Is there a four channel rackmount headphone amp w/ inserts on the FRONT?

P

photoresistor

New member
I've looked at a bunch of rackmount 4 channel headphone amps and there are plenty that would work great for me:

4 channels
2 stereo main inputs
some drive two or three headphones per channel (nice)
some have EQ on each channel (nice)
some have a mix knob for the main input and aux insert signal (really like this feature)
stereo aux inserts on each channel...

...but why are the aux inserts on the front of all these units? That totally ruins all of these perfectly otherwise useable units for me.

In my situation, it would make the most sense to have the inserts in the back of the unit. I have an aardvark q10 and the outputs are (no way) on the BACK of the unit.

So if i wanted to make four different, unique stereo subgroup mixes in Sonar, send them out of my aardvark q10 to be sent to the different players in a band or something... why would i want to have the cables go from behind the rackmount units to in front of the headphone amp so i could connect them?? Not only would this be stupid but id have to leave a rack space open for the cords to go through.

Is this only stupid to me? Or am i just planning to use the amp in a different way than most people do...?

okay, i was just curious about that because it didnt make any sense to me.

My REAL question was if anyone knew of a 4 channel headphone amp that wasnt insanely expensive that had the aux inserts on the back of the unit. Or maybe im just retarded and some of the units ive seen have aux inserts on the front and back (havent seen the back panels)?

The only rackmount one ive seen is the behringer HA8000 or whatever... but i dont need an 8 channel version, and would prefer to have a 4 channel version that has a few more features than the HA8000 (namely: balance knob between main input and direct input sources, channel EQ would be handy).

Thanks for reading, hopefully you can tell me that im stupid for asking a question like this and that everyone else in the world is glad that the inserts are on the front lol...
 
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The Oz HR-4 has most of what you want, but not the blend pot. Also I see that Mackie is releasing an identical unit.
 
Thanks for the input and suggestions guys.... that HM-6 unit looks good but I would really like it to be a rackmount system (im going to be mounting everything in a rackmount case so i can easily transport it places (have no actual studio... just the equipment)).

The HR4 looks like it might be what i want... it would be nice if it had the blend knob though. This might be an option....

The Carvin looks interesting as well... but im confused as to what exactly it can and cant do....

thanks for the suggestions. any others or anyone with personal experience with these two ones?

thanks
 
Wow...that Carvin looks pretty darn sweet, and right up the alley of what I'm looking for. Any word on the sound quality from it? I'm using a PreSonus HP4 right now, so I'm pretty sure almost anything would be a step up.
 
The way I see it, a headphone amp is for reference use. It doesn't have to sound superb. The carvin unit should be good because they have good amps and semi good speakers. They ought to know how to build a qulity headphone amp unit. For the record, I've never used one but I have own carvin gear in the past. If it has the features you want, buy one. If you don't like it, send it back.
 
if you don't ant the ha8000, try the ha4700. 4 channels, 3 headphones per channel, eq, panning, mute left and right, mono switch and lots of stuff on the back that i don't quite understand yet.

Look into it

Dave
 
Oz Audio HM-6
gets another vote from me,
the Coolest and best HPamp i ever used,
its not 19" , not 100% hummfree but it ROCKS ROCKS rocks
 
I was just going to bite the bullet and get the Behringer HA8000 because the direct ins on the back... but after reading the manual, it doesn't really do what I would want it to do nearly as well or as much as the 4700.... however the 4700 aux ins are on the front (grrr).

do you think thered be any way to modify this..? like switch a headphone out spot on the back for the aux in place on the front? (maybe like sodder wires from the board or something.... blast why cant they just make a unit that works lol)
 
photoresistor said:
I was just going to bite the bullet and get the Behringer HA8000 because the direct ins on the back... but after reading the manual, it doesn't really do what I would want it to do nearly as well or as much as the 4700.... however the 4700 aux ins are on the front (grrr).

do you think thered be any way to modify this..? like switch a headphone out spot on the back for the aux in place on the front? (maybe like sodder wires from the board or something.... blast why cant they just make a unit that works lol)
Click to expand...
Why not just go with the Carvin? I looks like it does exactly what you were after...
 
earworm said:
Oz Audio HM-6
gets another vote from me,
the Coolest and best HPamp i ever used,
its not 19" , not 100% hummfree but it ROCKS ROCKS rocks
Click to expand...
Yours hums? Mine doesn't. Do you have it connected with balanced lines?
 
I think he's wanting to send four separate mixes to the 4 sets of headphones without plugging into the front of the unit. With the Carvin he can send two mixes (A and B) to each set. And he can blend them, and blend with an aux in, too. He can also wire the back of the Carvin aux out to a box in the performance area. It would be a headphone amp in the control room with nothing plugged into the front of it.

But if ya need to run 4 separate mixes...
 
I confess I don't get the usefulness of a blend pot. Why not just change the mix on the auxes that are routed into the headphone amp?
 
I don't get the need for four different headphone mixes. I'd politely tell the band to deal with it. Two mixes that you can blend should be plenty.

The Carvin has three pots per headphone, levels for A, B, and AUX IN.
 
"I think he's wanting to send four separate mixes to the 4 sets of headphones without plugging into the front of the unit. With the Carvin he can send two mixes (A and B) to each set. And he can blend them, and blend with an aux in, too. He can also wire the back of the Carvin aux out to a box in the performance area. It would be a headphone amp in the control room with nothing plugged into the front of it.

But if ya need to run 4 separate mixes..."

Yes, this is what I want to do. The carvin looks nice but not specifically what I want... i dont NEED four unique mixes but I don't see why I should settle for less when I already have the equipment to do so. And the equipment would mostly be used for my band, so id like to get the best i can.. plus itd just be fun heh.

Well it looks like such a product doesnt really exist then. Maybe I'll just get a 4700 and deal with the annoyance of running cords from the back of my aardvark to the front of the headphone amp when i want more than 2 independent mixes.

thanks for all the input and suggestions guys... its helped me a lot (well, kind of lol).
 
Maybe I'll just get a 4700 and deal with the annoyance of running cords from the back of my aardvark to the front of the headphone amp when i want more than 2 independent mixes.
Click to expand...

Can you say patch bay?? I know...I know... but it WOULD work
 
You could get two Carvins, and then you could run 4 mixes to 8 sets of phones! :cool:




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