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]

On 09/08/2025 at 11:13, 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 no use to me as the fit is terrible. 

 

Edited Friday at 08:21 by dave_bass5

[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. 

[dave_bass5]

1 hour ago, MrPring said:

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) 

I use comply tips all the time. Even on my airpod pro’s.

[mcnach]

On 08/08/2025 at 16:50, kiat said:

My new bass wireless system is also 2.4GHz but it's pro gear (the t.bone Giga Pro Pedal Set - a rebadged Mi-Pro), able to switch channels etc and no coexistence issues so far.

 

Not sure about that. Neither look nor specs look similar (inc.latency, about twice).

 

Not saying the t.bone isn't a good unit, I just would not make that comparison.

[Greg Edwards69]

On 09/08/2025 at 11:35, MrPring said:

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

More important IMO. My IE 400 Pro have a single dynamic driver and sound far superior to other multi driver units I’ve used. 

[dave_bass5]

3 hours ago, Greg Edwards69 said:

More important IMO. My IE 400 Pro have a single dynamic driver and sound far superior to other multi driver units I’ve used. 

Yes, i feel the same. From the IEM’s I’ve owned or tried, more was definitely not better for me. 

[WalMan]

I picked up a DAddario mic mute last week out of interest and used it for the first time last night.

 

 It seemed to work well and was easy to set up. Phantom power to my BV mic and a quick tweak of the proximity sensor wheel and my mic automatically muted when I moved back so my head was more than about 9 inches away on direct line of sight, or if I moved off axis to the mic.

 

I suppose you could probably achieve similar by setting a gate but this seemed a good and not hugely expensive option at between £80 & £90 on most sites.

 

I did go slightly boss eyed watching the sensor light go on and off 🤪 Sound guy seemed to like it and said he’d watched my channel mute/unmute on its own so maybe we need to invest in a couple more for the other BV mics.

 

It wouldn’t work with a radio mic or entirely as intended for a vocalist holding the mic and moving 

[dave_bass5]

I got a set of Lekato MS-02’s yesterday. They seem to sound ok but latency is just noticeable. Manual says 10.5ms in stereo. Im using wireless system for bass as well so i guess its going to be effected. Its not unusable, and barley noticable, but its there. I tried with my usual system and that was better. It’s just too much to take out just for rehearsals. 

So, ive ordered a set of the Nux B-7PSM’s off amazon, which is stating 5ms. Just wondered if they are the same as Lekato and only listing the mono latency, so it doubles when run in stereo. 

Any ideas?

[Wombat]

I run a pair of those from a Livetrak L12 (so I guess running in stereo) and have never noticed any latency. I used to run them from an old Mackie desk (that must have been mono) and don’t notice any difference. Could be just me thought! I’m bowled over I can hear myself wirelessly (at all) 😂.

[dave_bass5]

17 minutes ago, Wombat said:

I run a pair of those from a Livetrak L12 (so I guess running in stereo) and have never noticed any latency. I used to run them from an old Mackie desk (that must have been mono) and don’t notice any difference. Could be just me thought! I’m bowled over I can hear myself wirelessly (at all) 😂.

Thanks. As I play with a pick I find the latency more noticeable because of the click. It really isn't an issue, and when playing along to music it's not noticeable at all, but felt I wanted to try something in the next price bracket up, and also id prefer 5.8ghz. Doesn't seem to be much around in that band at sub £100. Im only going to use them for rehearsals and never live, but I would take them as a bak up. 

[Wombat]

In case anyone is interested Complyfoam have a 25% off sale till 2/9….

 

https://www.complyfoam.com/collections/all-products

[dave_bass5]

Well, the Nux arrived and 5mins later it was packed up and ready to go back. The well reported buzz was more than a minor issue. I guess i was expecting to hear something in the background but it was quite pronounced. 

