Hey Nick. Yeah. Indeed - I have to think carefully about gigs I do without the provision for IEMs. I just don't enjoy them. Same with limiters... I can cope with a dull gig with a limiter with inears... but otherwise, nah, not worth the hassle for the amount of enjoyment I get out of them. Maybe it's an age thing, maybe it's that I demand more from gigs than just turning up and getting paid.
So XR18 time for the new band? £350. It's cheaper than most mixers with a decent number of XLR inputs and onboard FX. Even factoring in the cost of a tablet or old laptop, it's still fiercely competitive for what it can do.
The Zoom hack is basically a clunky version of what the Live System is doing with regard to ambient sound. It does the job for what it's trying to do I guess. In other words, better than not having it. Talking of which, I do still use my ACS very occasionally (now that I've had the cable fixed AGAIN) for earplugs with a variable level (that's if the SPL isn't too high for the mics) as it's better than earplugs in regard to the sound quality and the not messing with the frequencies like a traditional ear plug does (despite what the advertising says).