you e-mail me and it bounces, use your secret decoder ring and reach
me here:
double-m-eleven-double-zero at yahoo -- I'm really Mike Rivers
(mriv...@d-and-d . com )

Re: matrix mixer for headphones

On May 5, 4:36=EF=BF=BDpm, Mike Rivers <mriv...@d-and-d . com > wrote:
> apa wrote:
> > From the info I could find, that Q-Mix box looks ideal -
> > too bad it doesn't seem to be made anymore. I'll keep my eyes peeled
> > for a used one.
>
> The Mackie HMX-56 is a later day version of the Oz. I've never known
> anyone to own one so maybe they never sold any, but it's still in their
> catalog. I'll bet if you can find a dealer who has one in stock you can
> get a great deal on it. A quick Google search showed none in stock at
> the more popular dealers, and a couple have declared this product
> "discontinued" as well. But it seems that the going price was $150 and
> that's hard to beat for the functionality if you can find one.
>
> * w w w .mackie . com /products/hmx56/index.html
>
> --
> If you e-mail me and it bounces, use your secret decoder ring and reach
> me here:
> double-m-eleven-double-zero at yahoo -- I'm really Mike Rivers
> (mriv...@d-and-d . com )

I use the Mackie HMX-56 and it works great. It has a stereo (L/R)
input and
4 mono inputs. You can use the effects return as an additional stereo
input.
With the 6 channels, that gives you 6 separate headphone mixes.
I recommend using balanced lines to the TRS inputs to avoid ground
loop buzz.
Hopefully this unit is still available.
-Joe O