Studio Mixing with IEM Buds

BBN

Fractal Fanatic
Anyone here have recommendations for IEM buds that they have or would use for mixing?
I have studio monitors (and some Blue Mofi headphones) at home, but I need something for travel.
I often find myself with a lot of time when travelling and would only be able to pack a laptop and ear buds.
I know this isn't ideal for mixing, but even if I can get a mix 'close' on ear buds, it would save me lots of tweaking time when I get home to listen through studio monitors.

Suggestions appreciated. Thanks.
 
but even if I can get a mix 'close' on ear buds
then i'd suggest really anything, the more drivers you can get the better. whatever is in your price range. mixing on in-ears is completely different than a speaker result, so i wouldn't put too much weight on getting a great mix. just my experience.
 
I wouldn’t mix anything with IEM’s honestly. The external auditory canal is quite variable person to person and it results in some very non linear responses.

When I’m doing hearing aids we have a set of reference mics that fit into the ear along with the hearing aid so we can tell if the output level the hearing aid is set at matches the level hitting the ear drum/mic.

It’s not unusual to see 5 or 10dB dips or resonant peaks at certain frequencies, just due to the anatomy of the ear.

I wouldn’t do critical mixing in an untreated room, and I wouldn’t count of my IEM being flat with regards to how I perceive it, no matter how flat they claim the actual hardware is.
 
Thanks for the responses.
@lqdsnddist - that is pretty much what I was expecting to hear (that statement sounds like a bad pun). Just trying find a way to make best use of my time when I have it.
I know it will never be optimal, but trying to find whatever the best option may be in this situation.

I guess second question - if I was able to drag around a set of full sized headphones, is that any better?
My guess is 'maybe a little', but would love to hear you thoughts on that as well.

I have Blue Mofi headphones, but I've never tried to mix on them. I have Equator/Mackie/KRK/NS10s for Studio Monitors, so I always mix with one of those (or multiple to hear how mixes translate).
I've been doing a lot of editing with some ear buds, and it's fine for that. But again, trying to find a way to make best use of my time and resources available. Would full size headphones only be a marginal benefit?
 
I find the Shure SE846 relatively accurate in sound for earbuds...long as you don't forget they are earbuds and vet your mixes on some monitors later!
Thanks
Pauly


Anyone here have recommendations for IEM buds that they have or would use for mixing?
I have studio monitors (and some Blue Mofi headphones) at home, but I need something for travel.
I often find myself with a lot of time when travelling and would only be able to pack a laptop and ear buds.
I know this isn't ideal for mixing, but even if I can get a mix 'close' on ear buds, it would save me lots of tweaking time when I get home to listen through studio monitors.

Suggestions appreciated. Thanks.
 
Thanks for the responses.
@lqdsnddist - that is pretty much what I was expecting to hear (that statement sounds like a bad pun). Just trying find a way to make best use of my time when I have it.
I know it will never be optimal, but trying to find whatever the best option may be in this situation.

I guess second question - if I was able to drag around a set of full sized headphones, is that any better?
My guess is 'maybe a little', but would love to hear you thoughts on that as well.

I have Blue Mofi headphones, but I've never tried to mix on them. I have Equator/Mackie/KRK/NS10s for Studio Monitors, so I always mix with one of those (or multiple to hear how mixes translate).
I've been doing a lot of editing with some ear buds, and it's fine for that. But again, trying to find a way to make best use of my time and resources available. Would full size headphones only be a marginal benefit?


You can technically mix on anything, assuming you know how what your hearing will translate to other systems. I've known guys with really crappy speakers, guys using home stereo speakers etc, but, they know how what they hear on those speakers are going to sound on other systems, and they don't try to make it sound ideal on their system because then its not going to sound good on other systems. That really is the key to all of it, but, given most of us don't want to go through all the pains of learning that, we'd like a 'what you hear is what you get everywhere' level of translation.

I'm not a huge headphone fan, but most of them have pretty good spec's and with the supra-aural design your getting a fairly consistent fit, taking out many of the acoustic concerns etc. Just guessing, but I wouldn't be surprised if a good set of headphones wouldn't trump a great set of monitors, if the monitors were used in a really poor, untreated room.
 
Anyone here have recommendations for IEM buds that they have or would use for mixing?
I have studio monitors (and some Blue Mofi headphones) at home, but I need something for travel.
I often find myself with a lot of time when travelling and would only be able to pack a laptop and ear buds.
I know this isn't ideal for mixing, but even if I can get a mix 'close' on ear buds, it would save me lots of tweaking time when I get home to listen through studio monitors.

Suggestions appreciated. Thanks.
I was actually quite impressed with Fender's in-ears, formerly Aurisonic. I had the 2 driver model @ $200 and they were by far the best universal in-ears I've used including a pair of Shure SCL4's. Nothing is going to really compete with custom molds, I was blessed with a pair of 64 Audio A3's and the difference was staggering. But for what you're wanting the Fender's just might be a viable solution, especially if you consider their models with more drivers
 
I haven't used them, but Alclair has (or had, it's been several years) reference IEMs that are supposed to be flat.
 
You can technically mix on anything, assuming you know how what your hearing will translate to other systems. I've known guys with really crappy speakers, guys using home stereo speakers etc, but, they know how what they hear on those speakers are going to sound on other systems, and they don't try to make it sound ideal on their system because then its not going to sound good on other systems. That really is the key to all of it, but, given most of us don't want to go through all the pains of learning that, we'd like a 'what you hear is what you get everywhere' level of translation.

