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

[kiat]

On 09/06/2025 at 18:02, kiat said:

Is anyone using this Behringer MX882 mixer/splitter (or similar) at the heart of a band IEM solution?

 

Interested to hear about your experiences with solutions like this.

 

Mine arrived today and it's very promising for my use case: a cheap, easy to use reliable starter IEM solution for small bands.

 

It provides a split for each signal (vocal mics, 2 drum mics, guitar bass) to FOH and a common mix from it's twin XLR main outs to this simple multi-headphone amp powering 4 x IEMs, wireless or wired.

 

When I route the main XLR outs into my Scarlett 4i4 XLR ins I set them to route to the headset out (3/4) and connect that with a TRS cable to the headphone amp.  Because there are 4 line outs on this audio interface I can create two extra stereo pairs for extra IEMs. And can record the whole lot live over a stereo mix to my laptop (Linux with Ardour using Pipewire).

 

Any band member can add more of themselves with these personal monitoring amps that they use to split their own signal before it gets to the MX882.

 

The IEMs we're trying out are the inexpensive KZ EDX Pros, in keeping with the low cost as we are experimenting with our first foray into IEMs, with a view to upgrading everything as and when.

 

With one pub/small festival/function band I play with we now use this for rehearsals and gigs. Total cost for the critical gear in these photos, bought new for £95, excluding cables, an inexpensive way of trying out IEMs. What we have now: 

* all mics and instruments split in the mixer, with copies out to FOH/PA.

* all 4 of us, plus occasional guest sax player, gets identical stereo IEM feeds.

* All band members can tweak their own IEM booking at source.

* each band member chooses wired or wireless connections to their IEMs (mostly we use £5 KZ EDX Pro models). Our wireless IEM system units are an additional £20 for two.

* another optional extra each band member has is a £15 MA400 personal headphone mixer so we can add "more me" to the common stereo band mix.

* the drummer likes his IEMs so much he wanted a drum mic mixer so I sourced him a 6 channel one  with all the cables, so he now presents a L/R stereo feed now to the band IEM mixer, instead of mono kick and mono snare/kit.

 

So far it's working out well, but I can see us getting an XR18 once we get gigging more.

 

 

 

[MrPring]

Lads if you're using KZ then get on the AS16 Pros. 

 

Sound absolute perfect for me as a singing bassist and only £70.

[warwickhunt]

25 minutes ago, MrPring said:

Lads if you're using KZ then get on the AS16 Pros. 

 

Sound absolute perfect for me as a singing bassist and only £70.

 

Sadly for some of us the 'sound' isn't even a factor!  I've tried the 10s and 16s and the physical size and shape don't work for me/my ear; they are uncomfortable and/or no good for getting a good seal (regardless of buds used).  This isn't just an isolated issue, I know of at least 2 other local musicians who have sacked off the KZs in favour of units that are smaller which give a better seal.  I get that if the 10s fit you then the 16's may well sound better... but they need to be a good fit for the user. 

 

[MrPring]

That's a shame. What did you go with instead? 

 

 

[warwickhunt]

22 minutes ago, MrPring said:

That's a shame. What did you go with instead? 

 

 

 

Sennheiser IE100.  I've likely sacrificed a bit of tone (possibly) but tbh they fit, I get a good seal (with standard buds) and as a result they trump the KZs but are double the price... but still only £80!  

[dave_bass5]

1 minute ago, warwickhunt said:

 

Sennheiser IE100.  I've likely sacrificed a bit of tone (possibly) but tbh they fit, I get a good seal (with standard buds) and as a result they trump the KZs but are double the price... but still only £80!  

Same here. KZ's have use to me as the fit is terrible. 

 

[MrPring]

Anyone tried comply tips? I didn't even bother using the standard. Have used these on all my non 'gigging' headphones forever so know I get a great fit. 

 

Aim once I sell my SVT Skunkworks head is to go custom. Really like the description of the Lugs SI - Dynamic Hybrid (2x Dynamic drivers and 1x High) 

[MrPring]

21 minutes ago, warwickhunt said:

 

Sennheiser IE100.  I've likely sacrificed a bit of tone (possibly) but tbh they fit, I get a good seal (with standard buds) and as a result they trump the KZs but are double the price... but still only £80!  

The seal is as important as driver count IME when it comes to low end.