POWERPLAY P1 Personal In-Ear Monitor Amplifier

OK, so let me start out by saying I have a LONG history with Behringer products. Most of my experience has been so-so at best. Starting in the early days with the reverse-engineered, made in China clones of dbx, Mackie, Aphex and others - the quality has always been hit and miss but for me, mostly misses. Recently, Behringer seems to have switched gears (somewhat) and are buying up some pretty well known manufacturers and making an effort to establish themselves as a legitimate pro audio leader. So I have been paying attention to their more recent offerings. I play drums and use IEMs. When I needed a headphone amp, I started looking at all of the usual suspects. Price was not the main concern - I don't mind paying for quality gear - but I am not a gear snob either. The Behringer had some pretty cool features, including XLR inputs, a mic stand mount, and a belt clip. It was decently small and for under $50.00, I figured it was worth checking out. If I hated it I could always return it. A year later, I am still using it. It fits the bill pretty nicely for me. Is it audiophile quality? No. However, given the environment it has enough output and headroom to work well for me. The low end is solid and the top end does not seem overly harsh. Be careful though - if you are using consumer earbuds you may not get the same results. I use custom molded triple driver ear monitors that are up to the task and offer a lot of isolation from the ambient drum and stage volume. Even so, the P1 is usually run near the top of its output range. Be careful that you run a clean signal to it, and don't overdrive the inputs (but this is true for ANY headphone amplifier). There are a few negatives - but considering the price of the unit, it definitely earns 4 stars. The negatives - (1) No power supply is included which is really pretty silly given its intended application. The battery option is nice, but probably not used much. This is a wired unit, meaning you are going to be relatively stationary - so a power supply over a battery is a no brainer. (2) XLR inputs only. Would be nice if one of the XLRs was a combo connector that could be used with a TRS input for a stereo feed. Depending on what you are sending, you may need some extra cabling. (3) Limiter cannot be bypassed. I prefer to use the compressor/limiter on my console or IEM processor as it is much more musical and exact. I get it as a safety feature for novices - but make it a jumper or something internal that has to be intentional and that would likely discourage most people that may not hear the difference anyway from bothering with it. Overall, this unit was a pleasant surprise. And since its been a year since I purchased it - it has proven reliable thus far. Update 11/28/2023 - I have had this unit for 6 years, used almost weekly, without a failure. Even with the shortcomings mentioned, it deserves a 5 star rating for reliability alone so I have updated this review.

This compact little box simply gets the job done without complaining. The standout feature at this low price point is the inclusion of dual balanced XLR inputs, allowing you to feed a true stereo mix into the unit from your sound console. Clean gain, low noise floor.

We use these at our church to give the musicians a stereo headphone monitor. We use to run mono, but upgraded our board to a model that had enough aux outputs to move to stereo. We had to replace our mono headphone amps and these are great. They are not very expensive and work very well. We actually power them using the 9v battery option just to keep the stage looking a little cleaner. The batteries have lasted several weeks now and haven't needed to be replaced. They are used about 3 hours each week, so that isn't a ton, but we've gotten at least 12-15 hours of use on the 9v and haven't replaced them yet. They can be powered by a continuous power supply however if you don't want to use batteries. The volume control is nice and big and the other controls/buttons are well labeled and easy to use. If you need to convert an XLR output to use with headphones, this is a great product to use.

Behringer makes another winner! great design and build, silent noise floor, powers my Westone dual-driver monitors with serious authority. I have a set of high dollar high Ohm over-ear Sennheisers too, and this drives them perfectly with great sound quality. I bought this as an alternative to an EXPENSIVE wireless setup for my IEM's, but it sounds so good, I'm considering not even bothering with wireless at this point. Some have criticized the battery box. I think it's perfect actually, and here's why. Others want more room in the box to change the battery instantly. I like that the unit houses the battery snugly with no rattle or wiggle. This makes the unit seem more solid because nothing rattles around, even when you shake it. I have worn many wireless units with larger battery boxes, and the rattling of the battery can be felt when I'm moving around. It's minor, but annoying. Changing it is still very simple, and done without tools. It's just that the battery doesn't come falling out when you open the case. EDIT OCTOBER 12 - One of the wires which connect the battery snap-connector broke when changing out a battery mid show. No abuse, it's just too thin a wire to hold up to repeated changes. I soldered in another battery clip inside, and all is fine now. No biggie for me with a soldering set and the know-how, but a major hassle requiring warranty exchange if you don't have soldering ability. Also, While I still like the snug battery compartment as opposed to other reviewers, the door is flimsy. It falls off if the box is jarred, as in dropped from a short height. Battery stays in though. a fresh Duracell 9V battery lasts just barely one 4-hour show using Westone dual-driver IEM's. I will be thinking of ways to power the unit externally now. For these minor annoyances, I deducted a star from my original 5-star review. But the rest stands, it is loud, versatile and sounds great.

