I posted this on a couple other forums too...
New in ear monitor day!
So the band decided to go in ears recently which especially on the first night was really weird and to be honest fairly rubbish. I had to take them out half way through and suffer the noise and lack of monitoring (Using an axe fx. direct) I was convinced at his point that it was going to be wedges from now on. A few days to the next gig and I decided to give it a go again. (I brought the wedge as a backup) It was a much smaller venue so overall volume was lower. I had a bit more time to get the monitor mix a bit better and overall it was much improved. I could hear things better and I could leave them for the entire gig so I wasn’t totally deaf by the end unlike the previous night. I was using a pair of sennhieser generic in-ear buds and they were now clearly the weak point. Isolation was poor at best so my receiver was up quite loud (not good) and they kept falling out which was annoying. At the same time a friend (who had been using in ears with his group) had sold a pair of ultimate ear triple fi generics (~€250) due to isolation issues and had gone with a pair of custom moulded UE-7 and was much happier with isolation and sound. So I decided a custom moulded set was the way to go. I was almost set on a pair of UE-4 when I decided to see what the UK offered. I came across a company called Minerva hearing protection (http://www.minerva-hearingprotection.co.uk ) and they offered single driver custom in-ear buds for £149 sterling (this included impression taking if you were in the U.K). I decided that these would be enough isolation as the fit was going to be much better than the sennheiser. I decided to ring in the order as they have no official dealers in Ireland yet. When I told them I was using them primarily for on stage monitoring instead of just listening to music they said the could do a full ear shell piece with over the ear cable exit at no extra cost. I also went for an upgraded jack (neutrik) for piece of mind and because I am a bit if a geek when it comes to stuff like that. So I sent them my impressions (they gave me a £10 discount for supplying my own also!) So overall I think it cost around €190. The guys at Minerva were also really cool to deal with. Very quick with replies to e-mails etc. To be honest that’s kind of what convinced me to go with them (and the price, plus I wouldn’t have to deal with customs coming from America)
A week and a bit went by and I received my in ears. Fist impressions were they looked cool, well built… no probs with appearance anyway. First time putting them in was a weird experience alright and took a couple of minutes ( I got the hang of them very quickly) but once they were comfortable the isolation was incredible. Like wearing a good pair of ear plugs just a lot more comfortable. The seal was perfect. I plugged them into my mp3 player and the sound was seriously good. These are single drivers so I wasn’t expecting this full a sound. Very clear and articulate and the stereo separation is so much more apparent. “Going to be great for flying and travelling anyway” I thought if the in ear business with the band doesn’t work out live. So the next gig comes around and a chance to really try them out for what I bought them for. I can’t tell you how happy I was during and after the gig. The volume level on my receiver was a big indicator of how good the seal/isolation was. The sound was so good, very clear again no issues with the seal when singing either ( love the axe fx btw) I could hear everyone I wanted to hear and with the transparent finish I have on mine they are not an eye sore but very discrete.
Overall for €190 I feel they are a steal! If they were stolen, lost or broken I would definitely order another pair. Plus as with most companies that deal with custom products like this they keep you impressions on file so if you ever want another pair or ear plugs you don’t need to send another set.
Well worth it if you’re interested in going in-ear but can’t afford the usual prices for custom pieces.
These are what mine look like (only in a single driver format)
http://www.minerva-hearingprotection.co ... itors.html
Rob
New in ear monitor day!
So the band decided to go in ears recently which especially on the first night was really weird and to be honest fairly rubbish. I had to take them out half way through and suffer the noise and lack of monitoring (Using an axe fx. direct) I was convinced at his point that it was going to be wedges from now on. A few days to the next gig and I decided to give it a go again. (I brought the wedge as a backup) It was a much smaller venue so overall volume was lower. I had a bit more time to get the monitor mix a bit better and overall it was much improved. I could hear things better and I could leave them for the entire gig so I wasn’t totally deaf by the end unlike the previous night. I was using a pair of sennhieser generic in-ear buds and they were now clearly the weak point. Isolation was poor at best so my receiver was up quite loud (not good) and they kept falling out which was annoying. At the same time a friend (who had been using in ears with his group) had sold a pair of ultimate ear triple fi generics (~€250) due to isolation issues and had gone with a pair of custom moulded UE-7 and was much happier with isolation and sound. So I decided a custom moulded set was the way to go. I was almost set on a pair of UE-4 when I decided to see what the UK offered. I came across a company called Minerva hearing protection (http://www.minerva-hearingprotection.co.uk ) and they offered single driver custom in-ear buds for £149 sterling (this included impression taking if you were in the U.K). I decided that these would be enough isolation as the fit was going to be much better than the sennheiser. I decided to ring in the order as they have no official dealers in Ireland yet. When I told them I was using them primarily for on stage monitoring instead of just listening to music they said the could do a full ear shell piece with over the ear cable exit at no extra cost. I also went for an upgraded jack (neutrik) for piece of mind and because I am a bit if a geek when it comes to stuff like that. So I sent them my impressions (they gave me a £10 discount for supplying my own also!) So overall I think it cost around €190. The guys at Minerva were also really cool to deal with. Very quick with replies to e-mails etc. To be honest that’s kind of what convinced me to go with them (and the price, plus I wouldn’t have to deal with customs coming from America)
A week and a bit went by and I received my in ears. Fist impressions were they looked cool, well built… no probs with appearance anyway. First time putting them in was a weird experience alright and took a couple of minutes ( I got the hang of them very quickly) but once they were comfortable the isolation was incredible. Like wearing a good pair of ear plugs just a lot more comfortable. The seal was perfect. I plugged them into my mp3 player and the sound was seriously good. These are single drivers so I wasn’t expecting this full a sound. Very clear and articulate and the stereo separation is so much more apparent. “Going to be great for flying and travelling anyway” I thought if the in ear business with the band doesn’t work out live. So the next gig comes around and a chance to really try them out for what I bought them for. I can’t tell you how happy I was during and after the gig. The volume level on my receiver was a big indicator of how good the seal/isolation was. The sound was so good, very clear again no issues with the seal when singing either ( love the axe fx btw) I could hear everyone I wanted to hear and with the transparent finish I have on mine they are not an eye sore but very discrete.
Overall for €190 I feel they are a steal! If they were stolen, lost or broken I would definitely order another pair. Plus as with most companies that deal with custom products like this they keep you impressions on file so if you ever want another pair or ear plugs you don’t need to send another set.
Well worth it if you’re interested in going in-ear but can’t afford the usual prices for custom pieces.
These are what mine look like (only in a single driver format)
http://www.minerva-hearingprotection.co ... itors.html
Rob
