In ear monitor suggestions

jimmynorrisjr

jimmynorrisjr

Experienced
What are you guys using for in ear headphones these days, if you are using them? I am about to make a purchase, but the marketing for these things sucks. I just want something that will sound fairly accurate or flat. I am looking for something around $1000, so no budget ears or super high end. I don't think I need 21 drivers, maybe 3-5? I keep reading reviews on several that go between the best thing since sliced bread to horrible scam. Just confusing.
 
I'm with you regarding the frustration. Only made worse by not being able to 'try them out' or return them. I had super good luck with 4-driver models. The Westone 4R was a good unit under $500.00 but the newer version is about $600.00 on Sweetwater. 64 Audio has some 4-driver at the $1100.00 range. Probably find lower 'street' prices on both models. For whatever reason I can't wear custom fit so I have to use the universal fit models.
 
im rolling with my tried and true UE RM's (ref monitors), which are less strident than my even older UE7's :p
Jerry Harvey's stuff is where i'm headed next!
 
In ears are really great even down to the se215 base level. i like westones universals. Myself i use JHAudio ones that costed alot but in reality most people who hate IEM's usually have a really bad mix in a live situation. At home I wouldnt use them and just go for good over the head types.
 
These things are so subjective, so each person's opinion is completely valid (for them)...

I have never used a universal fit that sounded as good, offered the protection of, and the CONSISTENCY of a custom mold IEM. That includes Shure, Carvin, Sennheiser, Westone, KZ, and several of the other available on Amazon types.

My first set of CIEMs were made by Alien Ear. Terrible customer service, but the 3 driver IEMs I bought were great until the shell cracked/broke after 8 years of heavy use.

Since then, I've moved on to Ultimate Ears - first dual driver (UE5) and now 3 driver (UE7). Paired with either a Shure PSM300 or an Xvive system (backup & "throw & go" situations), as long as I have control of my mix (and time to dial & eq), I know I'll be happy.

(FYI, control & time are facilitated by owning the IEM mixer - X32 - and taking time to dial in the band & eq as a necessary preparatory step during rehearsals, soundchecks, etc. Once I got familiar with the process, making small adjustments at a gig became quick & simple.)
 
Dutch said:



Otherwise:
KZ ZS10 Pro X.
$35 on aliexpress.
I know you said no budget options, but I'm NOT kidding. Anything more is diminishing returns.
Low pass at 6K.
Invest the rest in at least a shure psm300 wireless set.
Click to expand...

are you saying you put a low pass at 6k on the KZ's?
(asking because i just got some)
 
jimmynorrisjr said:
What are you guys using for in ear headphones these days, if you are using them? I am about to make a purchase, but the marketing for these things sucks. I just want something that will sound fairly accurate or flat. I am looking for something around $1000, so no budget ears or super high end. I don't think I need 21 drivers, maybe 3-5? I keep reading reviews on several that go between the best thing since sliced bread to horrible scam. Just confusing.
Click to expand...
At your budget you should look at Alclair and get ear molds etc for that custom fit.
Their website makes it easy to pick the right IEM for your needs.
https://alclair.com/
 
BBN said:
are you saying you put a low pass at 6k on the KZ's?
(asking because i just got some)
Click to expand...
I do that on the cab block in the FM3. There's no setting on KZs. Basically anything above 6K is fizz anyway since most guitar speakers don't go over 5K. I had some fizz on my in-ears (all of them are usually brighter than studio monitors or even over-ear headphones) and that got rid of it. I set it so high that I only just start to notice it and back it up a tad. Sometimes higher than 7K for really spanking cleans and for acoustic even higher.
Cooper Carter said:
I was a JH guy for a long time until a certain bearded guitarist and his tech suggested I try out Sensaphonics, as they both liked them better for live guitar playing specifically.

Thrilled with the move over to the Sensaphonics 3MAX
Click to expand...
Pete's in-ears (the video) are from the same fellow that designed Sensaphonics. It's a spin-off company or he branched out or something. Anyway, same dude.
 
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From my experience you don't want flat sounding iems for gigs. Mixing or recording maybe. I have some custom triple drivers that were very flat, I'm currently using some 7 driver CCA CKX universals, and it's daylight and dark difference. They are about $100. The rest of the guys in the band are using the KZ ZS10 pros, and are having good experiences with them, can get under $50 bux on sale from time to time. It's really like anything, you can spend as much as you want on them. IMHO YMMV.
 
FutureSonics. They use a proprietary full-range dynamic driver that doesn’t require internal crossovers. Very accurate, very low distortion and low “fatigue factor”.
 
While there are great sounding universal IEMs, custom molds are really the best option. With your budget of $1000, custom IEMs is a no brainer IMO. I have had the 64 Audio triple driver A3's for about 10 years now and they still fit and perform extremely well. During that time I've had to replace the cable 4 times but have had zero issues with the ear pieces.

A feature I like about the A3's is the port that not only allows for some ambient sound, it allows the pressure in the ear from the tight seal to be released which is something that some people have issues with using custom molds.
 
dpeterson said:
From my experience you don't want flat sounding iems for gigs. Mixing or recording maybe. I have some custom triple drivers that were very flat, I'm currently using some 7 driver CCA CKX universals, and it's daylight and dark difference. They are about $100. The rest of the guys in the band are using the KZ ZS10 pros, and are having good experiences with them, can get under $50 bux on sale from time to time. It's really like anything, you can spend as much as you want on them. IMHO YMMV.
Click to expand...
These?
https://www.linsoul.com/products/cca-ckx
They look like dual drivers.
And just to confirm, these were the ones you liked (you said night and day, but not which ones you liked :))
 
Take it for what it’s worth, I’ve owned everything from KZ’s line to what used to be JH’s flagship iem the Layla, and by far the best I have ever used are $1000 IEMs from a company called Plunge Audio. The Unity IEM to be specific. Universals, but the seal with these IEMs are better than my customs, and sound quality is unrivaled. Been also wanting to try FIR audio that I’ve seen people raving about, but haven’t gotten the chance yet.
 
Compared to my Shure SE-535s the KZ10s are, and that is easy to judge, way way inferior. At least for guitar purposes. Drummers seem to like them. But they need or want something else.
 
I use JHaudio JH16s,

My feeling is that, no matter how much money your spend, universal fits will never rival even the most modest custom molded In ears. So, if you can afford a budget set of drivers, save a little cash to see an audiologist to get your IEM molded to your ears. Some companies will even do the molding as part of the price.
 
64audio. Still have my v6 stage models from 10 years ago (6 drivers), still working perfectly. I upgraded to the A12T a couple years ago bc I got them for a good price. It's only a small audible improvement tbh, so on a budget I'd get custom molds, 4-6 drivers. 64audio is a great company, reliable products and great support. When the rest of the guys were on other brands it used to be a constant issue with drivers going out and such but since everyone switched I think we've done 2 tours and countless one offs with no repairs.

Have been interested to try this company out though, apparently they were founded by some of the old guys at 64audio, with some new tech... https://www.firaudio.com/
 
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I recently read this entire thread:

https://thegearforum.com/threads/an...ones-for-16-read-this.771/page-13#post-129706

I bought 2 sets of universal fit IEMs for less than $60 US.

The first set I ran with at last week's band rehearsal was quite good. I enjoyed them more than my 64 Audio V6S custom molds which cost significantly more money (about 8 years ago).

We run silent stage, so for me I dont need a huge amount of isolation but even so with the proper tips they're pretty good.

Will be trying the other set tomorrow.
 
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