IEM in Aussie land

Thanks for your input Dave, Just checked them out and seems a fair contender :D. What transmitter are you using?
Given sizes of stages we currently play, am just going wired. Presonus RM32AI desk sends stero signal to a little Behringer 4 ch mixer. Headphone out of that goes to my IEM's. With the Presonus we can all have a separate IEM mix, in stereo, which sounds just SO good!
 
Please be careful - wearing one ear in will lead to you having the volume much louder than you think and damage your hearing. You may even want to consider IEMs with ambient ports or simply adding a house mic to get more "live" sound. It takes some time to get comfortable with wearing both ears but it is the way to go.
I agree with cander328 even though I myself play with one ear out. I often find that the ear that gets 'abused' is the one which has the IEM in and the 'open' ear feels fine at the end of the night. I lost the custom mold for my right ear and the generic doesn't fit my tiny ear canals very well so I leave it out. One of my singers has permanent damage from leaving one IEM out and she is 15 years younger than me. Protect your ears.
 
The main pair of IEM I have been using for the last few years is a pair of V3 triple drivers from 1964 Ears, ordered through Acustoms in Melbourne. They've been great monitors. Before that I had used single driver (E3c) and dual driver (E5) Shure systems, and I prefer the V3's.

Shure PSM700 units are the most common wireless receivers I find myself working with these days, and I have used Sennheiser EW300 units (both G2 and G3) in the past. Whilst I have played hundreds of gigs with them, I have never personally owned any of the IEM transmitters. If I was looking to purchase one for myself now, I'd also look at the newer Shure PSM300, with the metal receiver belt pack, not the plastic one. I don't know what kind of gigs you play, but the first time someone tackles you on stage while you're playing, the extra durability will pay for itself. :D

FWIW, some IEM manufacturers recommend against getting ambient ports, even though they offer them if insisted upon, due to the way they can drastically reduce bass response, since adding a port breaks the seal that you strive to get in the first place. In my experience, adding an ambient mic if you feel isolated is a much better (and as others have said, safer) alternative than regularly playing with only one earpiece in, especially if the gig is remotely loud. Most of the time I find that if there is more than 1 vocalist in the band, there is plenty of ambiance from the open vocal mics to be comfortable, especially if one of those vocal mics if your own and therefore prominent in your mix.

Good luck, OP!
 
I've recently gone the wireless path and am really enjoying it.

I bought the Shure SE215 headphones initially and played 'wired' for a few gigs to see if I liked them. That was an investment of around $150 (form StoreDJ) plus about $15 for an extended headphone lead, which I thought was worth paying. If I hated them playing in them, worst case I could use them for listening to music on my mp3 player.....I gig once or twice a month and don't sing much so I felt I didn't need to invest in the super-high end IEMs or ear moulded versions. The SE215 block enough of the sound out for me.

I tried playing for a few rehearsals through a cheap Ashton IEM system but the sound was really bad. If that was my only experience of IEMs, I would be put off using them altogether. I didn't want to spend all my time getting the best sound through the Axe, only not get to enjoy it myself by using a cheap IEM system.

Finally, I went all in a purchased the Shure PSM300 system (the Pro version with the metal bodypack). It's not cheap but as everyone says, you get what you pay for. I read a lot of the posts on this forum about IEMs and the general sense I got was that the PSM300 is as 'base' as you want to go - any more 'basic' and you won't enjoy using it. I bought it through a local music shop (Turramurra Music) and they did a good deal for me, especially since I already had the headphones. (I was purchasing the GLXD at the same time.....but that's another story). To be honest, I was a little confused about the different frequency bands that are in use in Australia (and which ones work with the digital TV bands in different areas) so I thought it best to use some local experience via the shop to guide me. I couldn't be happier.

Another tip from me, similar to some of the advice above, I do my IEM mix through a small 5 channel mixer (Behringer Q502, purchased from Soundcorp through ebay). I take a mono feed from the desk, a stereo feed from the Axe FX and an ambient mic mix to add back in some of the room sound. We play in small venues, so we don't tend to mic the drumkit. The ambient mic also helps to add back in some of kit and it helps me to hear the cheers form the crowd and the end of that awesome guitar solo.....:) There is a video somewhere on this forum about using a small mixer this way that helped me. The guitar sounds fantastic through the IEMs in stereo, but of course that means you need an IEM capable of a stereo mix to hear it! I also use the outputs from the Behringer mixer to record to a little Zoom H1 so I can critic my performance after the gig.

Don't forget to include the cost of patch cables etc. if you are thinking of going down this route. I got mine from Swamp Industries.

Prior to doing all this, I was playing through guitar cabs on stage, and fighting with the other guitarist to be heard. Now I let the desk handle the FOH mix, and can please myself how the mix is in my ears. The other band members thank me for ending the volume war!

