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

[wateroftyne]

2 hours ago, EBS_freak said:

Getting a good fit was always the problem with me - hence why I went down the custom route.

I may get some moulded tips for the Plunges at some point. I'd always welcome a bit more attentuation.

[SimonK]

On 27/01/2026 at 10:56, TimR said:

 

Interesting fact. Everyone's ear canals are different lengths and shapes (that should not come as a surprise) which means everyone hears things differently to everyone else. If you swapped your ears for someone else's, your brain would really struggle to understand what it was hearing.

 

The same is true for eyes. What one person's eyes present to the brain as red is different to what someone else's do. 

 

Which is OK, because we calibrate our ears so that an F# is an F# no matter who you are. It does mean that one resonant frequency for one person would be different for someone else. 

 

Philosophers call this "Qualia" which is loosely defined as the "what it is like" of experiencing something. The kicker is that we can never know what it is like to experience something from someone else's perspective, and thus the best we have is indirect evidence from others who act/report the same sort of things as we do for a given experience/stimuli. There's also the fact that while not identical, our biology is close enough to others to infer that what I experience as the colour "red" is most likely pretty similar to what you experience, but we can never know for sure.

 

Probably the most famous discussion on this is Thomas Nagels' "What is it like to be a bat".

 

But this is high falutin philosophy, with IEMs it probably is just minor differences in ear shape!!

Edited February 2 by SimonK

[javi_bassist]

Just curious, has anyone of you have tried Vision Ears? It is a brand from Germany that I think they made all custom molded up until now.

[pn_day]

On 25/01/2026 at 08:37, Mokl said:

With much inspiration/guidance from this excellent thread, I'm now 4 gigs in with IEM, with the last being a silent stage at a venue with particularly tricky acoustics.

 

I'd say that so far the success rate in terms of my experience/sound in my ears is at about 60%. Areas I know can be improved are FOH chap not altering my levels mid set (!), seal of the IEMs (if I insert them just right, then there's a definite improvement, getting better at that), then finally the actual tone in my ears. 

 

The last point is the one I'm after advice on. DI from my amp sounds ok but very dry in the ears. It's not so bad when I've got stage sound as some of that leaks through to a fairly pleasing effect. Last gig and rehearsal before it I tried using my HX Stomp with cab and amp sim engaged to try and get a more pleasing sound to my ears (silent stage this time), but in rehearsal guitarist thought my tone suffered out front with the cab sim on, so I ended up running just the amp model, and it wasn't much really much different to my amp DI. No surprise there really.

 

My question is, what do you all do to get a satisfactory bass tone to your ears?! Would a decent DI with cab sim likely sound better than the Stomp, do I just need to experiment more with the Stomp? Answers on a postcard please!! 

 

My personal view - if using the Stomp with in-ears, it is definitely worth spending some time playing with the global EQ. I cut extreme low frequencies, and also quite a lot of highs (roughly 40Hz low cut and something like 6kHz high cut) which helps to reduce the 'harshness'. 

 

Spending some time to get a good seal with your IEMs is important. Looking like a pillock while pulling on your ear to insert your IEMs properly is a price worth paying, IMO. Then again, if you cared what you looked like, you'd probably be up front on vocals or guitar

My experience with the Stomp is that the mic pre and Noble (Regal) models were much better for me than any of the amps/cabs/IRs, plus exploiting a parallel path so you always get 50% of the direct sound really helps with clarity. Then again, I'm a rank amateur and have spent most of my bass-playing life plugging into a DI straight into the house - so your mileage might vary.

 

Phil

 

Edited February 2 by pn_day

[JPJ]

So today was the first chance I have had to gig my new ACS Engage custom moulded IEM. Gig was with my acoustic Americana trio, and I am playing double bass. House PA and engineer. Firstly, big thanks to Joe the house engineer who got me both a good IEM and FOH sound, and a good IEM mix too. Isolation was perfect, which I suppose is what you’d expect. The bass sounded like it should, and the acoustic guitars sounded sweet too. All in all I am very happy. Next weekend I am out on electric bass with my southern rock band and that will really get to test the isolation, as we have acoustic drums and backline. 

[Muppet]

On 02/02/2026 at 16:00, pn_day said:

 

My personal view - if using the Stomp with in-ears, it is definitely worth spending some time playing with the global EQ. I cut extreme low frequencies, and also quite a lot of highs (roughly 40Hz low cut and something like 6kHz high cut) which helps to reduce the 'harshness'. 

 

Spending some time to get a good seal with your IEMs is important. Looking like a pillock while pulling on your ear to insert your IEMs properly is a price worth paying, IMO. Then again, if you cared what you looked like, you'd probably be up front on vocals or guitar

 

If you’re playing around with the global EQ on your stomp to suit your in ear sound then surely that’s going to compromise what you’re sending to front of house? Have you some other method of adjusting your in ear mix that won’t affect what’s going to the PA? 

