BehringerMicroMON MA400 Monitor Headphone Amplifier

Behringer's Monitor Headphone Amp "MicroMON" MA400 is worth the money.The small amplifier is nicely built on a hard aluminum metal case. Despite Behringer "fame" of being cheap, the MA400 reverts this notion with a solid case that doesn't even bend when pushing with my thumbs on either side of the device. Even when I'm trying to bend it while turning both sides opposite, it WON'T BEND!The lower metal corners of the MA400 may be a little bit rough on soft surfaces, and may scratch soft wood or glass tables, but in my case it doesn't matter, I'll use it on a small rubber-surface stand when drumming.The mono/stereo switch on the front is tiny and opposes resistance to being switched, maybe to prevent early wear. The same for the ground lift on the back, it is a little bit softer BUT it wont' switch on/off if lightly touched, it requires a mildly-harder-than-soft push to de/activate the lift.The notches are nice and standard, with a tiny amount of "drag" when turning. I like that, even when on bigger consoles, the notches are more soft, but it feels nice when using it.The package is a standard plastic one, with NO sealed borders (those DAMN scissors-mandatory packages!), just a metal staple on either side closes it. Inside there's the MA400, its manual and warranty slip and its power supply. The PS is 120V 6.5W as input, and 12 VDC 150 mA on its output. (I'll need a 220 to 110 power supply!)Final words: The MA400 meets my expectations of use. As a drummer I need an input from a personal or monitor console and another from my click track. So I may use either input depending of the situation.Buy it eyes closed if you need a sturdy and reliable personal monitor.

I am a drummer who sings. I've been a professional musician for 35 years and toured throughout the United States. There are some unique problems that singing drummers have that this unit truly solves. I have always struggled to hear myself and monitors against the sound of my own drums without blowing out the other players. I have also struggled with clarity as a singer because I could not get that extra edge in the monitor mix so that I could tune my notes as I sing. This unit is strong and clean. It solves all my problems WITHOUT dealing with a sound man. I don't have to ask for more of what I need to hear. All of the connections are tight and strong. No static or noise. Just clean, clear performance. The other player/singers in my band now want one for themselves. They noticed immediately the improvement in my vocal abilities and the more relaxed way I sang. This unit has made all the difference.

I bought 5 of these guys to use with my band for personal in ear monitoring. Can't beat the price on them, and they perform pretty well. We're using them connected to one of the new Behringer XR-18 digital mixers where each band member has his own AUX buss output to control their individual monitor mixes. We connect them using XLR cables direct to the mic input on these boxes. We have found that there is a delicate balance between sounding great and getting distortion and have to get the gain structure setup right. We had to dial down the aux outputs to be around -25 Db in order to not overdrive the preamp in this box. But that makes sense because it is expecting a mic level input to it. I haven't been able to tell for sure, but a couple times I think I did get distortion when I turned up the mic level on this box high also, so I think that something was overloading inside too. But, keeping the level input around 1 o'clock has worked well for me. Also, the XR-18 supports putting a compressor on the output of the auxes which is something we're experimenting with in order to help curb any surprise distortion as we all get into what we're playing.The boxes seem pretty durable and we have just used some "command" removable velcro strips to stick them onto amps, keyboards, etc to keep them in place. I love that they have dual sized headphone outputs so we can use either size easily. The only issue we've had so far is making sure that we don't leave the power supply bricks behind at our gigs ;)

I bought this micro mixer for ~20, and it is far better than the price suggests. I'm very happy with the purchase. You will be surprised at how small it is. I actually wish it was bigger... First thing I did after I tested it out, was to take it apart. Inside, you will find very well made circuit boards, with two tiny little surface mount opamps. The connectors are good quality, the metal case is extraordinarily good quality, the finish and all! The only thing I don't like is the knobs on the potentiometers. As you turn them, they rub on the metal case a bit, and it makes it feel cheap. BUT THAT IS IT.Now, the sound quality is fine. I noticed nothing significant about the quality of sound, except that is not exceptionally powerful. Listening to myself on headphones using a sure SM-58 dynamic mic, I must turn the mic volume control all the way up just to get it 90% of what I would like.I do wish it had more amplification. Personally, I think wherever you have a dedicated amplifier driving headphones, it ought to be perfectly capable of blowing up any pair of headphones, if it is needed. I like to have power in reserve. Headroom, I think it's called. This thing needs it.If you're curious, the Mic in and Mic thru connections are wired in parallel... so this box will have zero impact on your sound being recorded, no matter how fancy a microphone you are using. I'm unsure how well it will work with condenser mics. I think they put out a higher level signal... might make things better.And, it needs a power switch. It doesn't hurt to leave it on, because it doesn't get warm at all, and there's nothing going to wear out, but it's still just one of those things... got to have a switch...