Hope that helps, and good luck.
 
Given sizes of stages we currently play, am just going wired. Presonus RM32AI desk sends stero signal to a little Behringer 4 ch mixer. Headphone out of that goes to my IEM's. With the Presonus we can all have a separate IEM mix, in stereo, which sounds just SO good!

Thanks Dave…I'd like to stay clear of cables. Got a wireless about 2 months ago and loving it :D.
 
The main pair of IEM I have been using for the last few years is a pair of V3 triple drivers from 1964 Ears, ordered through Acustoms in Melbourne. They've been great monitors. Before that I had used single driver (E3c) and dual driver (E5) Shure systems, and I prefer the V3's.

Shure PSM700 units are the most common wireless receivers I find myself working with these days, and I have used Sennheiser EW300 units (both G2 and G3) in the past. Whilst I have played hundreds of gigs with them, I have never personally owned any of the IEM transmitters. If I was looking to purchase one for myself now, I'd also look at the newer Shure PSM300, with the metal receiver belt pack, not the plastic one. I don't know what kind of gigs you play, but the first time someone tackles you on stage while you're playing, the extra durability will pay for itself. :D

FWIW, some IEM manufacturers recommend against getting ambient ports, even though they offer them if insisted upon, due to the way they can drastically reduce bass response, since adding a port breaks the seal that you strive to get in the first place. In my experience, adding an ambient mic if you feel isolated is a much better (and as others have said, safer) alternative than regularly playing with only one earpiece in, especially if the gig is remotely loud. Most of the time I find that if there is more than 1 vocalist in the band, there is plenty of ambiance from the open vocal mics to be comfortable, especially if one of those vocal mics if your own and therefore prominent in your mix.

Good luck, OP!

Thanks npx….when I started looking for IEM (in this Forum) I've heard about the 1964 Ears as well. I'll check out the V3's.
I just play in a 'jam band' pub/rock style and for now we gig about once a month. The stage is crowded and 3!!! guitars is difficult to handle. To me it's way to loud up there and having IEM would help me a lot.

The Shure looks interesting. I've got already the GLDX wireless for my guitar and can confirm the metal receiver is a tank!
The main pair of IEM I have been using for the last few years is a pair of V3 triple drivers from 1964 Ears, ordered through Acustoms in Melbourne. They've been great monitors. Before that I had used single driver (E3c) and dual driver (E5) Shure systems, and I prefer the V3's.

Shure PSM700 units are the most common wireless receivers I find myself working with these days, and I have used Sennheiser EW300 units (both G2 and G3) in the past. Whilst I have played hundreds of gigs with them, I have never personally owned any of the IEM transmitters. If I was looking to purchase one for myself now, I'd also look at the newer Shure PSM300, with the metal receiver belt pack, not the plastic one. I don't know what kind of gigs you play, but the first time someone tackles you on stage while you're playing, the extra durability will pay for itself. :D

FWIW, some IEM manufacturers recommend against getting ambient ports, even though they offer them if insisted upon, due to the way they can drastically reduce bass response, since adding a port breaks the seal that you strive to get in the first place. In my experience, adding an ambient mic if you feel isolated is a much better (and as others have said, safer) alternative than regularly playing with only one earpiece in, especially if the gig is remotely loud. Most of the time I find that if there is more than 1 vocalist in the band, there is plenty of ambiance from the open vocal mics to be comfortable, especially if one of those vocal mics if your own and therefore prominent in your mix.

Good luck, OP!

Thanks npx….when I started looking for IEM (in this Forum) I've heard about the 1964 Ears as well. I'll check out the V3's.

I just play in a 'jam band' pub/rock style and for now we gig about once a month. The stage is crowded and 3!!! guitars is difficult to handle. To me it's way to loud up there and having IEM would help me a lot.

The Shure looks interesting. I've got already the GLDX wireless for my guitar and can confirm the metal receiver is a tank!
 
I've recently gone the wireless path and am really enjoying it.

I bought the Shure SE215 headphones initially and played 'wired' for a few gigs to see if I liked them. That was an investment of around $150 (form StoreDJ) plus about $15 for an extended headphone lead, which I thought was worth paying. If I hated them playing in them, worst case I could use them for listening to music on my mp3 player.....I gig once or twice a month and don't sing much so I felt I didn't need to invest in the super-high end IEMs or ear moulded versions. The SE215 block enough of the sound out for me.

I tried playing for a few rehearsals through a cheap Ashton IEM system but the sound was really bad. If that was my only experience of IEMs, I would be put off using them altogether. I didn't want to spend all my time getting the best sound through the Axe, only not get to enjoy it myself by using a cheap IEM system.