[SimonK]

Have spent the last three days using IEMs exclusively (at a church conference) and I suspect they will now be here to stay - a sad day for my amps and cabs.

 

However, apart from getting better ear pieces (I'm using KZ ZS10s), does anyone know a good way of tweaking the EQ on individual channels in the aux monitor mix? We are using a Yamaha TF1 desk and the monitor mix app, and while I can turn instruments up or down, what I really want to do is EQ a bit more thud in the kick, and also take some mids out of the guitar, but there doesn't seem to be a way to do this without changing the main mix. I think the problem I'm having is because I can hear everything so much better through the IEMs the sound engineer part of me wants to EQ it as well!

 

Alternatively are there any digital desks that have the capacity of EQing aux mixes separately to the main mix?

Edited yesterday at 13:50 by SimonK

[Muppet]

On the two digital desks I play through I can adjust the overall eq of each aux but not the individual channels. On the Behringer XR18 you can if you connect a personal mixer P16 to the desk using ultranet.

[EBS_freak]

10 hours ago, SimonK said:

Have spent the last three days using IEMs exclusively (at a church conference) and I suspect they will now be here to stay - a sad day for my amps and cabs.

 

However, apart from getting better ear pieces (I'm using KZ ZS10s), does anyone know a good way of tweaking the EQ on individual channels in the aux monitor mix? We are using a Yamaha TF1 desk and the monitor mix app, and while I can turn instruments up or down, what I really want to do is EQ a bit more thud in the kick, and also take some mids out of the guitar, but there doesn't seem to be a way to do this without changing the main mix. I think the problem I'm having is because I can hear everything so much better through the IEMs the sound engineer part of me wants to EQ it as well!

 

Alternatively are there any digital desks that have the capacity of EQing aux mixes separately to the main mix?

This is why you run a separate monitor desk - or alternatively, read 5.2 on the first posts.

[bass_dinger]

A quick question, if I may.

 

I have a set of KZ ZS10 in ears which struggle to reproduce the low notes on my 5-string bass.    So, I have decided to upgrade to a better set.

 

I was loaned a pair of Shure wired earbuds, with disposable memory-foam tips, and plugged into a Sennheiser wireless unit.  I really liked them - great sound, good fit.

 

I asked band leader what they were - "Shure AONIC 215 Wired Sound Isolating Earbuds Wired", from this link.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08H5TK1H5?ref=cm_sw_r_cso_wa_apin_dp_0ZYQ4WXJCTBJ8960P2V7&ref_=cm_sw_r_cso_wa_apin_dp_0ZYQ4WXJCTBJ8960P2V7&social_share=cm_sw_r_cso_wa_apin_dp_0ZYQ4WXJCTBJ8960P2V7&th=1 

 

However, there also seems to be a Shure 215 Wired Sound Isolating Earbuds Wired - without the AONIC.  The difference seems to be that the AONIC has a microphone built into the cable, which I wont need for monitoring.

 

So, am I looking for the non-AONIC like these?

https://www.gear4music.com/Headphones/Shure-SE215-Sound-Isolating-Earphones-with-RMCE-UNI-Cable-Purple/51TW - purple for £77

 

https://www.gear4music.com/PA-DJ-and-Lighting/Shure-SE215-Sound-Isolation-Earphones-Black/UDQ - Black for £105

And why are they priced differently?!

 

Can anyone advise on what I should be looking for, and where best to buy them?  Also, where would I get the disposable memory-foam tips?

 

Robert

Edited 12 hours ago by bass_dinger
more questions . . . .

[EBS_freak]

I just can't comprehend how a set of 215s can outperform ZS10s, especially in the lows.

 

I would never recommend 215s ever - but if they work for you, so be it.

[bass_dinger]

45 minutes ago, EBS_freak said:

I just can't comprehend how a set of 215s can outperform ZS10s, especially in the lows.

 

I would never recommend 215s ever - but if they work for you, so be it.

 

In that case, perhaps the problem with the ZS10s is that they are not properly sealed in my ear canal? (I use the supplied "thin rubber mushroom", which fits but doesn't seal).  So perhaps the difference was  the memory-foam tips, rather than the in-ear device itself? 

 

Those memory-foam tips are a cheaper option than new

 

The 215s were notably better - perhaps because of the tips, or perhaps because the sound was mixed by a professional  PA company.

[MichaelDean]

29 minutes ago, bass_dinger said:

 

In that case, perhaps the problem with the ZS10s is that they are not properly sealed in my ear canal? (I use the supplied "thin rubber mushroom", which fits but doesn't seal).  So perhaps the difference was  the memory-foam tips, rather than the in-ear device itself? 

 

Those memory-foam tips are a cheaper option than new

 

The 215s were notably better - perhaps because of the tips, or perhaps because the sound was mixed by a professional  PA company.

I would always recommend foam tips over the silicone ones. You get such a better seal which then gives you a better bass response. It's a night and day difference.

