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May 2012

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Going In-Ear - Personal monitoring and wireless options for worship

A Look at the products that you’ll want to check out

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AKG Acoustics: The IVM 4 UHF Wireless In-Ear Monitoring System includes integrated dbx digital signal processing.  

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Audio-Technica: The newest wireless IEM system on the market is the M3 Wireless In Ear Monitor System.  

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Aviom: The A-16ii and AN-16i Pro16 systems are found in many contemporary worship spaces.  

Following the lead of the touring sound industry, many churches have converted to or are considering in-ear monitoring (IEM) systems for the worship band. The reasons for doing so are many and legitimate. But with change comes stress. And questions.

Is this really a good idea? Will our sound improve? Do we need to outfit the entire band to see the benefits? Will this make the sound The physics of the situation are clear. Sound from the monitors spills off the stage and muddies the fidelity of the house system, which must be turned up louder to compensate.

Each IEM system eliminates another monitor speaker (floor wedge) on stage, reducing both the overall stage volume and the tendency toward “volume wars” between adjacent musicians. That means less sound spilling off the stage, which improves fidelity for the congregation while reducing the need to run the house system at high volume.

The Same, But Different
While contemporary worship teams are like touring artists in many ways, there’s no denying that the church venue is different. In touring sound, monitors are handled by a separate, dedicated engineer. However, very few churches have the space and personnel to consider this approach. Typically, there is a single mixing console located out in the congregation, and the sound engineer handles both the house and monitor mixes simultaneously.

The lack of a dedicated monitor engineer has resulted in very different equipment choices in the worship market. Touring artists gravitate toward individual wireless IEM systems. These systems provide a direct stereo mix and offer complete freedom of movement. The isolation from the earphones also allows the artist to monitor more clearly at lower volumes—if properly encouraged (see sidebar).

The most common solution to this problem is the distributed personal monitor system. These systems move the mixing duties from the sound engineer to the individual musicians on stage (more about that in a moment). The individual channels are sent directly from the mixing desk to a digital distribution hub, and from there to a series of individual mini-mixers on stage.

This solution is very popular with system contractors, as it helps ensure good sound while removing the sound engineer’s most demanding task. The distributed personal monitor system was popularized by Aviom, whose Pro16-II dominates the market. The Hear Back system from Hear Technologies has gained popularity in recent years as well. More recently, ProCo entered the market with its Momentum system. And “momentum” is clearly what we’re seeing in this product category.

With a distributed IEM solution, each musician is now responsible for his or her mix, so results will vary. The ProCo Momentum system offers a feature that allows the sound engineer to override the mixer on stage should any of the performers get “lost” while adjusting their own mix. This issue typically disappears after some training and rehearsal. And once a satisfactory mix is achieved, most systems allow the user to save it for later recall.

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Jack Kontney heads Kontney Communications Inc., a marketing and content creation consultancy specializing in pro audio and electronics. He can be contacted at www.kontneycomm.com.

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