In ear monitors

C

Chuck Link

Member
I am looking in to getting in ear monitors, and I want to get everyones input. What components do I need? What brands do you like or don't like? I'm brand new to in ears so, I am open to any suggestions.
 
You'll also get as many differing responses / suggestions as there are brands / types
yessmiley.gif


So many opinions are based on hype / perception and even if you get past that, individual needs and preferences vary immensely

A couple questions first up:

1 - Are you looking for wireless or wired..? So many guys go wireless when there really is no need...

2 - Will you be the only guy in the band using in-ears..? I say 'band' because if you happen to be a bedroom player solely, then a decent set of headphones would likely be a better option
 
Depends if you're looking for custom molded or universal fit. I love my custom molded Ultimate Ears. If you're a bass player or drummer I would strongly suggest considering custom molded since the low frequency response depends a lot on how tight of a seal you get between your ears and the ear buds. If you go with custom make sure to use a reputable provider like Ultimate Ears. The less expensive knock offs tend to have issues with fit and quality (IME).

For universal fit the Shures are good. I also like Westone a lot.

I love using IEM's, but your mileage may vary. In my opinion it's best when the whole band decides to use IEM's and if you're able to give everyone they're own monitor mix. I don't even bring an amp anymore (for more info on this see my recent post about using the X32 Rack and my Axe-FX here: http://forum.fractalaudio.com/rigs-routing/79174-behringer-x32-rack-iems.html )

Lots of people will spend thousands of dollars on guitars, amps, processors, pa gear, mice, drums, etc but then they want to have a great IEM experience with a set of $99 ear buds that were meant to be paired with an iPod. I know not everyone can afford to spend $1000 on ear buds, but if you can there is a big difference between that level of ear bud and Dr Beats or some other consumer level brand. I've talked to a lot of fellow musicians and usually when they say they hate using IEM's its because they either had low level gear that didn't sound right or they didn't have their own individual mix for their IEMs.

If you're here on this forum it's probably because you own an Axe-Fx which indicates that good quality sound makes a big difference to you. So, before you pull the trigger on IEMs just make sure you're going to get the sound that you're looking for. Personally I use Ultimate Ears UE-11's which I think are fantastic, but they're not cheap (~$1100), but less than I might pay for a great floor monitor and a lot lighter and compact. Also, Ultimate Ears UE-4's (custom molded) are quite good according to a fellow bandmate and can be had for around $400.

I also think it's best to use both ears and not try to use just one in ear monitor. That can be very dangerous for your hearing. Also, you'll lose a lot of low frequency response once you remove one ear.

That's my .02 cents worth. Hope this helps.

Have a great day,
Ray
 
I have the Westone UM Pro 30 and I like them (I will eventually get customs, but wanted to try out IEMs before investing too much). I go wired into a Behringer P16-M fed by our X32 board, which allows me to to create my own mix (16 channels) on the fly. I love it, and my ears are thanking me after gigs since I can keep the volume at a reasonable level.
 
I think your best route would be to first determine what your realistic budget will be. It can get very pricey when done right. Lots of variables to consider.
Stereo or mono.
Own mix or shared mix.
Wired or wireless.
What instrument do you play or will you mainly be using for vocals.

Answering these questions will help to narrow down what equipment will be necessary for your application.

Also, will the rest of the band be on in ears as well.
 
After much trial and error, Molded triple drivers ( 'Alien Ears" or "1964") and a wired transmitter running the cable alongside guitar cable. Works best for me. Skimping on an ear piece is false economy.
 
I've done both wired and wireless IEM's, both for gigs (wired/wirless) and church (aviom) playing. I'm a weekend warrior and to be honest, like many don't want to spend $1200 on CIEM's.
I've also done a TON of research on the subject.. my current band is discussing the same move, so I'm going thru this for the 3rd time now..

Since you didn't give us much info in your OP, you WILL have some decisions to make. The following assumes you are in a gigging band setting, because (as someone mentioned earlier) if you only playing at home.. buy a decent pair of headphones. None of the info below impacts your need for decent ear buds, and focuses on getting the sound to those buds. So -
#1. Wired or wireless. MANY, many choices here.. I split options below.
#2. Budget. How much you have to spend has a huge limiter on hardware and ear's choices.