I know Nux state that these arent really for solo playing, which i suppose is there way of saying the sound isnt perfect, but compared to the Lekato its like night and  day. They were used (from Amazon) so maybe faulty, but Im sticking with the Lekatos for now. After another go im used to the latency and it’s not a big deal. 

 

Wish there were alternatives in this form factor/price/freq band. 

Edited Saturday at 18:48 by dave_bass5

[Woodinblack]

6 minutes ago, dave_bass5 said:

Wish there were alternatives in this from factor/price/freq band. 

 

Its a bit crazy that there isn't much between the £50-300 ranges!

[dave_bass5]

22 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

 

Its a bit crazy that there isn't much between the £50-300 ranges!

Yeah, especially stereo. 

My wife (our singer) liked the Nux and it’s her birthday in a couple of weeks. We agreed i would get another set for her to try, but if its the same issue it will go back and she can borrow my Lekato’s when we gig. I only want these for the bands im playing bass with and she isnt in those. 

I even plugged the Nux in to my audio interface and played music through them. Awfully distorted. 

 

As with my Lekato WS-90 i can see these arent shielded well, but as long as we are carful it should be fine. 

[police squad]

I had a revelation on Friday/Saturday

 

I've been struggling the past few weeks with my IEMs. I didn't realise they were the problem, I thought my hearing was to blame.

Everything seemed too loud and my in ear mix wasn't working

 

It dawned on me after Friday night's dep gig that the seal wasn't very good

 

I changed the comply tips, I've had the same ones for over a year

 

All of a sudden, Wham!  Perfect seal and a near perfect mix at Saturday's gig

 

I am so happy

[simondee]

Hi IEM pals, been losing myself in this thread and various YouTube rabbit holes so wanted to ask for some help. Apologies in advance if this is the wrong thread!

 

Context:

 

- 4 piece loud heavy metal band (Vox, guitar, bass&vox, drums) 

- 3 of us on IEMs (Vox, bass, drummer), guitarist is a refusenik (doesn't like the isolation and I think hasn't experienced what they can be like when mixed and fitted well)

- no click or backing track but we do have a few drummer-triggered samples

- We play a mix of pub gigs, toilet venues and the occasional bigger 'proper' venue as support. Big variance on what there'll be in terms of PA and I don't trust many of the engineers we're working with briefly to do a great job on monitoring vs. FoH - have had some pretty shit experiences to date.

 

Gear:

 

We currently have 3 LD Systems MEi-1000s running on their own frequencies in a 4u rack. At shows with sound checks we ask the FoH engineer to run through our individual mixes. This has had mixed results depending on the engineer and ability to get a decent soundcheck. 

 

I have been loaned an RCF M18 mixer to experiment with from a successful band who've outgrown their setup.

 

The Problem:

 

1. Our singer INSISTS on IEMs for his vocals and doesn't really need much else in their ears so doesn't care about their personal mix much. Also a luddite so the prospect of mixers etc. as part of our load-out really stresses them out. Doesn't understand how we'd do our own mixes and control them ourselves. one look at the RCF was met with 'what the f**k are supposed to do with all of those inputs'.

2. I don't like using mine because it's been really hard to get a decent mix in that brief sound check window that we sometimes get, same for drummer really. This is a source of tension and I think as a rhythm section we're trying to choose between not hearing stuff well vs. hearing the wrong things in a weird mix. 

3.  Changeovers are 15-20 minutes and we're often mid-bill so having extra things to set up beyond our own instruments is stressful, often with just a line-check.

 

The Solution:

 

I'm aware we need some kind of patchbay and splitter setup to work with to add to the mixer, but I'm at a loss as to where to start and how to get it all working properly so we could use it at a gig. I've watched a few videos where the cost has been prohibitive, the rack is huge and full of Kempers etc. and I just glaze over a bit. We're an amps band still with a pretty loud stage - a lot of the venues we play don't work for quieter stages and we've seen other bands try and do this and it hasn't worked. Not to say I don't want to get there eventually but getting the monitoring issue solved is first priority before we start heading down the silent(er) stage route. 

