NAMM 2017: Ultimate Ears UE Pro Sound Tap Review

Aloha!

There are a lot of advantages to using in-ear monitors, but some musicians never make the switchover because it is a completely new way of looking at monitoring, and some of the solutions they explore are complicated and expensive.

Ultimate Ears sells some of the best in-ear monitors in the industry, and it is in their best interest to make the transition to this technology as seamless as possible, so their extra cool solution to this situation is the UE Pro Sound Tap.

The Tap is a black aluminum box that is about the size of two effect pedals, and it weighs maybe around a pound (There are no specs on their website, and I did not bring a scale to the NAMM show, so this is going to be a little vague). The unit is powered by two 9-volt batteries (included!) that are supposed to last for around 30 to 40 hours of continuous use.

Set-up is dead simple, as this box uses whatever monitor signal is being sent to the stage. The Tap goes in-line between the mixer and a monitor, and it provides an in-ear monitor signal of the mix that is being sent to the nearest stage monitor. There are connectors for Speakon or Combination XLR/TRS, so pretty much any standard cable configuration will be usable. Also, the manufacturer says that this unit will accept line level or speaker level signals. That is about it: set-up is foolproof, and if you can plug in cables and your in-ear monitors (1.8-inch jack), you should be good to go.

The Tap does not affect the signal that is sent to the stage monitor, and the only controls are in-ear monitor adjustments for input level and volume. Frequency response covers 20 Hz – 20 kHz, so the listener should be able to hear anything that is coming through the mix. See? Easy!

The UE Pro Sound Tap does everything it is advertised to do, and is certainly one of the simplest ways to get an in-ear monitor signal to a musician on stage. Pricing seems reasonable, too, with an MSRP of $249, which includes the peace of mind of a one-year warranty. For this price you also get the aforementioned batteries, as well as a 6-foot XLR cable and a 6-foot ¼-inch TRS cable. If this has piqued your interest, head over to www.pro.ultimateears.com for details and ordering information.

Mahalo!

Peavey PV 15PM Powered Floor Monitor Review

Como estas?

Floor monitors are a necessary evil, but I loathe spending much money on them as they are not what the audience hears. Then again, if I cheap out on them they are going to work like crap and the guys on stage are going to be chapped at me. Well, since I have made the switch to powered PA speakers, I have been trying out different powered floor monitors, and thought I would pass along my thoughts on the Peavey PV 15PM powered floor monitors.

Peavey has been around since 1965, and is one of the biggest manufacturers of amplifiers and speakers. My fist bass amplifier was a Peavey, and most every musician I know has owned or used Peavey equipment before.

The PV 15PM monitors are members of an endangered species. There are not really very many choices in the wedge-type floor monitor world, and even less choices in the powered wedge-type floor monitor world. This is because speaker manufacturers have figured out that if they build PA cabinets with angled sides that they can also be used as floor monitors too. But, there is nothing like the look of an old-school wedge monitor…

And these look the part, covered in carpet with heavy-duty steel handles and a steel grill. They measure about 26 inches wide by 19 inches deep, with a 40-degree upward angle. They are not lightweight, coming in at around 47 pounds each. No plastic in these bad boys.

They are loaded up with a 15-inch Peavey speaker with a 2-3/8-inch voice coil and a neodymium magnet and a 1.4” titanium diaphragm compression driver. Power is supplied by a pair of class D amplifier that are bi-amped to provide a total output of 200 watts (150 to the woofer and 50 to the tweeter). Peavey does not say if that is peak, but it seems to me like continuous power, just from how loud they are. And they are rated up to 120dB by Peavey, with a frequency response of 52 Hz to 21 kHz.

Everything is loaded on the face of the cabinet, which is something I appreciate as I hate fumbling around with wiring on the back of floor speakers. This includes a combo jack with ¼” TRS and female XLR microphone or line-level balanced input, two ¼” phone jacks for link-out/direct-in capability, the power switch, a level control, a ground lift and a pad switch.

And these Peavey floor monitors work great. They look nice and seem sturdy enough that they will last forever. They have decent lows and cut through on stage with a loud drummer. But they don’t do much of anything better than the Mackie Thump speakers I have been using for monitors, and that is a problem. The Mackies sound just as good, are much cheaper, have a higher power rating (400w), and weigh a lot less (under 30 pounds). Plus they can also be set on their sides for floor use or mounted normally on stands. New Mackie Thumps will run you about 300 bucks each, while the Peavey PV 15PM speakers have a street price of $400 (list price is $479).

Try them both out and do the math, and as nice as they are, you will probably not end up with the Peaveys.

Mahalo!