IEM price point and sound quality

If you're a vocalist and want to go with custom molds, use one of the manufacturer's recommended audiologists. They should have you open your mouth at some point during the mold setting process, this will help keep them from popping out when singing or speaking. I sing occasionally so I had this done and have had zero issues with my in ears popping out or coming loose.
 
I've done really well recently with Etymotic ER2XRs for off-stage work. I use Westone's silicone tips with them and love the stock sound. For onstage usage, being a bandleader, the Westone AM10PRO is my favorite I've found; they allow me to communicate with my band and audience while also overcoming the faults of the typical EQ curves present on our system that don't sound good on well-tuned monitors (namely upper midrange/low treble peaking). Both of these are not bass-heavy in the slightest, but they work very well for guitars.
 
FWIW, I started with the Sennheiser universal fit that came with the G3 wireless system. Total garbage. I upgraded to Ultimate Ears UE-7. Much better but I could never get my guitar sounds to feel right. Personally, it just didn’t have the dynamics I was hoping for. Eventually splurged on JH Audio Roxanne right before the pandemic. Wow, what a difference! Bigger sound stage, much more detailed, but…Very annoying top-end ice picky frequencies had to be EQ’d out. After being EQ’d I was really enjoying them. I must say though the hard acrylics are very uncomfortable after about an hour. Unfortunately, those IEM’s were stolen late last year. I had to replace them quickly so I went with the KZ ZAR off Amazon. I was shocked to discover how great they sound without any EQ! And when I compare their sound to the sound in my wedge, it doesn’t sound wildly different but very similar. I’m very happy with the sound and feel. I’m in the process of getting custom molds for them from a company called ADV. As a gigging musician, I also really love the idea of being able to replace these quickly and easily without having to take out a loan. Anyway, just my experience. Hope it helps some.
 
TrickRichards said:
FWIW, I started with the Sennheiser universal fit that came with the G3 wireless system. Total garbage. I upgraded to Ultimate Ears UE-7. Much better but I could never get my guitar sounds to feel right. Personally, it just didn’t have the dynamics I was hoping for. Eventually splurged on JH Audio Roxanne right before the pandemic. Wow, what a difference! Bigger sound stage, much more detailed, but…Very annoying top-end ice picky frequencies had to be EQ’d out. After being EQ’d I was really enjoying them. I must say though the hard acrylics are very uncomfortable after about an hour. Unfortunately, those IEM’s were stolen late last year. I had to replace them quickly so I went with the KZ ZAR off Amazon. I was shocked to discover how great they sound without any EQ! And when I compare their sound to the sound in my wedge, it doesn’t sound wildly different but very similar. I’m very happy with the sound and feel. I’m in the process of getting custom molds for them from a company called ADV. As a gigging musician, I also really love the idea of being able to replace these quickly and easily without having to take out a loan. Anyway, just my experience. Hope it helps some.
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Why would someone steal a custom molded IEM? I suppose they could DIY a remold to their own ears if they had the skills, but otherwise they would be essentially useless.
 
OrganicZed said:
Why would someone steal a custom molded IEM? I suppose they could DIY a remold to their own ears if they had the skills, but otherwise they would be essentially useless.
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Honestly, whoever took them probably had no idea what they were. Perhaps just looked expensive and easy to grab from the edge of the green room.
 
I started with stock Sennheiser (awful), went to some of the Amazon specials (KZ, Kiwi Cadenza) and they were very acceptable.
I then decided to 'buy once, cry once' and got 64 Audio - Custom Mold A12s. The fit is just amazing and the sound quality is glorious.
I have recently been feeding my vocal into my Axe III and adding the Fractal reverb to my vocal, and blending in my guitar straight from the Axe....my god it's amazing. The reverb is ridiculously good...it makes singing so enjoyable....and my guitar sounds massive.
It is NOT the same with the Amazon ear buds....but I'm being picky (since I own the Custom molds). Nothing wrong with the Amazon specials, they're excellent for the price. Custom molds are better...but they're crazy expensive.
 
BBN said:
I started with stock Sennheiser (awful), went to some of the Amazon specials (KZ, Kiwi Cadenza) and they were very acceptable.
I then decided to 'buy once, cry once' and got 64 Audio - Custom Mold A12s. The fit is just amazing and the sound quality is glorious.
I have recently been feeding my vocal into my Axe III and adding the Fractal reverb to my vocal, and blending in my guitar straight from the Axe....my god it's amazing. The reverb is ridiculously good...it makes singing so enjoyable....and my guitar sounds massive.
It is NOT the same with the Amazon ear buds....but I'm being picky (since I own the Custom molds). Nothing wrong with the Amazon specials, they're excellent for the price. Custom molds are better...but they're crazy expensive.
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I dont think 1k to 1500 is crazy expensive. A sandwich is $15 now. For something youll have/use for years, its a great investment imo.
 
I would recommend first focusing on functionality/features - for example, are you in an environment (taking into account others’ on-stage monitoring/acoustics and your own instruments/vocals and what’s capable of being reliably fed to your IEMs) where you want isolation from the stage sound or, at the other extreme, do you want full bleed, and/or both depending on the particular gig (in which case a molded solution with built-in mics for ambient sound might be the best option)? To me that’s far more important to meeting the main priority (for most of us …) of ensuring you are hearing what you need to hear to get through a gig successfully. Once you’ve narrowed that down, consider the options that have those features and that meet your budget.
 
Feflicker said:
I dont think 1k to 1500 is crazy expensive. A sandwich is $15 now. For something youll have/use for years, its a great investment imo.
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Mine were $2k. I certainly didn't tell my wife what they cost....that's how I judge something as being expensive...lol.
$40 for Amazon specials which are 80% good vs. $2000 for something that is 99% good. Very much personal opinion on if it's worth it.
 
