Worship Arts · In-Ear Monitors Cheat Sheet
In-Ear Monitors (P16)
Build, adjust and save your own monitor mix on the P16-M or P16-HQ.
Level down first. Turn OUTPUT LEVEL all the way down before you plug in your ears.
Every change you make affects only your own mix.
Start up safely
- Turn OUTPUT LEVEL all the way down (counter-clockwise).
- Turn OUTPUT LIMITER all the way up (clockwise).
- Switch on with the back-panel ON/OFF and check the ULTRANET light is lit.
- Plug your headphones or earbuds into PHONES on the back, only after the level is down.
- When the band is playing, raise OUTPUT LEVEL slowly until it's comfortable.
Build your mix
- Press the channel button for an instrument or voice. The names are printed beneath the buttons.
- Turn VOLUME to set how loud it is in your ears.
- Turn PAN/BAL to place it left or right.
- Use BASS, MID and TREBLE if it needs shaping. FREQ picks what the MID knob targets.
- Repeat for each channel you want to hear.
- Press MAIN to adjust your overall mix.
More moves
Hear or silence one channel
- SOLO plays only the selected channel.
- MUTE silences it. Press again to bring it back.
Stereo pair
Press LINK to join two neighboring mono channels, like a keyboard's left and right. PAN/BAL then balances the pair.
Move several at once
Select the channels and press GROUP. The group gets its own button, so one VOLUME knob moves them all.
Save and recall your mix
- STORE, then pick one of 16 presets.
- RECALL, then pick a preset to load it.
Save your mix at the end of practice so it's easy to get back on Sunday.
These steps use P16-M names. On a P16-HQ, OUTPUT LEVEL is called OUTPUT and PAN/BAL is called PANORAMA.
How it works
- The console: an X32 or M32 has an Ultranet port. Some setups run console → stagebox over AES50, and the stagebox has the Ultranet outputs. Other brands use a P16-I module.
- The hub: the P16-D feeds and powers up to eight P16-Ms. Without a hub, units can daisy-chain THRU → Ultranet In, and each needs its own power supply.
- The cable: shielded Cat 5e, not Cat 6.
Ultranet looks like Ethernet, but it isn't. Never plug a P16 into a network switch or a port marked Ethernet, AES50, Control or Dante.
P16-M: on top
- ASetup. LINK makes a stereo pair. GROUP puts channels together. STORE saves to one of 16 presets. RECALL loads one.
- BEqualizer. BASS, MID, TREBLE shape the selected channel. FREQ picks what MID boosts or cuts.
- COutput. LEVEL is your overall volume. LIMITER caps how loud it can get.
- DMAIN, SOLO, MUTE. MAIN selects your overall mix. SOLO hears one channel alone. MUTE silences it.
- EULTRANET light. Lit when the signal is arriving.
- FPAN/BAL. Left/right for a mono channel, balance for a pair or MAIN.
- GVOLUME. How loud the selected channel, group or MAIN is.
- HChannel buttons 1-16. Check the printed label to see which instrument each one is.
P16-M: on the back
- ADC IN and power switch. The Behringer 12V supply plugs in here.
- BULTRANET IN and THRU. Hub or console cable goes in IN. THRU feeds the next unit in a chain.
- CMIDI IN.
- DLINE OUT. R and L/MONO, to send your mix to another device.
- EPHONES. Your headphones or earbuds.
If you have a P16-HQ
The newer version of the same mixer. Same idea, different layout and a few new names.
- AMix preset. RECALL loads a saved mix. STORE saves the current one.
- BChannels. LINK makes a stereo pair. GROUP puts channels together.
- CMAIN, ULTRANET, SOLO, MUTE. Same jobs as on the P16-M.
- DTone. TREBLE, MID, BASS, and FREQ for the MID.
- EPANORAMA. Left or right in your mix.
- FVOLUME. Selected channel, group or MAIN.
- GOUTPUT and LIMITER. Overall volume and the loudness cap.
- HChannel buttons 1-16. Names printed beneath.
The back panel matches the P16-M: DC IN with power switch, ULTRANET IN and THRU, MIDI IN, LINE OUT and PHONES.
Too loud? Turn OUTPUT LEVEL down first, then sort out the channels.
No sound
ULTRANET light is off
Push the cable fully into ULTRANET IN. It must be shielded Cat 5e from the hub or console's Ultranet port, never an Ethernet port or switch. Ask the tech lead to check the hub has power.
Likely: No signal reaching the unit
Light is on but no sound
Raise OUTPUT LEVEL. Press MAIN and check it isn't muted. Check your headphones are fully plugged in.
Likely: Your levels or mutes
Nothing from the band on any channel
Tell the tech lead. The console or hub may need attention.
Likely: A problem upstream of your unit
Unit won't turn on
Check the power connection and the ON/OFF switch.
Likely: No power
Mix problems
One instrument is missing
Press its channel button and check MUTE and VOLUME.
Likely: Muted or turned down in your mix
Sound only in one ear
Check PAN/BAL on that channel, or the MAIN balance.
Likely: Pan
Too loud, or sudden jumps
Lower OUTPUT LEVEL right away, then adjust channels.
Likely: Output level too high
My mix isn't how I left it
Press RECALL and load your saved preset.
Likely: Settings were changed
Headphones quiet or fading
Run these in order before deciding the unit is failing.
- Raise OUTPUT LEVEL (OUTPUT on a P16-HQ) and turn LIMITER fully clockwise.
- Press MAIN and check it isn't muted or turned down.
- Push the plug all the way into PHONES.
- Try your headphones on a different P16. Quiet there too? It's the headphones or cable.
- Try a known-good pair on the quiet unit. Quiet too? The unit's headphone output may be failing.
- Swap in the Ultranet cable and power supply from a working unit to rule those out.
Meanwhile, a small headphone amp plugged into LINE OUT can give you a louder signal.
Still quiet after steps 1-6, with more than one pair of headphones? Tell the worship arts director. The headphone amp inside may be failing. You don't need to buy anything. The director will decide whether to repair or replace the unit.
Still stuck?
Tell the tech lead on the day, or email Benjamin with what you did, what you expected, and what happened.
Sources: Behringer P16 setup (Sweetwater) · Behringer Powerplay P16 review (Full Compass) · Behringer Powerplay P16-M setup manual (ManualsLib)