WIRED: Your best option is an Aviom-style system, where mixer channels are fed to a "sending" unit, (via direct outs or insert points on mixer) then fed to each persons local mixer (16-ch usually) over CAT5 cable, where each can personally adjust their own mix. From the base station you can be wired, or send outputs to a wireless IEM transmitter. I have used both Aviom and Behringer equivalents, and there's little difference in quality... huge cost savings in the Behringer models tho'.
Most mix stations are stereo and allow panning L/R of individual channels.
PROS: full 16-ch mix, usually stereo, fully controlled by musician, good for wired IEM setups. Ideal for church settings.
CONS: additional setup time before gigs running CAT5 cable to each station. Sending unit needs to be housed in rack with mixer. More pieces parts to load-in, setup, load-out.
NOTES: as mentioned, you can still send the outputs from the individual mixer stations to a wireless IEM unit.

WIRELESS: Most wireless units come with their own ear buds.. of which most can be thrown away. Transmitter and receivers are packaged together and range in price based on single channel low-power to +$1,000 for multi-channel, higher power. The higher the price , the better the unit quality, xmit power and the ears quality. Today, up to 10 transmitters can be housed in a rack without the need for antenna combiners and external antenna's, but each should be on a different channel (or even band) to avoid issues. In other words, using channels 1 thru 10 will cause issues but you should be fine with 1, 10, 20, 30, and so on.
Since the transmitters all have to comply with FCC regs, the big difference in price is xmit power and feature set. One thing to consider is buying a lower cost unit and spending extra $$ on good quality custom molds versus a top of the line unit. You will also need to decide mono vs stereo as you still need to get that mix into the transmitter. Normal method is via AUX feeds (1 for mono, 2 for stereo) on the mixer. 5 folks with stereo IEM mixes will need 10 AUX feeds on the mixer, but only 5 AUX feeds for mono mixes. Mono mix does not all panning of instruments. Might be a decision factor.
PROS: If housed in mixer rack, power up and go.
CONS: Stereo mixes are AUX feed expensive. Battery use can be high.

IEM: The ears themselves. This is another HUGE budget factor and comes down to person choice. There are generic fit and Custom molds.
GENERICS: usually come with a range of "comfort" tips of varying sizes. You pick the ones that best fit your ears.
Generics range in price from $9 to $900+ depending on vendor and number of drivers, etc. more drivers.. more $$
PROS: mostly cheaper
CONS: generic fit.. seals are not quite as good, can easily "pop" when singing.

CUSTOM: molds require ear impressions from an audiologist (add $50+ to cost) and are sent to your vendor of choice, so you can't wander out and TRY CIEM's at wal-mart as they are molded for your ears only.
They range in price from $200 up, and cost is also based on number of drivers and vendor.
PROS: Good seal, great for full sound.
CONS: Price, can be isolating, don't always fit great first time

Here's some links for you to browse.. best is to be educated before you buy. Read up, get feedback. Chose IEM vendor based on your budget.

INFO:
ToTL Madness! 24 Top-of-the-Line Custom In-Ear Monitors Reviewed | InnerFidelity
http://forum.fractalaudio.com/lounge/60484-best-custom-iems-live-use.html#post754028
Concise Multi-IEM Comparison (FINAL UPDATE March. 1st, 2013)
2013 Head-Fi Winter Gift Guide (In-Ear Headphones) - Head-Fi.org Community

UNITS:
Galaxy AS-1100 System - D-Band | Sweetwater.com
Carvin.com : EM900 960-CHANNEL WIRELESS IN-EAR PERSONAL MONITOR SYSTEM
Sennheiser EW 300 IEM G3 - G Band, 556-608 MHz | Sweetwater.com
 
supersonic said:
After much trial and error, Molded triple drivers ( 'Alien Ears" or "1964") and a wired transmitter running the cable alongside guitar cable. Works best for me. Skimping on an ear piece is false economy.
Click to expand...
Yup.. think I'm about to order the 1964 Triple Drivers with ambient ports added..if current band goes IEM route.
My Westone's are getting old, and the ES30's are outside my budget right now.
 
Yeah good choice, the ported option is a good one, you can tune in/out stage sound. Be aware that there is some loss of bass frequency though.
s0c9 said:
Yup.. think I'm about to order the 1964 Triple Drivers with ambient ports added..if current band goes IEM route.
My Westone's are getting old, and the ES30's are outside my budget right now.
Click to expand...
 
When I ordered my Jh audios I was advised by Jerry Harvey not to go with ambient vents if you're a guitar player because it will greatly reduce the Lowend of the mix which is not what you want as a guitar player
 
the "seal" is very important for in ears to get that low end response. vents or just a bad fit, you will definitely have a huge drop-off of low frequencies.

if you have regular ear buds (ipod, etc), you can try to experience this by shoving them in your ear as much as you can (safely! turn down the volume) until it sounds much more bassy, then slowly take them out of your ear and the bass will go away.

i need that bass, and i've been warned to never go ambient. but you may like it :) i think most ambient vents have the option of plugging it back up.
 
