Shure PSM300 vs PSM900 vs PSM1000: Which In-Ear System for a Working Band?

The three Shure tiers differ most in how many systems can run together in one band, how much help they give you finding clean frequencies, and how much rack space each mix costs.

The short answer

• PSM300: one mix per half-rack transmitter, up to 15 channels in its tuning range. A small band with two or three mixes.
• PSM900: one mix per half-rack transmitter, up to 20 compatible channels per band, with scan-and-sync and CueMode for the monitor engineer.
• PSM1000: two transmitters in one full-width rack unit, up to 40 compatible frequencies per band, networked, with a diversity bodypack.

The tiers

PSM300 (P3T)

A half-width rackmount transmitter, one per mix. The system offers up to 15 channels within up to 24 MHz of tuning bandwidth, RF output of 10, 20 or 30 mW depending on country, infrared sync, a stereo/mono switch and a line/aux input switch. Scanning happens on the bodypack. Power is an external 12 to 15V DC adapter. See the P3T page.

PSM900 (P9T)

Also a half-width transmitter per mix, with up to 20 compatible channels in one band across 36 to 40 MHz of tuning bandwidth. It adds Scan and Sync, an RF mute switch, and CueMode, which lets an engineer listen to up to 20 mixes from one bodypack. Power is an external 15V DC supply. See the P9T page.

PSM1000 (P10T)

One full-width rack unit holding two transmitters, with an internal power supply. Up to 40 compatible frequencies per band version across up to 80 MHz, a networked transmitter, full-range scanning, frequency coordination with or without software, and a diversity bodypack receiver. See the P10T page.

Rack space by band size

Two half-rack transmitters share one rack space on a tray, and a P10T is two transmitters in one space. So four stereo mixes take two rack spaces on any tier. The difference is power: four PSM300 or PSM900 transmitters need four external DC supplies, while two P10Ts plug straight into the power strip.

Past two or three transmitters, combine them into one antenna with an active combiner such as the Shure PA821A. Our antenna distribution guide covers why, and wireless frequency coordination covers picking the channels.

Preamps and console outputs

• Preamp count: none. IEM transmitters take line-level mixes from the console; they don’t use mic preamps.
• Inputs per mix: a stereo mix takes two console outputs per transmitter. A mono mix takes one.
• Phantom power: not applicable to transmitter inputs.
• Rig impact: count console outputs, not inputs. Four stereo mixes use eight outputs, which is all of an X32 Rack’s local XLR outputs. See XR18, X32 Rack or Wing Rack for output counts.

Pairwise pages: PSM300 vs PSM900, PSM900 vs PSM1000 and PSM300 vs PSM1000.

Sources

• Canford: Shure personal monitor systems comparison