Which IEM's are you using?

OrganicZed

Fractal Fanatic
I'm in the market for some IEM's and looking for recommendations. The top end of my price point is about $1,300 US, but I'd like to keep it closer to the $1,000 mark. Comfort and neutrality (flat eq) are my top priorities.
 
I'm using Audiofly IEM but the drummer in my band got a set of custom molded Ultimate Ears IEM that he swears by for around the $1k mark.
 
For me Alien ears custom mold tripple driver. $425.00 for everything. they send you a mould kit so you can do your own or you can send them molds from an audiologist. 3-4 week turn around. Their top end 8 Driver monitors are $800. Tampa Florida USA check out their artist list. And I think they will let you do upgrades trading in your old ones at full purchase value. I broke my cord and while waiting for a new one to arrive I had to use headphones. Really made me appreciate how kick ass the Alienears sound. To be fair these are the only custom IEM I have owned so I have no other brand experience.

http://www.alienears.com/afr3
 
Moulded IEM suppliers can be small organisations, so the UK has a different list of suppliers. I use Cosmic Ears acrylic moulds, and triple drivers. Properly made acrylic fits well, and seem to give better isolation than the softer moulds which I use for my ear plugs. When I was having them made I tried out all of the driver options, and decided that for me there was no benefit in going beyond three drivers.
 
I use 1964 Audio V6s (aka, V6 Stage) 6-way custom molds.

They were about $650 back when I got them. These days, all their custom stuff is much more expensive (and fancier).

Not flat by design... And to an extent I regret that choice. I only found 1 brand that offered a "flat" IEM (Alclair) at that time, and very little info on them so I decided on the 64 Audio instead.

I like IEMs for things like individual mix, consistent sound no matter where we play, etc... But I don't really "enjoy" playing with them as I prefer to hear guitar "in the air".

My band has been 100% direct for about 4 years... There is no stage sound (except vocals).
 
I use 1964 Audio V6s (aka, V6 Stage) 6-way custom molds.

They were about $650 back when I got them. These days, all their custom stuff is much more expensive (and fancier).

Not flat by design... And to an extent I regret that choice. I only found 1 brand that offered a "flat" IEM (Alclair) at that time, and very little info on them so I decided on the 64 Audio instead.

I like IEMs for things like individual mix, consistent sound no matter where we play, etc... But I don't really "enjoy" playing with them as I prefer to hear guitar "in the air".

My band has been 100% direct for about 4 years... There is no stage sound (except vocals).

Their current 6 driver IEM (A6t) is right at the top of my price point and is the most expensive model that I'm considering. I do wish that these companies would publish proper frequency response graphs for their products.

I totally understand what you mean about preferring to hear the room sound on a guitar tone. I normally play through a guitar cab or through a set of traditional monitors. I'm looking to add another option that is truly silent so that I can play when my wife is home and not drive her nuts. I pretty much only get to play when she is out of the house right now.
 
For me Alien ears custom mold tripple driver. $425.00 for everything. they send you a mould kit so you can do your own or you can send them molds from an audiologist. 3-4 week turn around. Their top end 8 Driver monitors are $800. Tampa Florida USA check out their artist list. And I think they will let you do upgrades trading in your old ones at full purchase value. I broke my cord and while waiting for a new one to arrive I had to use headphones. Really made me appreciate how kick ass the Alienears sound. To be fair these are the only custom IEM I have owned so I have no other brand experience.

http://www.alienears.com/afr3

Thanks for the info. Their prices are very good considering that an 8 driver set can be had for $800. That's kind of insane actually.
 
Thanks for the info. Their prices are very good considering that an 8 driver set can be had for $800. That's kind of insane actually.
Frequency graphs would be great. I never found any...

Honestly, I prefer my HD-650 headphones over the IEMs.

If it weren't for gigging/rehearsal I would not use the IEMs.
 
I have a few sets of over the ear headphones currently. The ones I like the most (Grado SR325i) bleed sound like crazy and are almost as loud as playing through the monitors at low volume. My wife likes the house to be REALLY quiet, so that amount of noise is a nuisance to her. Also, I find that full sized headphones are bulky, heavy, and only comfortable for short term wear. I figure that getting a good set of IEM's will give me a silent option that is hopefully comfortable for a few hours of wear and can be used in a stage environment if the need ever arises.
 
I have a few sets of over the ear headphones currently. The ones I like the most (Grado SR325i) bleed sound like crazy and are almost as loud as playing through the monitors at low volume. My wife likes the house to be REALLY quiet, so that amount of noise is a nuisance to her. Also, I find that full sized headphones are bulky, heavy, and only comfortable for short term wear. I figure that getting a good set of IEM's will give me a silent option that is hopefully comfortable for a few hours of wear and can be used in a stage environment if the need ever arises.
Yeah... And the HD-650 are semi-open, too.
 
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