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Post subject: More info on a potential monitor for the Passport
Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2011 9:16 am
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Aspiring Musician
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Joined: Wed Feb 16, 2011 7:24 am
Posts: 434
I've been giving the advice that individual pass-through monitors are best for the Passport, connected between the sound source (mic or instrument) and the Passport. I've been arguing that an adapter that goes from the Passport's stereo 1/8" jack and the mono 1/4" or XLR cable needed for a powered monitor isn't the kind of thing you can walk into a Crutchfield's store or Radio Shack and get. Most guitar shops don't have it, either.

Well, a very appropriate monitor for either kind of use comes in the form of the Mackie SRM150, or in the nearly identical clone Behringer Eurolive B205D. Both have combo ports that take either XLR or 1/4" TS or TSR cables for the pass-through configuration that I've been promoting, or they also have an input channel for two RCA cables. You CAN walk into a Crutchfield's or a Radio Shack and get a cable that goes from 1/8" stereo to two RCA connectors. The monitor combines the two channels into the mono speaker, and can pass it on to another similar unit if you need more than one monitor.

Both the Mackie and Behringer monitors are quite small and plenty loud for their function, and they are designed to mount on a mic stand so you can put them near your face to function while at lower volume levels than they would need to be if they were down at floor level (and they are less likely to conduct feedback through the floor). This means that they contribute less to the general loudness of the environment on a stage with sound equipment, making everything a bit less complicated.

The Mackie is clearly of higher quality, but it costs about $100 more. From what I can tell, it's probably worth the extra cost. Both are about the size of the Fender Passport P10, but are probably a little more versatile for monitor use, given the built-in mixer and multi-input format options. Perhaps Fender could work on the P10 a bit to remedy that difference? It would be great to have an all-Fender setup for PA and monitors. But until then, I'm glad that Mackie and Behringer have something to fill the gap.


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Post subject: Re: More info on a potential monitor for the Passport
Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2011 7:47 am
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Aspiring Musician
Aspiring Musician

Joined: Wed Feb 16, 2011 7:24 am
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First, I want to say that I love the Fender Passport so much that I bought two of them -- a 300 Pro and a 500 Pro. I look at the pictures of the Fender new showroom/museum and factory tour and I see guitars, guitars, guitars and also basses. I don't see Passports. I think the company undervalues one of the best products it's ever made.

I compared features against my needs for similar-class units from Yamaha, Behringer, Peavey and a few others that I can't bring to mind now and the Fender packs smaller, lighter and has more versatile inputs and better thought-out controls. It was a happy accident that it also sounds so good that I don't care what the others sound like. People who go to dances with far more powerful and expensive sound systems often comment to me that the sound I get out of my Passports is clearer than they've ever heard in the halls where I've been using them. This is true for amplifying both acoustic bands and techno-contra DJs (though I do use a powered sub-woofer for the techno stuff).

So, then people asked about monitors. None of the systems in this class are really built for monitors. The idea is that in a small venue, you put the speakers behind you and the performers listen to the main speakers, just like everybody else. But no, big stages all have monitor speakers, so little stage performers want monitors, too.

There's a 1/8" stereo out on the Passport that is great for recording (if you don't use the USB FLASH drive recording feature built into the Passport 500 pro), or for headphones or for connecting two Passports together. People want to use this as a monitor output.

The problem is that powered monitors all take mono input. Most use 1/4" TS, though some also can take XLR or 1/4" TRS (used for "balance", not for "stereo").

Fender apparently made a powered monitor. I assume they discontinued it, since I can't find it on their Web site, though some online stores are still selling them. From what I've seen of it, there's no neat way to connect it to a Passport. Fender never sold a cable that could connect them and if you went to Radio Shack and put together half a dozen different adapters, or soldered your own, you could connect them, but it's not pretty.

But Behringer and Mackey have built little jewels that have a "stereo" input that takes two RCA plugs humorously labeled "left" and "right" that combine the signals into their mono monitor. A friend bought the Behringer. I just bought the Mackey. This morning, I tested the two side by side. Despite the remarkable cosmetic similarity, there are a few stark differences between them.

