Chapter 11: Personal Monitoring: Ultranet P16 & Midas DP48
Personal monitoring systems empower musicians on stage to create and control their own customized in-ear mixes without requiring the Front of House engineer's attention. The Behringer X32 and Midas M32 natively support two industry-standard digital personal monitoring architectures: the Behringer Powerplay P16 (via Ultranet) and the Midas DP48 (via AES50).
This chapter details the Ultranet protocol, P16 patching strategies, the "16-channel squeeze" technique, and Midas DP48 dual-mix integration.
1. The Ultranet Powerplay P16 System
The proprietary Ultranet digital audio bus carries 16 channels of uncompressed 24-bit 48 kHz digital audio over standard Cat5e cable:
| Link | From | To | Carries |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Console Ultranet out (EtherCON / RJ45) | P16-D distribution hub | 16 channels, shielded Cat5e |
| 2 | P16-D hub | One P16-M personal mixer per musician (drummer, bass player, lead singer, keyboardist, …) | Audio and power over Cat5e |
The P16-M Personal Mixer Hardware:
- 16 Channel Select Buttons: Individual volume, stereo panning, solo, and mute per channel.
- 3-Band EQ with Sweepable Mid: Independent tone shaping on every channel without affecting FOH.
- Master Brick-Wall Limiter: Built-in peak limiter dedicated to protecting the performer's hearing.
2. Ultranet Output Routing & Optimal Tap Points
Navigate to ROUTING → ULTRANET to configure the 16 P16 channels:
| Setting | Allowed values |
|---|---|
| Source | Channel, mix bus, matrix, direct out or main |
| Tap point | Post-EQ or Pre-Fader — never Post-Fader |
The Tap Point Rule for Personal Mixers:
- Never use Post-Fader: If Ultranet taps are set to Post-Fader, every time the FOH engineer adjusts a fader in the house mix, the musician's in-ear level shifts erratically.
- Use Pre-Fader or Post-EQ: Delivers clean, finished tone with channel EQ intact, while isolating the performer from FOH volume adjustments.
3. The "16-Channel Squeeze" Strategy
A full band often exceeds 24 to 32 inputs. Fitting a complex lineup into the 16 slots of the P16 requires smart consolidation:
| P16 ch | Signal | Routing |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Kick drum | Direct out (Ch 1) |
| 02 | Snare drum | Direct out (Ch 2) |
| 03 | Drum stem (toms / overheads) | Mix bus 11 (summed subgroup) |
| 04 | Bass guitar | Direct out (Ch 4) |
| 05 | Electric guitar 1 | Direct out (Ch 5) |
| 06 | Electric guitar 2 | Direct out (Ch 6) |
| 07 | Acoustic guitar | Direct out (Ch 7) |
| 08 | Keyboards / piano | Mix bus 12 (stereo / mono sum) |
| 09 | Click & guide cues | Direct out (Aux In / Ch 9) |
| 10 | Backing tracks | Mix bus 13 (stereo sum) |
| 11 | Lead vocal 1 | Direct out (Ch 16) |
| 12 | Lead vocal 2 / guest | Direct out (Ch 17) |
| 13 | Backing vocals stem | Mix bus 14 (summed subgroup) |
| 14 | Pastor / MC speech | Direct out (Ch 32) |
| 15 | Stage ambient mics | Direct out (crowd mic, Ch 30) |
| 16 | Vocal reverb return | Direct out (FX 1L return) |
Why Include Stage Ambient Microphones (P16 Ch 15)?
When performers switch to sealed molded in-ear monitors (IEMs), they are isolated from acoustic room reflections. They cannot hear the congregation singing, audience applause, or spoken comments between songs, leading to a claustrophobic feeling.
- Place two condenser microphones on stage pointing out toward the audience.
- Route them only to P16 Channel 15 (never route them to Main LR!).
- Musicians can dial in just enough audience ambiance to feel naturally connected to the room.
4. Midas DP48 Dual 48-Channel Personal Mixer
The Midas DP48 represents a quantum leap beyond the P16, operating over AES50 rather than Ultranet:
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| 48 channels | Over AES50 (Cat5e) |
| Two independent mixes | Mix A and Mix B: two performers (e.g. drummer and bassist) share one DP48, each with their own 1/4" and 3.5 mm stereo outputs |
| 12 stereo groups | Channels are grouped onto 12 faders |
| Built-in stereo ambient mic | Blends room sound straight into the mix |
| SD card recorder | Records rehearsal stems |
Connecting DP48 to the X32 / M32:
- Connect a shielded Cat5e cable from console AES50 Port B to the DP48 input (or daisy-chain through stageboxes).
- On the console, navigate to ROUTING → AES50 B OUT.
- Send the desired channel blocks (Channels 1–32 and Buses 1–16) across AES50 B 1–48.
- On the DP48, assign channels to the 12 Groups (e.g., Group 1 = Drums, Group 2 = Bass, Group 3 = Guitars, Group 4 = Vocals).
- Performers use the rotary encoders and high-contrast color screen to balance their IEM mixes with full stereo panning, EQ, reverb, and limiting per group.