 

Any examples would be hugely appreciated on how you've solved this issue and come up with something that's made the sound people happy as well as band members without a ton of over-engineering would be brilliant. The longer we put off solving it the less we'll enjoy performing and the bigger venue stuff especially could be way cooler if we know what we're doing. I'm keen to upskill in this area anyway since it's changed so much since the earlier 2000s when I was gigging a lot and we were all futzing around with wedges and being deaf. 

 

Thanks pals! 

 

[kiat]

3 hours ago, simondee said:

Hi IEM pals, been losing myself in this thread and various YouTube rabbit holes so wanted to ask for some help. Apologies in advance if this is the wrong thread!

 

Context:

 

- 4 piece loud heavy metal band (Vox, guitar, bass&vox, drums) 

- 3 of us on IEMs (Vox, bass, drummer), guitarist is a refusenik (doesn't like the isolation and I think hasn't experienced what they can be like when mixed and fitted well)

- no click or backing track but we do have a few drummer-triggered samples

- We play a mix of pub gigs, toilet venues and the occasional bigger 'proper' venue as support. Big variance on what there'll be in terms of PA and I don't trust many of the engineers we're working with briefly to do a great job on monitoring vs. FoH - have had some pretty shit experiences to date.

 

Gear:

 

We currently have 3 LD Systems MEi-1000s running on their own frequencies in a 4u rack. At shows with sound checks we ask the FoH engineer to run through our individual mixes. This has had mixed results depending on the engineer and ability to get a decent soundcheck. 

 

I have been loaned an RCF M18 mixer to experiment with from a successful band who've outgrown their setup.

 

The Problem:

 

1. Our singer INSISTS on IEMs for his vocals and doesn't really need much else in their ears so doesn't care about their personal mix much. Also a luddite so the prospect of mixers etc. as part of our load-out really stresses them out. Doesn't understand how we'd do our own mixes and control them ourselves. one look at the RCF was met with 'what the f**k are supposed to do with all of those inputs'.

2. I don't like using mine because it's been really hard to get a decent mix in that brief sound check window that we sometimes get, same for drummer really. This is a source of tension and I think as a rhythm section we're trying to choose between not hearing stuff well vs. hearing the wrong things in a weird mix. 

3.  Changeovers are 15-20 minutes and we're often mid-bill so having extra things to set up beyond our own instruments is stressful, often with just a line-check.

 

The Solution:

 

I'm aware we need some kind of patchbay and splitter setup to work with to add to the mixer, but I'm at a loss as to where to start and how to get it all working properly so we could use it at a gig. I've watched a few videos where the cost has been prohibitive, the rack is huge and full of Kempers etc. and I just glaze over a bit. We're an amps band still with a pretty loud stage - a lot of the venues we play don't work for quieter stages and we've seen other bands try and do this and it hasn't worked. Not to say I don't want to get there eventually but getting the monitoring issue solved is first priority before we start heading down the silent(er) stage route. 

 

Any examples would be hugely appreciated on how you've solved this issue and come up with something that's made the sound people happy as well as band members without a ton of over-engineering would be brilliant. The longer we put off solving it the less we'll enjoy performing and the bigger venue stuff especially could be way cooler if we know what we're doing. I'm keen to upskill in this area anyway since it's changed so much since the earlier 2000s when I was gigging a lot and we were all futzing around with wedges and being deaf. 

 

Thanks pals! 

 

Hey @simondee we had a similar problem, no one having used IEMs as a band, so we came up with this simple solution

* a single mixer/splitter box (2 x vocal mics, 2 x drum mics, guitar, bass) outputting a common stereo mix

* a single multi-headphone amp, outputting the same mix, but everyone controls their own volume

 

We added individual headphone amps to each person (£15) so they can add "more of me".

 

More here......