1. The Behringer is about $100 cheaper.
2. The Mackey sounds better. On their Web site, they say they are proud to have engineered one small speaker that can play a wide range of frequencies at high volume levels. I don't think they are exaggerating here. I had to turn the treble EQ all the way up on the Behringer to get close to the crispness that the Mackey had with flat EQ, and when I cranked up the treble on the Mackey... whoa. Difference. You know those little percussion eggs? Like, Wow. Similar differences in the bass. I haven't tested high volume levels yet. My step-son is still asleep.
3. The Mackey has a massive heat sink to help keep the circuitry cool (Behringer has a metal plate with a small fraction of the surface area).
4. The Mackey has a thermal circuit breaker to prevent overheating (if the Behringer does, it's a secret not shared in their owner's manual).
5. The Mackey has a limiter to prevent overdriving the amp (while the Behringer specs say something about an "optical" limiter, which makes me think "clipping light", but I can't find one on the unit and there's no explanation anywhere in the manual). Maybe the Behringer "optical" limiter means that if you see smoke, you should unplug it.

So, basically, the Behringer costs a lot less, doesn't sound as good, and probably won't last as long. It is not well equipped to dissipate heat or protect itself from overheating. That doesn't mean that it's not useful. I'm not saying it's not a decent choice for somebody who can't bring themselves to spend the extra $100 for the Mackey (about $150 plus the usual add-on fees for the Behringer, about $250 plus the usual add-on fees for the Mackey).

Meanwhile, I've heard the difference and I intend to buy another couple Mackeys. The documentation is better. The unit is generally of a higher quality.

The one thing I liked on the Behringer is that the two combo port inputs have volume controls marked for "line" for left half the range and "mic" for the right half of the range, while the functionally identical volume controls on the Mackey just say "Min" to the left and "Max" to the right. Still, I could see some people confused by the Behringer markings. Like I said, the actual functionality of these controls is identical between the units.

The center detents on the Mackey EQ controls is much easier to detect. It's a lot more subtle on the Behringer.

Then there's fit and finish. Both units look fine. I had more trouble starting the threads on the mic boom for the top of the Behringer than on the Mackey. I'm not sure if this is universally going to be true, but on the units I tested it was not a subtle difference. The Mackey was much easier to start.

And the Behringer has a legacy part. It's a chromed stub that screws on to the top of a mic stand (like the black piece that the monitor mounts on), except there's nothing on the monitor for it to fit to. Looking in the manual, this is the piece (instead of the black piece) that it shows as the mic stand mount for the unit.

Meanwhile, the black unit is identical to the one on the Mackey. It looks like Behringer first put out their monitor to use this chrome mount and they changed to the Mackey version later, without updating the manual or removing the part from the package. I find this aesthetically displeasing; a sloppy evolution of the product without follow-through.

It looks like the chrome version would have required screwing the monitor onto the mic stand (which would be awkward), while the black version has a small part easily screwed onto the mic stand, then the monitor is just dropped onto the keyed shape of the black part -- like a deep cone with fins to prevent pivoting. I'm suspecting Mackey came up with a better way to do it and Behringer switched.

I will note that I wish the top mounts for the booms were as well thought-out as the bottom mounts for the stands. A drop-in boom mount that brought the boom plumb would be an improvement over this screw-in boom mount that tilts backwards so that if you don't cinch the boom tightly with the little ring-locks (which is hard to do), any bump will rotate the boom downhill, away from the performer, unless the counterweight is heavier than the mic. Mine isn't.

So, if you have the excellent taste to have purchased a Passport and you want a monitor, I'd highly recommend the Mackey SRM150. If you are strapped for cash, just put the Passport speakers behind you, do without monitors and save up your gig money to get a Mackey. If you want to waffle between these two positions and don't plan on using the monitor often, or loud, and you don't care a lot about how clear the sound is, then the Behringer is a reasonable choice.


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Post subject: Re: More info on a potential monitor for the Passport
Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2011 9:05 am
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Aspiring Musician
Aspiring Musician

Joined: Wed Feb 16, 2011 7:24 am
Posts: 434
I just tested high volumes with both monitors. The difference between the two becomes much more obvious at high volumes. Playing my iPod into the Behringer with the iPod cranked, playing a Liz Carrol track with funky bass intro and fiddle (and percussion egg), I couldn't bring myself to turn up the Behringer volume above about 2/3 because the distortion of the bass became so extreme. After a couple seconds at that volume, I had to turn it down, fearing I'd blow the speaker or cook the amp.

The Mackey went all the way to max volume. I could feel the air blowing a foot away from the speaker. Very little distortion, even at full volume. I'm even more convinced that the Mackey is worth the extra $100.


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Post subject: Re: More info on a potential monitor for the Passport
Posted: Tue Dec 06, 2011 11:58 am
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Hobbyist
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Joined: Tue Dec 06, 2011 10:47 am
Posts: 3
Location: Detroit, MI
This is a GREAT write up....thank you. I'll look for the Mackey....

~ LJL

http://www.ljlobsinger


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