Phenyx Pro PTM-22 Wireless IEM – Initial Review

Phenyx Pro PTM-22 UHF Mono Dual Wireless in Ear Monitor System with Rackmount Kit (900MHz band)



I simply cannot afford Shure/Sennheiser for 8 people, so I was willing to take a chance on the Phenyx Pro PTM-22 and purchased 3 units. The reviews are good and the price was right. Customer service has been stellar. One unit arrived with a burned-out LED power light and another had a bad AC adapter. They promptly sent me a whole new unit and told me to keep the old one. So now I have 4 units/8 channels for the price of 3. Everything stays mounted and wired in an 8U rack along with my Soundcraft Ui24R mixer.

First and foremost they are easy to set up, and they just plain work. Audio quality is good and clear, and momentary dropouts are very infrequent (or non-existent). In a couple of instances, a bad channel made the bass sound like a rat distortion. Another time, there was some sonic weirdness ("pssrrwwrsswwrr"). It's very easy to change to another channel if necessary, and the problem clears right up. The range is great. I walked across the street to my neighbor's yard 200+ feet away, and the signal was clear and solid coming from my living room.



I use the IEMs for my own 5-piece rock cover band as well as for my soundman gig with a 9-piece Motown/R&B/Dance wedding & events band. The guitar players in my band aren't in love with the IEMs yet, mainly because they are fighting for sonic space with the mono mix. Everybody is controlling their own mix, so they'll figure it out eventually. In other words, user error, not a quality problem.

A couple of the people in the wedding band control their own mix, but I have an extra bodypack so I can sync to each person's channel and fine-tune their mix for them. In a matter of seconds, they go from to ! Everybody loves the fact that they can hear each other more clearly (especially on vocal harmonies). We've eliminated the need for 5 wedges, which makes load-in/out much lighter & easier and solved many stage volume and feedback issues. As insurance, I also run a backup wedge for the singers, as well as a wedge for the horn players.

My only reservation is that the body packs are made of plastic. There have been a few drops to the floor without breaking, but I don't want to make a habit of it. I've purchased 2 spare body packs just in case. The included earbuds are junk, so I bought the band CCA C12 buds off [email protected] $50 each (I like them). I bought a pile of rechargeable Energizer batteries from Costco...so far, battery life has been "all night, and then some." To be safe, I discharge the batteries and recharge them before each gig and carry extras for backup. They easily last through several 2-hour rehearsals without needing to recharge.

So, yes, I'd call that an enthusiastic endorsement. I'm very happy with my purchase and how the system is performing. Time will tell if they are reliable long-term.