The sound quality is great on this. Very little hiss or noise. The battery life on the other hand is not good. Since it's a wired pack, there's no reason nor to use a power adapter. Be careful on what power supply you use though! One that I had, even though it was the right size and polarity, it was cheap, and introduced some audio noise and artifacts into the line. I did not get that with batteries, or once I changed to a higher quality power adapter. I tried useing this for a while from my keyboard. It was too limiting for me being tied down, so I quickly moved to a wireless setup. I gave this to my drummer, who is quite happy with it.

I am a sound tech for our church; we are making the transition to in ear monitors. I purchased the M6 Pro monitors and a Behringer Powerplay P1 personal monitor to audition................WOW!! Great sound, comfortable, and volume that would satisfy anyone. I have been giving our drummers headphones with click tracks, but these are much more desirable and the drummers actually play quieter when they can hear drums over the mix. I fed the P1 with stereo xlr aux feeds from my Soundcraft ui24r and plugged the in ears into it; the M6 PROs offered undistorted audio even at 90 percent volume. That is a lot louder than I prefer; I found a 30 percent feed was plenty for my ears. We have recently sold our church buildings and property and are contracted to hold services temporarily at our local Center for the Performing Arts. Our goal is to be comfortable with in ears by then so our set up will consist of the instruments,wired in ear modules, wireless vocal mics, the ui24r stagebox mixer and wireless mic recievers. no longer needed will be stage monitors and amp racks. We can then send a mix to the Performing arts Center system. I love our new set up. I would recommend the Behringer Powerplay P1 personal in ear amplifier to any performer.

I was looking for a cost-efficient in-ear monitor solution for my worship team. We have been using them for about a year and have had no problems. The body is very solid and durable. I'm not particularly fond with the plastic battery compartment cover, but none have broke yet. It is a little bulky to wear without a sturdy belt. Most of the team clips it to their music stand or guitar straps. The locking connectors work well. If it's clipped to your pants and you step on the cable, you're more likely to pull your pants down than unplug it. The sound is as good as can be expected and it's plenty loud enough for noisy rooms. I do, however, wish the Presonus HP2 had been available at the time of purchase because I like their overall design better.

So...i'm not using this as an in-ear monitor while on stage. I use it as a headphone amp with my home rehearsal equipment. I use an XLR y-cable to split the signal coming out of my mixer. One end goes into the amp for when I want to use the speakers - i.e., when no one is home. The other end goes into the L input of this nifty little toy. I then hit the "stereo" switch and plug in my headphones. Perfect stereo sound in my headphones. Works great...feels very solid...uses both 9v battery or a 9v adapter - which I need to buy next. My guess is that this product would work great as an on-stage in-ear monitor - for musicians who tend to stand in one place or don't move around too much.

Have used on stage a few times, very handy, easy to use. Could use a bit more gain or level but I have hearing issues. I would recommend this and would buy again.

Excelente.

I am play drums. In our studio we have Studio monitors. it was difficult for me to hear others as soon as I start playing. I was searching for a cheap solution for on stage/studio IEM aplifier. I have found this in amazon. "E Square AV" has shipped within 4 days from Mumbai to Bangalore. It was brand new and sealed. Here is my review: Pros: + Good build quality + Good quality switches + Power on/off saves battery + Low battery indicator + clear sound + I can easily clip it on my pant/belt in the back easily + 3.5mm IEM out + amplifier produces enough sound for the IEMs Cons: -- Battery slot is very tight, Its takes time to remove and place a new battery. I have envie rechargeable 9v battery. Its too tight. I heard Duracell fits perfectly but need to try. Once it put the battery, to lock the battery cover , I need to put magic tape else it comes out after locking as it has a tight foam pad. But this is not a deal breaker considering all other features. I am very much satisfied. It does its job.

Muy económico y mucho mas fiable que cualquier sistema in ear por radiofrequencia, de 200 euros. Tienes algún cable más pero vamos, más calidad de sonido y sin interferencias.

Se non avete problemi a girare col cavo questo sistema di monitoraggio è perfetto, ne avevo avuti altri anche di fasce di prezzo maggiori ma non ho notato differenze particolari, si sente bene (se avete una buona cuffia naturalmente) e fa molto bene il suo lavoro. Attenzione allo sportello delle batterie che sembra un po' leggero, io comunque lo uso con alimentatore.