Finally, I went all in a purchased the Shure PSM300 system (the Pro version with the metal bodypack). It's not cheap but as everyone says, you get what you pay for. I read a lot of the posts on this forum about IEMs and the general sense I got was that the PSM300 is as 'base' as you want to go - any more 'basic' and you won't enjoy using it. I bought it through a local music shop (Turramurra Music) and they did a good deal for me, especially since I already had the headphones. (I was purchasing the GLXD at the same time.....but that's another story). To be honest, I was a little confused about the different frequency bands that are in use in Australia (and which ones work with the digital TV bands in different areas) so I thought it best to use some local experience via the shop to guide me. I couldn't be happier.

Another tip from me, similar to some of the advice above, I do my IEM mix through a small 5 channel mixer (Behringer Q502, purchased from Soundcorp through ebay). I take a mono feed from the desk, a stereo feed from the Axe FX and an ambient mic mix to add back in some of the room sound. We play in small venues, so we don't tend to mic the drumkit. The ambient mic also helps to add back in some of kit and it helps me to hear the cheers form the crowd and the end of that awesome guitar solo.....:) There is a video somewhere on this forum about using a small mixer this way that helped me. The guitar sounds fantastic through the IEMs in stereo, but of course that means you need an IEM capable of a stereo mix to hear it! I also use the outputs from the Behringer mixer to record to a little Zoom H1 so I can critic my performance after the gig.

Don't forget to include the cost of patch cables etc. if you are thinking of going down this route. I got mine from Swamp Industries.

Prior to doing all this, I was playing through guitar cabs on stage, and fighting with the other guitarist to be heard. Now I let the desk handle the FOH mix, and can please myself how the mix is in my ears. The other band members thank me for ending the volume war!

Hope that helps, and good luck.

Thanks simviz for sharing this …I'd like to stay away from cables. I've been using the Shure GLDX for about 2 month now and loving it! No more cables!

The Shure PSM300 with metal case looks interesting (not the price tag though) but I don't want to go cheap a regret it either.

I'm in the same boat for now it's about one gig a months in a 'jam band' too many guitars on stage (3!!!) LOUD, LOUD and way too LOUD on stage for me.

The frequency band is confusing for me too. But I guess if you buy here it's going to work here.

Interesting the mixer solution and setup for the IEMs. Certainly something to consider down the track. I'll see if I can and find the video.
 
Thanks npx….when I started looking for IEM (in this Forum) I've heard about the 1964 Ears as well. I'll check out the V3's.
FYI - the V-series are no longer available from 1964 Ears as of Feb 29th 2016 - with the exception of the V8 and the V6-Stage... their new models, the "A" series with "ADEL" technology are top of the line. The A3 equivalent of the V3 are available, and an upgraded cost - due to the ADEL devices.

I have owned a set of Qi's (basically V4's) for about 2.5 yrs and now own a set of A8's.

As mentioned earlier - don't cheap out on your ears. You bought the best guitar modeler, get REALLY GOOD IEM's and wireless. You won't be happy if you don't.. Seen it too many times when folks go cheap on IEM's.

PS: I'm also running the Senn G3 system (with 1964 IEM's) state side. Busy weekend warrior, not a pro.
 
I've only recently purchased the Shure PSM300 and can confirm they are a massive step up from any of the cheap (sub $600) units that are doing the rounds. I went with a cheap brand initially and they are just simply a crap filled static fest. I ended up throwing them out as I would've felt guilty passing them onto the next sucker!

As for buds, I ended up getting the custom molded Alien Ears tripple drivers and although they're on the cheaper side compared to UE, they are much better sounding than the Shure buds that come with the PSM300. They send the kit out and you make the molds yourself. I believe the 1964 Ears do something similar. The custom molds provide a great seal so you hear a bigger/better bottom end. Worth considering.

We play on stages of varying sizes and I got fed up having to constantly battle the drummers cymbols, (edrums were fine) so went down the IEM path. Another bonus is that I'm able to have a stereo mix which sounds fantastic with vocals and instruments panned to where i want them. I also tend not dig in as hard when playing so some positives have come but at the expense of losing stage ambience. Still, I do enjoy being able to load in all my gear with one trip and being able to hear the car radio on the trip home without a ring in my ears!

You should be able to get a bit of a discount if you shop around but you probably wont get any change from $1000.
 
FYI - the V-series are no longer available from 1964 Ears as of Feb 29th 2016 - with the exception of the V8 and the V6-Stage... their new models, the "A" series with "ADEL" technology are top of the line. The A3 equivalent of the V3 are available, and an upgraded cost - due to the ADEL devices.

I have owned a set of Qi's (basically V4's) for about 2.5 yrs and now own a set of A8's.

As mentioned earlier - don't cheap out on your ears. You bought the best guitar modeler, get REALLY GOOD IEM's and wireless. You won't be happy if you don't.. Seen it too many times when folks go cheap on IEM's.