My experience is that acrylic molds seem to transmit "feel-able" low-low frequencies better than silicone molds. I was told by someone who should know that properly-fitting acrylics ("snug but not painful") take advantage of "bone conduction" to increase apparent LF response, and my practical use has borne this out – while my SoundGuy Brain knows that a 10mm dynamic driver IEM doesn't push a sub-50hz signal my User Brain knows that the LF response of my acrylic FutureSonics sounds like it goes to the basement and then some. YMMV...
 
Dave Merrill said:
One thing that frosts me about IEMs is that if i put a ton of money into them and my own little world sounds great, nobody else hears that unless they do the same. Also weird for jams, or you or others sitting in. They're really best for a consistent band or other show arrangement, not a more fluid musical life.
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This is so true. I also had to add "ambience" mics onstage so I could feel the room, hear the audience, talk with other players. It was so much better after that. But, as you say, that isn't going to happen in a lot of scenarios. We use wedges when it simply works better. It's nice to have the option.

Honestly, IEMs have plusses and minuses to consider for each player. For some, it's all good all the time. For others, it is hit or miss. In my small world, the reality is I need to speak with people at the stage front often, so some sort of ambient input is a must when using IEMS. I use Sennheiser ME66 shotguns for that task, if anyone is interested. I'd love to check out the molds with active audio input, but I admit I'm just not looking to spend more on monitoring these days.
 
strabes said:
The difference between inexpensive IEMs/earbuds and higher quality ones becomes apparent in a dense mix. With cheapies everything turns to mush, there’s distortion and smearing across the frequency spectrum, no separation of instruments. With higher end IEMs (and a good transmitter/receiver and monitor engineer), I can easily hear everything even in the dense low midrange, kick / synth bass separation, clear highs without harshness, etc. I have 64Audio A12. Upgraded from 10+ year old V6 stage and the difference isn’t huge. Only reason I upgraded was because I got them secondhand for a steal and had them remolded by 64audio.
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Interesting about a dense mix. That is the first I've heard of that. Thanks!
 
BBN said:
Mine were $2k. I certainly didn't tell my wife what they cost....that's how I judge something as being expensive...lol.
$40 for Amazon specials which are 80% good vs. $2000 for something that is 99% good. Very much personal opinion on if it's worth it.
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I really appreciate this comment! Thanks!
 
Thanks to all of you for your comments and sharing your real world experiences.

Here is mine so far.
My son who plays guitar, drums and bass purchased some Alclair's about 10 years ago. He really liked them
So I went into this saying lets do it right. About 4 years ago I had custom molds made for triple driver Alclair's.

When I received them I was not impressed with the sound at all, quite disappointed really. I had invested about $600 for these.
Shortly there after, someone recommended the KZ ZS10's at about $45.
Right away I thought the ZS10's sounded a lot better, and I started using them.

Someone recommended the Comply Memory Foam tips.
They are super comfortable, stay put and block out ambient noise.
I would not use the ZS10's without those tips.

Some things to keep in mind. There is a learning curve going from a 4x12 to IEM.
Add to that learning to mix the band with my own personal IEM mixer.
Trying to adjust hearing my guitar, like I really had never heard it before.

Fast forward to this week. Over the years I heard some people say the the ZS10's are harsh sounding.
I did think they were fairly bright, And I would slightly reduce the treble at the IEM mixer.

I was listening to the Steely Dan CD, Aja for reference music.
I noticed if I moved the ZS10's, I could rotate them to where the bass became nice and full and the treble was not as prominent.
I was surprised by this discovery. I have tried several different sizes and shapes of the Comply tips trying to get the best feel and sound.
No matter what I do, I can't get the ZS10's to sit in my ear canal, so the sound is balanced. It took me 4 years to stumble upon this.

I shared this story with a trusted musician and he said, how about A/B the ZS10's to the Alclair's again just for grins.
Results...

The Alclair sound more flat, which is okay. I can listen to the music at a louder volume with more comfort, that the ZS10's.
And with this test I do see/hear how the ZS10's are a bit harsh.
The Alclair sound their best when I keep very slight pressure to hold the bud into my ear. The bass gets nice and full.
One other thing I can add, I ordered some Shure SE215 ($100) to try. I found no real difference between them and the ZS10's.

All that to say I have 4+ years playing live with them. I'm trying to understand if there is a middle ground for cost, as I already spent $600 on the first custom molds.

Has anyone had any experience where the buds don't seem fit for optimal tone/sound?
How did you resolve this?
Thank you all!
 
BBN said:
I started with stock Sennheiser (awful), went to some of the Amazon specials (KZ, Kiwi Cadenza) and they were very acceptable.
I then decided to 'buy once, cry once' and got 64 Audio - Custom Mold A12s. The fit is just amazing and the sound quality is glorious.
I have recently been feeding my vocal into my Axe III and adding the Fractal reverb to my vocal, and blending in my guitar straight from the Axe....my god it's amazing. The reverb is ridiculously good...it makes singing so enjoyable....and my guitar sounds massive.
It is NOT the same with the Amazon ear buds....but I'm being picky (since I own the Custom molds). Nothing wrong with the Amazon specials, they're excellent for the price. Custom molds are better...but they're crazy expensive.
Click to expand...

@BBN I would really appreciate if you could share which models you tried from Amazon.
 
For me, it was all about how it affected my enjoyment of playing live. When I first started with IEMs, the cheap earbuds didn't represent how my rig sounded live. Dull and tinny. And the cheap wireless kept dropping out. It was just no fun. My upgrade to molded in ears and a higher quality wireless unit has made it fun again. YMMV, but that was my tipping point.
 
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