The IEM (in ear monitors) Bible thread - a guide to help every musician

[GrahamLeeds]

Thanks, this is all really useful advice...

 

[javi_bassist]

I have been testing different IEMs these last gigs and I think I can comment some thoughts about them:

 

Sennheiser IE100 pro. The most comfortable headphones I ever had. Flat response. Everything is there, but not in a spacial way. Nice bass, mids and highs. I can hear my whole band and myself without any problem. Isolation is nice.

 

KZ ZS10 pro X. They sound terrific. Everything is there, good bass and nice mids. I can hear everything very clearly. My only issue with them is that I am not that comfortable with them. I tried several buds and I cannot feel really comfortable with them. Isolation is nice. All my bandmates use them.

 

KZ Castor (bass enhanced). This set is what KZ recommends for bass players. They include switches to change the eq. They sound good. However, if you have some bass boost, the bass sounds really artificial. There is sub bass, but it is not very defined. I think they are a little bit more comfortable than the ZS10. Isolation is the same than the ZS10. I prefer the ZS10 overall, but they are really nice headphones.

 

KZ ZST. Really good headphones. All the frequencies are heard and you can hear all your bandmates. They sound similar to the ZS10, but the ZS10 sound more spacial IMO. Bass is good and defined. Isolation is the same as the other KZ models.

 

MEE6 pro. Nice and very comfortable. Soundwise are a little bit worse than the Sennheiser or the KZ. 

 

I have ordered the Seinnheiser IE400 pro to see if there is much of a difference. 

[dave_bass5]

5 hours ago, javi_bassist said:

I have been testing different IEMs these last gigs and I think I can comment some thoughts about them:

 

Sennheiser IE100 pro. The most comfortable headphones I ever had. Flat response. Everything is there, but not in a spacial way. Nice bass, mids and highs. I can hear my whole band and myself without any problem. Isolation is nice.

 

KZ ZS10 pro X. They sound terrific. Everything is there, good bass and nice mids. I can hear everything very clearly. My only issue with them is that I am not that comfortable with them. I tried several buds and I cannot feel really comfortable with them. Isolation is nice. All my bandmates use them.

 

KZ Castor (bass enhanced). This set is what KZ recommends for bass players. They include switches to change the eq. They sound good. However, if you have some bass boost, the bass sounds really artificial. There is sub bass, but it is not very defined. I think they are a little bit more comfortable than the ZS10. Isolation is the same than the ZS10. I prefer the ZS10 overall, but they are really nice headphones.

 

KZ ZST. Really good headphones. All the frequencies are heard and you can hear all your bandmates. They sound similar to the ZS10, but the ZS10 sound more spacial IMO. Bass is good and defined. Isolation is the same as the other KZ models.

 

MEE6 pro. Nice and very comfortable. Soundwise are a little bit worse than the Sennheiser or the KZ. 

 

I have ordered the Seinnheiser IE400 pro to see if there is much of a difference. 

I went through all the MEE Pro IEM's, from the 1 to the 4, as well as the 6, and found the 3 to be the best for my use. I liked the 4 driver version but it sounded a bit colder to my ears. 

The IE100 and IE400 are very close (I have both at home). The fit is slightly different, with the IE400 just a tiny bit bigger, or shaped slightly differently. Both are very comfortable though. Ive even got the BT adaptor for mine so I can use them as normal headphones. I can wear those for hours without fatigue. The IE400 has a bit more bass and open top end (again, according to what I think I hear), but with a very similar tone signature. I find them not far off from my AKG M-50's as far as low end goes. 

 

I could never get a KZ of any sort to fit in my ears securely, not matter what tips I used (inc Memory foam). They just seem too big and heavy. 

[warwickhunt]

27 minutes ago, dave_bass5 said:

I could never get a KZ of any sort to fit in my ears securely, not matter what tips I used (inc Memory foam). They just seem too big and heavy. 

 

My conclusion also.

[javi_bassist]

20 hours ago, dave_bass5 said:

I went through all the MEE Pro IEM's, from the 1 to the 4, as well as the 6, and found the 3 to be the best for my use. I liked the 4 driver version but it sounded a bit colder to my ears. 

The IE100 and IE400 are very close (I have both at home). The fit is slightly different, with the IE400 just a tiny bit bigger, or shaped slightly differently. Both are very comfortable though. Ive even got the BT adaptor for mine so I can use them as normal headphones. I can wear those for hours without fatigue. The IE400 has a bit more bass and open top end (again, according to what I think I hear), but with a very similar tone signature. I find them not far off from my AKG M-50's as far as low end goes. 

 

I could never get a KZ of any sort to fit in my ears securely, not matter what tips I used (inc Memory foam). They just seem too big and heavy. 

 

That's why I moved on from KZ.