PS: I'm also running the Senn G3 system (with 1964 IEM's) state side. Busy weekend warrior, not a pro.

Thanks for chiming in and share your view. I won't buy cheap IEM. No point having a top notch modeller and cheap IEM. That's going to be a though negotiation with my better half:confused:.
 
Thanks for chiming in and share your view. I won't buy cheap IEM. No point having a top notch modeller and cheap IEM. That's going to be a though negotiation with my better half:confused:.
Completely understand...look at the price of the A8's, and my singer just got his A12's!
But then.. I played 75-80 gigs (I missed tracking a few..75 for sure - not including Sun church gigs) in 2015, with at least the same (or more) expected in 2016.
I figure I'm worth the investment !! ;)
 
I've only recently purchased the Shure PSM300 and can confirm they are a massive step up from any of the cheap (sub $600) units that are doing the rounds. I went with a cheap brand initially and they are just simply a crap filled static fest. I ended up throwing them out as I would've felt guilty passing them onto the next sucker!

As for buds, I ended up getting the custom molded Alien Ears tripple drivers and although they're on the cheaper side compared to UE, they are much better sounding than the Shure buds that come with the PSM300. They send the kit out and you make the molds yourself. I believe the 1964 Ears do something similar. The custom molds provide a great seal so you hear a bigger/better bottom end. Worth considering.

We play on stages of varying sizes and I got fed up having to constantly battle the drummers cymbols, (edrums were fine) so went down the IEM path. Another bonus is that I'm able to have a stereo mix which sounds fantastic with vocals and instruments panned to where i want them. I also tend not dig in as hard when playing so some positives have come but at the expense of losing stage ambience. Still, I do enjoy being able to load in all my gear with one trip and being able to hear the car radio on the trip home without a ring in my ears!

You should be able to get a bit of a discount if you shop around but you probably wont get any change from $1000.

Another happy Shure user…I'll check out the Alien Ears as well. My small ear canal is going to be a big issue for me. Nothing sticks in my ears so a moulded solution will be inevitable!
Thanks Tone_Loc
 
I'm not in Australia, but also live in a country where these things are more expensive. I managed to save a couple hundred bucks or more on a Shure PSM300 by using my own earphones and finding a dealer that imports parts. Usually in retail bundles are cheaper than individual components, but if you look around, you just might be able to get a transmitter and a receiver with some 20-30% discount.

If you go with Shure, I would suggest their higher end bodypacks (the ones that have A in the name, like P3RA vs P3R). These have metal casing and can be used with rechargeable batteries. But the sound is the same though.
 
The frequency band is confusing for me too. But I guess if you buy here it's going to work here.

Interesting the mixer solution and setup for the IEMs. Certainly something to consider down the track. I'll see if I can and find the video.

Here is the video I was referring to (cwilliams if you are on the forum, thanks!). This is exact how I setup my patches now.

Also, if you haven't seen it before, check out the Ready for Digital website. It might help you with the local frequency bands, although it still confused me. The guys in the local shop gave me some better advice. The thing to be aware of is the bands used by Digital TV varies from place to place, so it's not necessarily the case that if you buy it in Australia it is going to work for you. You may still get some interference, depending on where you are.
 
I'm not in Australia, but also live in a country where these things are more expensive. I managed to save a couple hundred bucks or more on a Shure PSM300 by using my own earphones and finding a dealer that imports parts. Usually in retail bundles are cheaper than individual components, but if you look around, you just might be able to get a transmitter and a receiver with some 20-30% discount.

If you go with Shure, I would suggest their higher end bodypacks (the ones that have A in the name, like P3RA vs P3R). These have metal casing and can be used with rechargeable batteries. But the sound is the same though.

Why not, sounds like a good idea as well. I'm happy if I can spare some cash. If I'm going for the Shure it'll be the metal casing. Thanks vangrieg.
 
Here is the video I was referring to (cwilliams if you are on the forum, thanks!). This is exact how I setup my patches now.

Also, if you haven't seen it before, check out the Ready for Digital website. It might help you with the local frequency bands, although it still confused me. The guys in the local shop gave me some better advice. The thing to be aware of is the bands used by Digital TV varies from place to place, so it's not necessarily the case that if you buy it in Australia it is going to work for you. You may still get some interference, depending on where you are.

Awesome simviz...and @cwilliams if on the forum..... I'll keep this one handy for the time being. I definitely need to understand how the frequency thing works though. I want to keep an eye out in case a good deal pops up overseas. Thanks hips for going the extra mile and finding the video :)
 
Awesome simviz...and @cwilliams if on the forum..... I'll keep this one handy for the time being. I definitely need to understand how the frequency thing works though. I want to keep an eye out in case a good deal pops up overseas. Thanks hips for going the extra mile and finding the video :)

No worries, happy to help :)
 
Back
Top Bottom