Allen & Heath ME Personal Monitor Mixer

Two personal mixers for two kinds of stage. The ME-500 is the walk-up unit: sixteen mono or stereo inputs with level and pan on each, a master 2-band EQ and limiter, and automatic key assignment, so the first sixteen channels the console sends map straight to the sixteen select keys with no configuration. That matters at a festival where changeover time is measured in minutes. Eight user presets store levels, pan, and mutes and can be moved between units on USB.

The ME-1 goes further, controlling up to 40 sources as sixteen stereo or mono inputs or groups, each with level and pan, on a dimmable OLED screen showing names, levels, pan, and meters. Sources can be grouped inside the ME-1 so a performer's grouping does not consume buses on the main console, and sixteen user presets store the lot. A top-panel ambient microphone lets a player hear the stage and the audience without pulling an earpiece, and a master 3-band EQ and limiter shape the whole mix. Both units drive 1/4-inch and 3.5 mm headphone outputs across a wide impedance range, carry a limiter adjustable from -24 dB to 0 dB, and can run on Power over Ethernet to cut stage cabling. Both work as drop-in replacements for Aviom A-16ii units, and the ME-U hub brings MADI or Dante feeds from third-party consoles.