Frequently Asked Questions

Our intuitive design makes our gear easy and quick to use. Straightforward control knobs let you get back to what you want to be doing – performing. Our robust designs handle road abuse easily. And our gear provides the best sound and lowest latency on the market, making for a fantastic sound. We listen to users and design our products to meet real-world needs. And our Hear Back PRO, Hear Back OCTO, and M8RX systems are all made in the USA to maintain the quality you’ve come to expect from Hear Technologies.

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Our original Hear Back system is no longer in production. However, we’ve designed its replacement, the Hear Back OCTO, to outperform the original system while also being backward/forward-compatible with the original.

Yes, the original Hear Back system and the Hear Back OCTO system are 100% forward and reverse compatible. You can mix and match Hubs and Mixers as needed.

No. The Hear Back systems have their own protocol. You have to use a Hear Back original or OCTO Hub with Hear Back original or OCTO mixers.

No. None of our systems’ mixers can be daisy-chained (connected in a linear series). Mixers must have a home-run to a Hub.

1. For the original Hear Back and the OCTO system, we recommend a maximum limit of 200 feet (61 meters). 2. The Hear Back PRO can handle a maximum run of 500 feet (152 meters).
These are both assuming you’re using quality cables. If the runs are any longer, you start losing quality.

Yes, you can use either CAT5e or CAT6 cables with any of our systems.

Technically, yes. However, we strongly recommend using cable brands with well-established quality, such as West Penn, Belden, Carol, etc. If you use off-brand/overseas cables, you’re more likely to experience a loss of sound quality.

You can use either A or B pin-outs, but with NO CROSSOVER. You’ll need the same pin-out on both ends of your cable. We recommend using standard B with, again, no crossover. Crossover will damage components within the system. Also, do not use standard flat, gray telephone cable – it won’t work.

No. It won’t work and it might damage components in the system. Hear Back systems should be stand-alone.

You’ve linked channels 1 and 2 by pressing the center capacitive-touch button (on an OCTO) or link button (on the original). Both systems have a button designed to link the first and second channels, allowing channels 1 and 2 to serve as hard left and right pans.
To separate them out into two channels, simply press the center “link” button between them again.

On all our Hear Back systems, each mixer can comfortably handle two sets of headphones. If you connect any more than two headsets, the mixer will start losing power to the headphones.

Nope. The Hear Back PRO mixers are not compatible with original Hear Back hubs, nor vice versa. You can mix-and-match between the original Hear Back and the Hear Back OCTO, but the PRO has its own protocol.
There is one exception: If you purchase our available ADAT card and install it in a PRO Hub, it provides two original Hear Back Hear Bus outputs and can route the PRO Hub to the Original hub. From there, you can control the Original Hear Back mixers that way.

No. Our system does not support SMUX (S/MUX). If you try, you’ll end up with pops and crackles.

The AUX input is controlled by the mixer’s master knob only. Aside from that knob, the level must be set from the console or other device providing the feed.

In the rare case you might need a repair, check out our repairs department here: Service Form

You’ll find a wide selection of schematics and user guides on our Support page here: User Guides & Downloads