Chuck Link said:
I am looking in to getting in ear monitors, and I want to get everyones input. What components do I need? What brands do you like or don't like? I'm brand new to in ears so, I am open to any suggestions.
Click to expand...

There's a whole discussion from a week or so ago.

http://forum.fractalaudio.com/rigs-routing/78825-~500$-ear-recommendation.html

There's more to your question than meets the eye. Are you asking about earpieces that you stick in your ears? Or the wireless/wired system that gets the signal to the earpiece?... Or the mixing system that send each band member what they specifically need to hear? (everyone wants themselves louder than the rest of the band)
 
Cover'd said:
You'll also get as many differing responses / suggestions as there are brands / types
yessmiley.gif


So many opinions are based on hype / perception and even if you get past that, individual needs and preferences vary immensely

A couple questions first up:

1 - Are you looking for wireless or wired..? So many guys go wireless when there really is no need...

2 - Will you be the only guy in the band using in-ears..? I say 'band' because if you happen to be a bedroom player solely, then a decent set of headphones would likely be a better option
Click to expand...

At this point I am the only person in the band that will be using them. I would prefer to go wired or with the best quality sound.
 
Seattle_Ray said:
Depends if you're looking for custom molded or universal fit. I love my custom molded Ultimate Ears. If you're a bass player or drummer I would strongly suggest considering custom molded since the low frequency response depends a lot on how tight of a seal you get between your ears and the ear buds. If you go with custom make sure to use a reputable provider like Ultimate Ears. The less expensive knock offs tend to have issues with fit and quality (IME).

For universal fit the Shures are good. I also like Westone a lot.

I love using IEM's, but your mileage may vary. In my opinion it's best when the whole band decides to use IEM's and if you're able to give everyone they're own monitor mix. I don't even bring an amp anymore (for more info on this see my recent post about using the X32 Rack and my Axe-FX here: http://forum.fractalaudio.com/rigs-routing/79174-behringer-x32-rack-iems.html )

Lots of people will spend thousands of dollars on guitars, amps, processors, pa gear, mice, drums, etc but then they want to have a great IEM experience with a set of $99 ear buds that were meant to be paired with an iPod. I know not everyone can afford to spend $1000 on ear buds, but if you can there is a big difference between that level of ear bud and Dr Beats or some other consumer level brand. I've talked to a lot of fellow musicians and usually when they say they hate using IEM's its because they either had low level gear that didn't sound right or they didn't have their own individual mix for their IEMs.

If you're here on this forum it's probably because you own an Axe-Fx which indicates that good quality sound makes a big difference to you. So, before you pull the trigger on IEMs just make sure you're going to get the sound that you're looking for. Personally I use Ultimate Ears UE-11's which I think are fantastic, but they're not cheap (~$1100), but less than I might pay for a great floor monitor and a lot lighter and compact. Also, Ultimate Ears UE-4's (custom molded) are quite good according to a fellow bandmate and can be had for around $400.

I also think it's best to use both ears and not try to use just one in ear monitor. That can be very dangerous for your hearing. Also, you'll lose a lot of low frequency response once you remove one ear.

That's my .02 cents worth. Hope this helps.

Have a great day,
Ray
Click to expand...

i really appreciate your input. I checked out the UE website. The product line looks awesome. Do you think its worth the extra $$ to go with the 11 over the 4. I want to spend the money and get the right product the first time. What are you using to connect to the PA?
 
boltrecords said:
I think your best route would be to first determine what your realistic budget will be. It can get very pricey when done right. Lots of variables to consider.
Stereo or mono.
Own mix or shared mix.
Wired or wireless.
What instrument do you play or will you mainly be using for vocals.

Answering these questions will help to narrow down what equipment will be necessary for your application.

Also, will the rest of the band be on in ears as well.
Click to expand...

Mono.
Own mix.
Wired.
Guitar.
I'm the only one using in ears in most situations. At church, I use Aviom.
 
There are a lot of opinions about which one is better. The one piece of advice I would offer is which ever brand & model you buy, make sure the cable is replaceable & buy a spare.
 
Probably a stupid question, but can someone explain why having individual mixes is desirable? Assuming you're in a situation where the FOH is mostly what the audience hears, wouldn't everyone in the band want the same (FOH) mix?
 
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