Veteran monitor engineer Jason Phair, who’s worked with Grammy-nominated American blues singer and songwriter Beth Hart for five years and is going back out on tour with the artist starting in April, is employing Campfire Audio Equinox custom fitted in-ear monitors (IEMs) to reference his mixes.
He brings his previous experience as a front-of-house engineer to his role with monitors, noting, “For me, front-of-house isn’t necessarily about great sonics, although that’s certainly important, so much as it’s about the emotion of the music coming from the stage and making sure that gets relayed to the audience.” Since transitioning to working primarily to the monitor position, he’s brought that same focus to his monitor mixes.
When most live shows were on hold during 2020, Phair had used his time off from touring to test and compare a range of different in-ear monitors, finding that he preferred the clarity, isolation and build quality of Equinox. “I wasn’t sure what to expect at first because there are so many companies getting into in-ear monitors now,” he says, “but when I actually got to hear the Equinox monitors I was completely blown away.
“Wearing in-ears for that period of time can be really uncomfortable and cause strain, so fit is a really important consideration,” he continues, adding that it was easy it was to schedule a custom fitting for his Equinox monitors. “The team at Campfire Audio was extremely helpful. They have a list of preferred audiologists they recommend in every major city in the country, so they put me in touch with one here in Portland. The fitting itself was simple, fast, and inexpensive.”
Phair has acquired multiple Campfire Audio models for both personal and professional use, including a universal-fit pair of Andromeda monitors for recreational listening. “The Andromeda has a really refined musical presentation that’s great for listening to your favorite music,” he concludes.
