A question about IEMs and FRFR cabs

hurtwoodec

hurtwoodec

Member
Apologies if this is a noob question but.......

I have been using IEMs live since I got my AX8 and then upgraded to the FM3. At home ive been running the FM3 into a Phil Jones Bass amp, its pretty neutral sounding and has a total of 6 x 6 inch speakers plus a ported sub and 2 smaller tweeters. It also boasts a parametric eq etc. So I was able to dial in an EQ setting on the Bass amp that pretty much mirrored what I was hearing through the IEMs, so I could confidently dial in a patch using the bass amp knowing that it would be pretty close to what I am hearing through the IEMs. I also would AB the bass amp and also my IEMs using the headphone out to make sure.

OK, so I went and bought a cheaper FRFR cab, there was a deal to be had on the Headrush 112 so I grabbed one. While im not unhappy with the sound of it, i find it pretty bass heavy compared to the IEMs in the phones out and my live sound from the desk. To counter this ive added a graphic eq block to the end of the chain of my patches to compensate (and then plan to switch it off when playing live with the IEMs and without the FRFR).

Has anyone else experienced this? Is it just a result of natural bass emitted from a 12" speaker and potential compensation built into this particular FRFR?

Thoughts?
 
I use the headrush 108 with 10 driver Kz ears and have a studio rig with pretty flat(ish) wharfdale near-fields and a 10" sub.
I find the FRFR to sound a good bit different than the reference monitors.

So I have picked up a miniDsp reference mic and REW software to analyze the FRFR on the floor and pull out any major deviations in response with global eq.

the 12" headrush is a lot more boomy than the 8" in my experience.

Once I am happy with the response of the FRFR ...I am going to use the RTA to compare a real amp in the room, and monitor the fractals processed audio through software spectrum analysis.

ideally ... I would like to have confidence in my studio monitors to reflect what is going to FOH, and to be able to choose a flat(ish) signal to the FRFR when I use it to monitor without ears, or choose a amp in the room global eq setting that can't be distinguished from the real amp (to push the backline) when I use ears.

I am going to share the plots and recommended eq corrections for the 108 . I wish I could do the same for your 112
 
@hurtwoodec Well you're just doing what you've done with the bass cab previously really .... using a PEQ to compensate for the difference between cab and IEM.

All cabs have their own flavour whether they call themselves FRFR or not.

Your emphasis is on dialling in a good IEM tone as that's what you'll be relying on live (and passing same signal to FOH too I assume) .... your cab is not a critical point of sound reproduction ....... so if you can tweak EQ and get good sound for your cab then you're doing the right thing.

You can always split your signal chain to leave the PEQ block in place just for the output feeding the cab if you want it on stage with you while still using IEMs/feeding FOH with the other output.
 
yeah sure, I guess i was expecting to hear a sound from the FRFR that would have been closer to what the IEMs are giving me.
 
when i use IEMs, i EQ the monitor send as well so it's what i want to hear. IEMs aren't "more correct sounding" or anything. you may have to EQ them the same as you would a speaker or anything else.

if your tones are dialed in on the IEMs, then your tone is set (mostly) for the specific curve of that IEM set. sending that signal to another type of speaker may not sound the same because the curve of the IEMs are probably different than the curve of the speakers.

you need to start making tones somewhere, and if you're always using IEMs, that's a good choice. but from there, even with a perfectly flat speaker, the tone probably won't match what you hear with the IEMs because the curves are different.

the "Flat" part of FRFR or flat-response gear is very relative and varies a lot.
 
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