[David Grant]

http://www.mackie.com/products/hm54/index.html

Looking at buying this headphone amp. Apparently it was discontinued due to
poor sales (no one really complained about its perforance so far as I can
tell). I just want to do a quick check with the experts here to make sure
I'm not missing something here before I spend the cash.

The unit is unique (in its price range) in that you can feed a discrete
stereo mix to each headphone. I like that because I have 8 unused outputs on
my RME Multiface which I can use to feed custom mixes to each of the 4
headphones (RME has pretty nice native matrix mixing software). It looks
rugged, like most Mackie gear.

Also it's pretty cool that I, while in the control room, can patch my own
phones into the front of the unit to modify that musician's mix.

Can anyone think why not to buy it (other than the fact it's discontinued)?

David

[Mike Rivers]

David Grant wrote:

Can anyone think why not to buy it (other than the fact it's discontinued)?

Have you actually found one for sale? I didn't know that they had
actually got into the pipeline. These things aren't all that
complicated, so as long as it can drive your headphones to sufficient
volume (an unknown) there's no reason not to get it. But have you looked
at alternatives? I put a similar Behringer 4-output headphone amp into a
system about five years ago and it's still going strong.

--
If you e-mail me and it bounces, use your secret decoder ring and reach
me he
double-m-eleven-double-zero at yahoo -- I'm really Mike Rivers
)

[Joe Kotroczo]

On 15/08/08 1:07, in article QU2pk.829$mP.563@trnddc03, "Mike Rivers"
wrote:

David Grant wrote:

Can anyone think why not to buy it (other than the fact it's discontinued)?

Have you actually found one for sale? I didn't know that they had
actually got into the pipeline. These things aren't all that
complicated, so as long as it can drive your headphones to sufficient
volume (an unknown) there's no reason not to get it. But have you looked
at alternatives? I put a similar Behringer 4-output headphone amp into a
system about five years ago and it's still going strong.

Didn't Tascam have one like that as well?

--
Joe Kotroczo

[nebulax]

On Aug 14, 2:15*pm, "David Grant" wrote:
http://www.mackie.com/products/hm54/index.html

Looking at buying this headphone amp. *Apparently it was discontinued due to
poor sales (no one really complained about its perforance so far as I can
tell). I just want to do a quick check with the experts here to make sure
I'm not missing something here before I spend the cash.

The unit is unique (in its price range) in that you can feed a discrete
stereo mix to each headphone. I like that because I have 8 unused outputs on
my RME Multiface which I can use to feed custom mixes to each of the 4
headphones (RME has pretty nice native matrix mixing software). It looks
rugged, like most Mackie gear.

Also it's pretty cool that I, while in the control room, can patch my own
phones into the front of the unit to modify that musician's mix.

Can anyone think why not to buy it (other than the fact it's discontinued)?

David


I'd look at the Furman multi-channel headphone amp systems, too.

-Neb

[David Grant]

"Mike Rivers" wrote in message
news:QU2pk.829$mP.563@trnddc03...
David Grant wrote:

Can anyone think why not to buy it (other than the fact it's
discontinued)?

Have you actually found one for sale? I didn't know that they had actually
got into the pipeline. These things aren't all that complicated, so as
long as it can drive your headphones to sufficient volume (an unknown)
there's no reason not to get it. But have you looked at alternatives? I
put a similar Behringer 4-output headphone amp into a system about five
years ago and it's still going strong.

I thought I had found one but the website was lying about its stock.

The problem with the Behringer and just about every other model on the
market is that they have only one stereo input. I'm not looking for a
distribution amp, I'm looking for a 8in-8out, or 6in-6out. I'd investigate
buying a bunch of single-channel headphone amps but I'd like to have just
one chassis. Judging by Mackie's lack of success, there just isn't much
demand for something like this. Maybe I'll build something.

[Mike Rivers]

David Grant wrote:

The problem with the Behringer and just about every other model on the
market is that they have only one stereo input. I'm not looking for a
distribution amp, I'm looking for a 8in-8out, or 6in-6out.

Look again. Maybe what I remember is a discontinued model, or maybe I
just don't remember right, but it seemed to me that each channel had an
input tied to a master stereo pair as well as an additional pair that
could be used for "more me" or a reverb return.


--
If you e-mail me and it bounces, use your secret decoder ring and reach
me he
double-m-eleven-double-zero at yahoo -- I'm really Mike Rivers
)

[Joe Kotroczo]

On 15/08/08 16:12, in article ,
"David Grant" wrote:

(...)
The problem with the Behringer and just about every other model on the
market is that they have only one stereo input. I'm not looking for a
distribution amp, I'm looking for a 8in-8out, or 6in-6out.

