How to get talkback to 3 headphones?

[SaltyDawg]

Okay, so here's the issue:

I have 2 inputs on my X-Station 25. I want to route each one to a mic, for a total of 2 mics. Each mic will be a seperate person, in a seperate room. Of course, each person will be wearing headphones. So I'll need a headphone amp connected to my headphone output. I'll want some headphones too, just in case the monitors are too loud and picked up by the mics (this is a portable setup, so the surroundings will vary).

What I want, is the headphone amp input connected to the headphone out on my audio interface, and I also want a mic input on the headphobne amp, connected to a cheap mic that I have. And I want the headphone amp to mix the signals together, so the headphones hear my my mic and the output of the audio interface. This way I can talk to the vocalists thru my mic, they hear me in the headphones, and I'm not wasting an input on my audio interface (and my mic isn't being recorded).

Is there anything like this on the market? I'd rather have it all in 1 small box as this is a portable setup. So I would rather not get a small mixer and a seperate headphone amp.

Any suggestions?

[rabblerouser]

Well, there's always the Mackie Big Knob

[SaltyDawg]

The Big Knob is close, but isn't really what I need. It only has 2 headphones, and I need 3. It also does a bunch of stuff I don't need.

I just need something simple, like the Behringer MINIAMP AMP800. Check it out at

http://www.behringer.com/AMP800/index.cfm?lang=ENG

But I need it to have a mic input as well, and mix the 2 signals. This is easily done by adding a small mixer to the setup, but I'd rather not do that. This is supposed to be a small, portable setup. So I want the components to be as small as possible, and I want as few components as possible.

I can't beleive how hard it is to fine a small mixer with several headphone outputs, or a small headphone amp with more than 1 input (and mix them).

[SaltyDawg]

Okay, so it looks like I'm not going to be able to find an all in 1 solution, so I started looking at 2-piece solutions. I have come up with a couple of different options here. The first option is the Behringer MICROMIX MX400 mixer and MICROAMP HA400 headphone amp. You can see them at:

http://www.behringer.com/MX400/index.cfm?lang=ENG

and

http://www.behringer.com/HA400/index.cfm?lang=ENG

And the second option is the Behringer MINIMON MON 800 mixer and MINIAMP AMP800 headphone amp. You can see them at:

http://www.behringer.com/MON800/index.cfm?lang=ENG

and

http://www.behringer.com/AMP800/index.cfm?lang=ENG

So, the first option is a little cheaper, but neither costs enough to really consider price as a reason for 1 over the other. The first option does seem to be a little smaller, and that is obviously a consideration with a portable setup. However, the second option is stackable, so it makes it seem like only 1 unit. Plus it has a built in mic and talkback function. So it would mean I didn't have to carry an extra mic and cable. I may end up carrying an extra mic anyway though so I didn't have to get up close to the built in mic. I'd kind of prefer to have a mic on a headset or something. But the second option does have the LED's and just looks nicer.

Do you think either one of these would work with a cheap computer mic? One of those cheap ones that has an on/off switch? And would you hear it in the headphones or would I need a preamp?

Also, what is the point of having so many speaker outputs on that MON 800 mixer? Any advise would be greatly appreciated...

[SaltyDawg]

So I went with the second option. I ordered a Behringer MINIMON MON 800 mixer and MINIAMP AMP800 headphone amp. It should do the trick...

[PrinceOfDarkness]

hey let me know how it goes down after you receive your gear. This is pretty interesting

[SaltyDawg]

So I broke in the headphone amp and mixer during a recording session last night and it worked out well. Exactly what I needed. For about $80, this is an ideal setup for anyone trying to get a bunch of headphones connected and get a talkback to all of them.

The built in talkback mic has a pre on it that you can turn up really loud if you want. I had the headphone mixer and headphone amp stacked on top of each other on a shelf behind me. I had the pre on it set so that if I hit the talkback button I could just say what I wanted and you could hear it in the headphones. No need for me to try to get my face close to it or anything. Just stay right where I am, reach over and hit the button, talk, and then let go of the button.

And the units are small and portable too. They both fit right in my bag with no trouble. And they stack nicely. They have feet on the bottom that line up with notches on the top. They were made for stacking on top of each other.

For around $80, this is the ideal solution. I would highly recommend it to anyone who needs to set up a talkback to multiple headphones.