[bass_dinger]

1 hour ago, MichaelDean said:

I would always recommend foam tips over the silicone ones

 

Thanks for that excellent tip....

 

 

[Woodinblack]

I went from the 215s to the older versions of the ZS10, it was a good upgrade

[spyder]

5 hours ago, EBS_freak said:

I just can't comprehend how a set of 215s can outperform ZS10s, especially in the lows.

 

I would never recommend 215s ever - but if they work for you, so be it.

I'm another Shure 215 lover. They replaced a KZ10 and a custom fit set. For me the 215 with the large Comply memory foam tips and they sound fantastic.

Edited 6 hours ago by spyder

[bass_dinger]

Thanks to @MichaelDean and @EBS_freak for the advice. 

 

It looks like I will be ordering a set of Comply Memory Foam tips, to see if these will act as an effective upgrade for the ZS10s. 

 

These tips are compatible with the ZS10s https://www.complyfoam.co.uk/products/isolation-series-500-core-memory-foam-earbud-tips?variant=38150374260934

 

I will report back with my findings.  

 

And if the Comply tips don't help, then I will follow @spyder's lead and invest in the 215s.

 

Generally, it was interesting to hear that different people have different preferences for in-ears - there is no "best", only "differently suitable".

 

 

 

[dave_bass5]

1 hour ago, bass_dinger said:

Thanks to @MichaelDean and @EBS_freak for the advice. 

 

It looks like I will be ordering a set of Comply Memory Foam tips, to see if these will act as an effective upgrade for the ZS10s. 

 

These tips are compatible with the ZS10s https://www.complyfoam.co.uk/products/isolation-series-500-core-memory-foam-earbud-tips?variant=38150374260934

 

I will report back with my findings.  

 

And if the Comply tips don't help, then I will follow @spyder's lead and invest in the 215s.

 

Generally, it was interesting to hear that different people have different preferences for in-ears - there is no "best", only "differently suitable".

 

 

 

There are cheaper tips available. I like Comply but have also use the cheaper ones with good results. Comply also do various shapes as well as sizes. Lots of options to try. 

Id also look at the Sennheiser IE100’s (before getting the 215’s) which a few of us like. These are low profile and you might find the fit a bit better as there can be less pull due to them not having less bulk. Although single driver they sound full and punchy. 

[javi_bassist]

15 minutes ago, dave_bass5 said:

There are cheaper tips available. I like Comply but have also use the cheaper ones with good results. Comply also do various shapes as well as sizes. Lots of options to try. 

Id also look at the Sennheiser IE100’s (before getting the 215’s) which a few of us like. These are low profile and you might find the fit a bit better as there can be less pull due to them not having less bulk. Although single driver they sound full and punchy. 

 

+1 for the IE100. I have the IE100, IE400 and IE500 and they are really comfortable and isolation is really good. They are the most comfortable in ears I have and they sound really really good. I fell in the more drivers might be better trap and if the driver is good, it doesn't matter if it has only one.  

[dave_bass5]

3 minutes ago, javi_bassist said:

 

+1 for the IE100. I have the IE100, IE400 and IE500 and they are really comfortable and isolation is really good. They are the most comfortable in ears I have and they sound really really good. I fell in the more drivers might be better trap and if the driver is good, it doesn't matter if it has only one.  

My feelings 100%. I do prefer the IE400, but after using the IE100 for almost a year without realising they were swapped with the IE100 by the mistake, id have no hesitation using either and wouldn't look elsewhere except customs. I have very flat ears though. 

[bass_dinger]

19 minutes ago, dave_bass5 said:

There are cheaper tips available.

 

What other suppliers and brands did IEM-users find?  I would like coloured foam inserts (just for fun) but I mainly need to know that the insert will fit the shaft of the ZS10s (4mm, apparently).

 

 Most of the ones I have found on eBay have a diameter of 4.5mm - will that extra half-millimetre cause a problem, or make no difference? 

 

     

[dave_bass5]

Sonicfoam and Inairs are what ive used, and i foudn them fine. Both off amazon. 

[MichaelDean]

I've bought them from AliExpress for the last few years. Much cheaper than the name brands but seems to last just as well. Just find the fit on the Comply website and have a search. 

Edited 1 hour ago by MichaelDean

[SimonK]

Does anyone know which of these will fit the ZS10s? I would also like to try some foam ear buds to see if I can get a better bass response. It's OK at the moment but only when I really wedge them into my ears!!

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/SONICFOAM-Memory-Foam-Earbud-Tips-SF1-Black-5-8-6-5mm-See-chart/dp/B09L7CX9JD/

[dave_bass5]

6 minutes ago, SimonK said:

Does anyone know which of these will fit the ZS10s? I would also like to try some foam ear buds to see if I can get a better bass response. It's OK at the moment but only when I really wedge them into my ears!!

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/SONICFOAM-Memory-Foam-Earbud-Tips-SF1-Black-5-8-6-5mm-See-chart/dp/B09L7CX9JD/

Did you look at the size charts?