Nah, the 8 channel Behringer has a "direct input" per channel. Works as
8in-8out.


--
Joe Kotroczo

[Scott Dorsey]

David Grant wrote:

The problem with the Behringer and just about every other model on the
market is that they have only one stereo input. I'm not looking for a
distribution amp, I'm looking for a 8in-8out, or 6in-6out. I'd investigate
buying a bunch of single-channel headphone amps but I'd like to have just
one chassis. Judging by Mackie's lack of success, there just isn't much
demand for something like this. Maybe I'll build something.

Radio Systems makes a stick-on headphone amp, I think. You could get a
dozen of the things.

Alternately if you want to build something and it doesn't need to sound
wonderful, let me know and I'll send you a handful of TDA2003 chips.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

[David Grant]

"Joe Kotroczo" wrote in message
...
On 15/08/08 16:12, in article
,
"David Grant" wrote:

(...)
The problem with the Behringer and just about every other model on the
market is that they have only one stereo input. I'm not looking for a
distribution amp, I'm looking for a 8in-8out, or 6in-6out.

Nah, the 8 channel Behringer has a "direct input" per channel. Works as
8in-8out.

I thought that was a mono jack but it's actually stereo. According to the
manual, "Allocating a signal to this connector mutes the MAIN IN signal".
That kind of worries me...Any idea if they are doing signal sensing, or does
this mean as soon as you stick a 1/4" in there that it mutes?

[hank alrich]

David Grant wrote:

"Joe Kotroczo" wrote in message
...
On 15/08/08 16:12, in article
,
"David Grant" wrote:

(...)
The problem with the Behringer and just about every other model on the
market is that they have only one stereo input. I'm not looking for a
distribution amp, I'm looking for a 8in-8out, or 6in-6out.

Nah, the 8 channel Behringer has a "direct input" per channel. Works as
8in-8out.

I thought that was a mono jack but it's actually stereo. According to the
manual, "Allocating a signal to this connector mutes the MAIN IN signal".
That kind of worries me...Any idea if they are doing signal sensing, or does
this mean as soon as you stick a 1/4" in there that it mutes?

Keep it simple: when you connect a direct input to a particular channel
the direct signal replaces the main signal for that channel.

--
ha
Iraq is Arabic for Vietnam

[Les Cargill]

David Grant wrote:
"Joe Kotroczo" wrote in message
...
On 15/08/08 16:12, in article
,
"David Grant" wrote:

(...)
The problem with the Behringer and just about every other model on the
market is that they have only one stereo input. I'm not looking for a
distribution amp, I'm looking for a 8in-8out, or 6in-6out.
Nah, the 8 channel Behringer has a "direct input" per channel. Works as
8in-8out.

I thought that was a mono jack but it's actually stereo. According to the
manual, "Allocating a signal to this connector mutes the MAIN IN signal".
That kind of worries me...Any idea if they are doing signal sensing, or does
this mean as soon as you stick a 1/4" in there that it mutes?




I'm not sure we can tell from this text.


You can download PDFs of the manuals for 'em. They're easy to read.


--
Les Cargill

[Mike Rivers]

David Grant wrote:

Nah, the 8 channel Behringer has a "direct input" per channel. Works as
8in-8out.

I thought that was a mono jack but it's actually stereo. According to the
manual, "Allocating a signal to this connector mutes the MAIN IN signal".
That kind of worries me...Any idea if they are doing signal sensing, or does
this mean as soon as you stick a 1/4" in there that it mutes?

There's no block diagram in the manual so it's hard to tell for sure but
the way I read the text, it's like the common (Main) input of the 4800
is normalled to the "Direct" input jacks of all of the eight individual
amplifiers. When you plug in to the Direct jack on any channel, it
disconnects the Main signal and feeds whatever is plugged into the
Direct input to the headphone output for that channel. Thus it can
function as an 8-in/8-out amplifier if you don't use the Main input.

I was actually thinking of the 4700, which actually mixes two stereo
inputs in each of the four sections, the Main input (common to all
sections) and the Aux input, which is unique to each section. A Balance
control adjusts the ratio of Main to Direct input. If you need more than
four channels, you'd need more than one 4700, but they're cheap. If you
only need one stereo line level input to one (stereo) headphone output
per channel, you can go with one 4800.
--
If you e-mail me and it bounces, use your secret decoder ring and reach
me he
double-m-eleven-double-zero at yahoo -- I'm really Mike Rivers
)