 

Yesterday I tried the IE400. As you said, they are not the same as IE100 in terms of size and fit. Both are really comfortable, but I found that I prefer the IE100 in that regard. When I have them on, no problem. However, soundwise, the IE400 are excellent. I love them. They sound deeper and with more bass than the IE100. I think I found my favourite IEMs

[Greg Edwards69]

It's a shame Sennheiser have discontinued the IE 400 Pro's. So grab them whilst you can. I'm not sure what they have succeeded them with either.

 

I wanted to get a replacement right earpiece, as mine fell apart months ago when I changed the tips. I must have pulled it wrong, and the capsule came out of the shell. While I managed to glue it back together, I didn't align it quite right, and it's never felt the same.

 

Individual replacements were available previously, but I finally got around to ordering one this week, but it seems you can't get them anymore.

[dave_bass5]

1 hour ago, javi_bassist said:

 

That's why I moved on from KZ.

 

Yesterday I tried the IE400. As you said, they are not the same as IE100 in terms of size and fit. Both are really comfortable, but I found that I prefer the IE100 in that regard. When I have them on, no problem. However, soundwise, the IE400 are excellent. I love them. They sound deeper and with more bass than the IE100. I think I found my favourite IEMs

I agree, the IE100's feel a little nicer in the ear, but the 400's sound a little nicer. id happily use either if I had to, but since I found the right fit of Comply tips my GAS for customs has 100% gone. 

 

1 hour ago, Greg Edwards69 said:

It's a shame Sennheiser have discontinued the IE 400 Pro's. So grab them whilst you can. I'm not sure what they have succeeded them with either.

 

I wanted to get a replacement right earpiece, as mine fell apart months ago when I changed the tips. I must have pulled it wrong, and the capsule came out of the shell. While I managed to glue it back together, I didn't align it quite right, and it's never felt the same.

 

Individual replacements were available previously, but I finally got around to ordering one this week, but it seems you can't get them anymore.

I think I remember you posting about that. I didnt know the 400's had been discontinued. Hmm, tempted to get a spare pair, but above, id happily use 100's if I had to. 

[javi_bassist]

2 hours ago, Greg Edwards69 said:

It's a shame Sennheiser have discontinued the IE 400 Pro's. So grab them whilst you can. I'm not sure what they have succeeded them with either.

 

I wanted to get a replacement right earpiece, as mine fell apart months ago when I changed the tips. I must have pulled it wrong, and the capsule came out of the shell. While I managed to glue it back together, I didn't align it quite right, and it's never felt the same.

 

Individual replacements were available previously, but I finally got around to ordering one this week, but it seems you can't get them anymore.

 

I was thinking about getting a second set, but I guess that would be too much money. A friend of mine has used the IE400 for years and never had an issue, so I hope they last.

 

I don't know if this is the reason why they disscontinued them, but they only have one driver. The friend I mentioned before had a podcast and he talked to Sennheiser and they explained why they use only one driver. But people really look at how many drivers IE have so, maybe they were not selling that much. 

[dave_bass5]

2 minutes ago, javi_bassist said:

 

I was thinking about getting a second set, but I guess that would be too much money. A friend of mine has used the IE400 for years and never had an issue, so I hope they last.

 

I don't know if this is the reason why they disscontinued them, but they only have one driver. The friend I mentioned before had a podcast and he talked to Sennheiser and they explained why they use only one driver. But people really look at how many drivers IE have so, maybe they were not selling that much. 

I saw a video on YT at the time I was looking, that somehow demonstrated that 1 driver can be better in certain situations. It wasn't scientific, but IIR his singer was slightly more in tune when using single driver Sen than with multi driver. Possibly something to do with brand and poor phase cancelation putting him off somehow. Im not backing this up, just going by what a random You Tuber posted, but I have seen mention of it on other sites over time, but more a throw away thing than any testing. 

 

I must admit at the start 'more was better' in my eyes (ears), but after trying the MEE pro range, that went from 1 to 4 drivers, I found 3 to be optimal for my use. I could certainly hear a difference between all of them, but it was more like different Eq than anything else. I certainly didnt like the KZ tone signature, and those quite a few I believe. 

[javi_bassist]

1 hour ago, dave_bass5 said:

I must admit at the start 'more was better' in my eyes (ears), but after trying the MEE pro range, that went from 1 to 4 drivers, I found 3 to be optimal for my use

I must admit that I am now curious about the Mee. I was in their website and their price seems reasonable. Being able to choose the number of drivers and some sort of customization is really cool.

[MrPring]

Alright gang me again with potentially another dumb question. 

 

We're all successfully on IEMs now through our Soundcraft ui16 mixer. 

 

We've been using mono mixes but want to go stereo, 1 slight problem there are only 6 auxes (including headphones) and as we all sing we tried sharing a stereo mix but it wasn't for us. 

 

My question 

 

We're only using the unit for IEMs never FOH so can I just use the Main outs for an additional stereo IEM mix? What would the drawbacks be and how would I avoid affecting any of other aux mixes. 

 

I'm the most technical in the band (lol!) so I would lock down the other auxes so that each member can only access their own aux and I'd control the rest. 

