Just ordered Ultimate Ears 11 pro. Anyone else use in-ears?

Gamedojo

Power User
First off, I love my Matrix/JBL monitoring situation. I'm perfectly happy, But I figure since everyone else in my 10 piece band uses in-ears, I might as well take the plunge to see if its for me.

So, Since i don't like to cut corners, I went for the best I could find. Did the whole mold of my ear this morning and sent them off to be made this afternoon.

Anyone use in ears? More specifically Ultimate Ears? this is completely new territory for me, but I can only imagine how good the Axe_fx would sound through these things.
 
I use triple drivers live, and mine are really flat eq wise, so I usually have to pull up some bass. it's a different thing for sure.. some guys just cant get used to it, but i'm sold on ear monitors.
 
I went from Live Wires / In Ear Systems duals to triples then moved over to ACS T1 Live (triple drivers). The ACS T1 Live are made of silicone and have a built in mic so that you can include some ambient "room noise" (using a mixer to dial them in). That way you don't feel so disconnected. I have worn them on several 17 hour plane flights and they are very comfortable. It pains me to see performers pop one out so that they can hear!

I've played a lot in church worship teams and they do help. I'm sold as well.
 
I was going to get UE11's myself but decided on 1964 Ears V6-Stage's. 1964 has a deal going on now for their new IEM's and are almost half the cost for 6 drivers. I've heard nothing but good stuff about UE's though. 70% of our worship team uses them and love them. It took me about 3 services to fully get used to IEM's. The monitor tech has a great part in how the mix will sound. Some other churches I play have Aviom's and they still sound ok, but I always prefer the wireless packs. In my experience, using IEM's and having the ability to play with a click has helped me clean up my playing a bit and staying in tempo with everyone else. Hope you enjoy the UE11's when they arrive. I want to hear how you like them.
 
Been using IEM's at church (with Aviom) for years! Have used them on and off in bands too. Problem with gigging band approach is that the whole setup is as much and investment as the PA system. However, the cost is offset by not having to buy the stage monitor system.

My last "budget" setup - using Westone UM1's for IEM's - was Presonus 16.4.2 db25 outs to Behringer's Powerplay P16I. Then CAT5 out to P16M (sat on top of my rack). Out from there in Carvin EM900 wireless.. With a G90 on the guitar input side, I was completely wireless and had full control over my own mix.

I have used the UM1 for some time and find them to be EXCELLENT quality for the price. Was about to upgrade to custom molds and 1964-Q quad drivers (mostly for bass) w/ ambient ports, when that band and I parted ways (long story). So held off on the upgrade and have continued to use the UM-1's at church.

Current band does not use IEM's.. so sitting idle right now.
 
My band is running all in ears now we bought a board and just run out of the mains and Auxiliary outs. The only downside is everything is in mono. I love it though. I'd never go back.
 
I've been using in-ears for a few years at church. Started with some cheap Shure, then Westone UM3X, which were awesome (until I left them on an airplane - heartbreak). Now I use Sonic something or another that the church provided. All I can say is make sure whatever you are using is a fairly accurate representation of how you sound in the mains, because, if you're like me, you can't help but tweak your sound (hands, tone & volume knob, even AxeFx adjustment) until it sounds good in your ears. I'm not familiar with the Ultimate Ears you are getting, but I assume they are reasonably flat.
 
I am considering In Ears as well. I have a nice pair of Shure in ear buds but don't have the wireless for them yet. I paid like $500 for them a few years back but have been using them for my MP3 player and have been thinking of getting the wireless unit and have the ear molds done. I always like open speaker and just ordered a pair of Xitone wedges for now which can double as back line or front monitoring. It is great to hear that many like the in ears for playing guitar. I know drummers are using them or headphones quite a bit. I bet you need a good engineer to dial in the mixes though right?
 
I bought a Shure PSM400 with the 4 channel mixer years ago. It lets me take a monitor mix from the board & add my audio to it so I can control my own mix. If the only monitor mix available is speaker level outs for passive wedges, I use a Behringer GI100 to convert that to line level into the mixer. I very much prefer IEMs to wedge monitors. I've recently added an Omni room mic & it's still a work in progress in terms of level, EQ, compression, etc on the mic to get enough room without it turning the monitor mix into a muddy, reverby mess.

I used the Shure IEMs that came with the PSM400 until just recently. I wanted more high end. I got the Westone UM1's, but they sound very much like the original Shure's to me. I now have the Shure SE210's & I like them better, but would still like a little more highs. I just don't want to spend the money needed to get those diminishing returns. :)
 
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I just don't want to spend the money needed to get those diminishing returns. :)
That has been my dilemma also... unless one is an audiophile, how much [noticeable] sonic improvement is there between that $30 set of buds and the $1100 6-driver custom molds. To be honest, I think my Sony MDR-EX55 buds sound BETTER than my UM-1's, but they will not seal and will not stay in my ears during a gig - especially while singing.

Not trying to open Pandora's box, and folks will no doubt justify spending $1000 on IEM's (much like we do on the Axe), but what are you REALLY getting for your IEM $$$ (we KNOW what we are getting from CLiff tho'!!!!).

Yes, I've done TON's of research, but as a gigging, non-touring, non-professional (it's not my living) weekend warrior-type musician, the move from $150+ Westone's to $500 (or $1100) custom molds is a HUGE leap in price.. and not being able to hear what one gets BEFORE paying the IEM price [up front], then the audiologist trip for the molds and the wait for them to arrive... is also a HUGE leap of faith!!
It's not like there's a store one can go to to listen/compare!

My Westone's work for me, and I can EQ or boost the channels that I need to hear more of while gigging. So I'm definitely on the fence with spending 4 or 5x more to get and unknown...
 
From what I've read and researched, it's not so much the number of the drivers, but the custom mould. I'm toying with getting my Shure 430's remoulded. I've got two pairs so I can compare and see how much of a difference it makes.


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I have the custom molded Westone ES-5 series that I run with the Sennheiser 300 receiver and body pack. Metal construction and a good unit. I have a stereo mix in my ear monitors and pan the instruments like the placement on stage and could not be happier. I think they sound great. Everyone is using IEM so no sound coming off the stage other than the drums. I think having IEM allows me to hear more details in the overall mix and I think I am able to pay closer attention to what I am playing. The one thing we did to make it sound more natural was set up a couple of ambient crowd mics so we could get some room vibe. in between songs it feels really isolated and quiet without the ambient mics.
 
You'll find they help a lot if you sing, especially harmony work. My problem was having to constantly remove one to talk to the audience coming up to the bandstand, which pushed me back to a floor monitor, while the rest of the band stayed with the in-ears. A few suggestions for you:

Work on the stereo image with your mix pans (if you have that option). It immediately widens the sound. Ambient mics can also help the feel, but if there are several live vocal mics on stage, you get a bit of that already. If you're using a wireless guitar rig, you'll need a wireless IEM setup. I was using the Shure PSM900, which was great. I also understand the Sennheiser unit sounds good. One guy in the band was using a cheaper Shure unit, but he ended up going direct wired after a time (we use the MyMix system direct to a Presonus Studiolive 24 board). My experience was with Westone UM3x IEMS, which sounded pretty accurate. Several others used the Ultimate Ear TripleFi and liked them a lot.

I look forward to reading your experiences.
 
I have the Ultimate Ears with custom ear molds, I can't remember the model but they're 3 way ones. They sound amazing! I have to use a room mic on my cabinet besides the 2 Shure 57's I use on my Marshall 4 x 12 cabinets and once you get a good blend, I actually prefer using my in ears instead of not using them because my sound is consistent regardless were I am onstage.
 
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