I'm not a huge headphone fan, but most of them have pretty good spec's and with the supra-aural design your getting a fairly consistent fit, taking out many of the acoustic concerns etc. Just guessing, but I wouldn't be surprised if a good set of headphones wouldn't trump a great set of monitors, if the monitors were used in a really poor, untreated room.

Solid point, if you spend a lot of time with any set of speakers/headphones/ear buds - and you know how what music should sound like on them, then you can mix on anything. I always remember this from my 90's recording studio sessions. Mix down a track...run it out to my car, listen on those speakers...and you'd know right away if it sounded right because you've listened to so much music on that system. Everyone would say - "if I could only mix in my car". Same premise I guess.

Maybe I should try a decent set of buds and listen to music on them for a couple months to get myself very accustom to them.

And very much agree about the untreated room. I spent some solid money to have my room treated...just wish I got to spend more time in it!
 
I was actually quite impressed with Fender's in-ears, formerly Aurisonic. I had the 2 driver model @ $200 and they were by far the best universal in-ears I've used including a pair of Shure SCL4's. Nothing is going to really compete with custom molds, I was blessed with a pair of 64 Audio A3's and the difference was staggering. But for what you're wanting the Fender's just might be a viable solution, especially if you consider their models with more drivers
Thanks, looks like Fender has some great options too. Ok, time to do some reading up on these.

Thanks for the replies everyone.
 
I’ve never tried it but I suppose one could put a RealEar reference probe mic into the ear canal with a given IEM, play pink noise through it and look at the real time frequency response on the RealEar monitor. See if there are any big dips or peak due to the acoustics of the ear canal, then tweak the eq of the IEM to be as linear as possible with regards to the actual frequency response as is going into the ear.

Probably a bit more effort than most really feel necessary, but I suppose if your spending good money for a fancy multi driver IEM you’d want to have some idea of how accurate it really is. After all, it’s why we do it with hearing aids, so people can know if they are hearing the given frequencies correctly after spending thousands of dollars.
 
I’ve never tried it but I suppose one could put a RealEar reference probe mic into the ear canal with a given IEM, play pink noise through it and look at the real time frequency response on the RealEar monitor. See if there are any big dips or peak due to the acoustics of the ear canal, then tweak the eq of the IEM to be as linear as possible with regards to the actual frequency response as is going into the ear.

Probably a bit more effort than most really feel necessary, but I suppose if your spending good money for a fancy multi driver IEM you’d want to have some idea of how accurate it really is. After all, it’s why we do it with hearing aids, so people can know if they are hearing the given frequencies correctly after spending thousands of dollars.

Very cool idea.

As I am not expecting stellar results by mixing with IEMs, for the time being, I'm likely not going to overspend on these.
Thinking now about 100-300 for a nice set of buds and see how it goes.
$3K on a set of 10 driver ear buds (and not getting great results) would be disappointing. So I'm going to invest lightly for the time being.
 
I was actually quite impressed with Fender's in-ears, formerly Aurisonic. I had the 2 driver model @ $200 and they were by far the best universal in-ears I've used including a pair of Shure SCL4's. Nothing is going to really compete with custom molds, I was blessed with a pair of 64 Audio A3's and the difference was staggering. But for what you're wanting the Fender's just might be a viable solution, especially if you consider their models with more drivers
@Sonofiam - do you know which Fender model you're using?

Thanks.
 
@Sonofiam - do you know which Fender model you're using?

Thanks.
I actually bought the Aurisonics Eva, they were transitioning to Fender, but the Fender equivalent would be the FXA2. One thing I really like about them is the fit in the ear canal. They go a bit further into the canal making for a better seal and much more comfortable fit.
 
I actually bought the Aurisonics Eva, they were transitioning to Fender, but the Fender equivalent would be the FXA2. One thing I really like about them is the fit in the ear canal. They go a bit further into the canal making for a better seal and much more comfortable fit.
Found some on eBay, going to give them a try!
 
When I’m doing hearing aids we have a set of reference mics that fit into the ear along with the hearing aid so we can tell if the output level the hearing aid is set at matches the level hitting the ear drum/mic.
So are you putting the reference mic between the hearing aid and the ear drum? That's a very small distance, what can happen to make the output level of the hearing aid to not match the level hitting the ear-drum/mic?
I’ve never tried it but I suppose one could put a RealEar reference probe mic into the ear canal with a given IEM, play pink noise through it and look at the real time frequency response on the RealEar monitor. See if there are any big dips or peak due to the acoustics of the ear canal, then tweak the eq of the IEM to be as linear as possible with regards to the actual frequency response as is going into the ear.

Probably a bit more effort than most really feel necessary, but I suppose if your spending good money for a fancy multi driver IEM you’d want to have some idea of how accurate it really is. After all, it’s why we do it with hearing aids, so people can know if they are hearing the given frequencies correctly after spending thousands of dollars.
Or take a log sine sweep, make an IR of your ear :p

You could make custom custom IEMs, tone-matched to your ear... new product idea? lol
Very cool idea.

As I am not expecting stellar results by mixing with IEMs, for the time being, I'm likely not going to overspend on these.
Thinking now about 100-300 for a nice set of buds and see how it goes.
$3K on a set of 10 driver ear buds (and not getting great results) would be disappointing. So I'm going to invest lightly for the time being.
If you want bang for buck with IEM, don't go the custom molded route. There's no sonic or isolation benefits, just comfort. Universal IEM are much cheaper for equivalent results.
 
If you want bang for buck with IEM, don't go the custom molded route. There's no sonic or isolation benefits, just comfort. Universal IEM are much cheaper for equivalent results.

For the time being, that's what I'm thinking.

I ordered a set of Aurisonics Eva from eBay since they are just a little over $100.
It's a small investment to see if this is even a viable option for me to make use of my travel time.
 
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