 

Our setup will be almost identical night to night as we'll be using the same mics for everything bar the 2 guitarists. All vocal and drum mics will be the same so hopefully there won't be too much messing about. 

 

If this is a BA then we might just save up a bit more and get the ui24r but would rather not if this is possible. 

[Woodinblack]

4 minutes ago, MrPring said:

We're only using the unit for IEMs never FOH so can I just use the Main outs for an additional stereo IEM mix? What would the drawbacks be and how would I avoid affecting any of other aux mixes.

 

Well, no drawbacks really, other than the way the system works. The main out is just another bus really, and if it is not used for anything else you can use it for that.

[JapanAxe]

1 hour ago, MrPring said:

... 

 

We're only using the unit for IEMs never FOH so can I just use the Main outs for an additional stereo IEM mix? What would the drawbacks be and how would I avoid affecting any of other aux mixes. 

 

...

This is basically what I do. One of my bands is a 7-piece and I have the Behringer XR18 with 6 Aux sends. Each of the other band members gets their mono IEM or wedge monitor feed from one of the Aux sends, and I use the main mix for my own IEMs (cable running from MAIN R output into the back of my transmitter) - I haven't tried it in stereo yet but it's got to be done! Nothing you do to the main mix will affect the Aux mixes but any changes to channel input gains will affect everyone. 

 

The 1U rack unit at the bottom is a Midas DN4816-O. An ethernet cable runs from the XR18's Ultranet socket to the back of the Midas, which I have set up to (mostly) output the corresponding channel immediately after the gain control - effectively an 'analog split', but done digitally. The sound guy/gal can just wire up the outputs of the Midas and do a completely independent FOH mix.

 

(OT: You'll see that there are holes in the XR18's rack mount ears. I made these with a step drill and fitted rubber grommets, and they are big enough to pass an XLR plug through. It took a fair bit of effort but has been well worth it for the convenience.)

 

[Woodinblack]

I joined a new 'second' band last month, and at a practice with them they have an XR18 and each have a P16-M, and it is genuinely amazing - I have been playing with a mono IEM for many years now, but after that one practice, I don't want to do that any more!

Luckily for me, I don't have to as the singer and guitarist don't have IEMs, they don't like them, so it is me and the drummer, so no problem getting stereo apart from the wireless.

I use an XVIve iem, which I am happy with, but la while back I bought a really cheap lekato MS-1 that was just over £30. I assumed it would be poor, and because I got something else at the same time, I never got round to trying it. I tried it last night, and it really worked well.

So I have a gig on Sunday and I am going to use it there.

[MrPring]

Thanks for the responses everyone. Really appreciate it. I'm guilty of overthinking audio routing etc so appreciate the reassurance! 

[dave_bass5]

40 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

I joined a new 'second' band last month, and at a practice with them they have an XR18 and each have a P16-M, and it is genuinely amazing - I have been playing with a mono IEM for many years now, but after that one practice, I don't want to do that any more!

Luckily for me, I don't have to as the singer and guitarist don't have IEMs, they don't like them, so it is me and the drummer, so no problem getting stereo apart from the wireless.

I use an XVIve iem, which I am happy with, but la while back I bought a really cheap lekato MS-1 that was just over £30. I assumed it would be poor, and because I got something else at the same time, I never got round to trying it. I tried it last night, and it really worked well.

So I have a gig on Sunday and I am going to use it there.

Ive used stereo since day one (more or less). When we got our XR18 I was setting up the singer's IEM, she uses the XVive one, and was shocked at how flat and lifeless the mix sounded in mono. She still uses it but when one of my guitarists wanted to go IEM I got him to get the Legato one, as I had already have that as a back up system to my main one. 

[police squad]

3 hours ago, Woodinblack said:

I joined a new 'second' band last month, and at a practice with them they have an XR18 and each have a P16-M, and it is genuinely amazing - I have been playing with a mono IEM for many years now, but after that one practice, I don't want to do that any more!

Luckily for me, I don't have to as the singer and guitarist don't have IEMs, they don't like them, so it is me and the drummer, so no problem getting stereo apart from the wireless.

I use an XVIve iem, which I am happy with, but la while back I bought a really cheap lekato MS-1 that was just over £30. I assumed it would be poor, and because I got something else at the same time, I never got round to trying it. I tried it last night, and it really worked well.

So I have a gig on Sunday and I am going to use it there.

I initially had success with the MS1 but it dropped out at a band gig twice on one gig. Its a shame because it sounded great and was small and light

went MIpro 58 and haven't looked back

[Woodinblack]

1 hour ago, police squad said:

I initially had success with the MS1 but it dropped out at a band gig twice on one gig. Its a shame because it sounded great and was small and light

went MIpro 58 and haven't looked back

 

Well, I will give it a try for a bit, and if it lets me down try something else. I do have my original stereo IEM tbone thing, if I can find the rx unit. However, i figure there has to be something between the £30 of the MS1 and the £450 of the MiPro!