IEMs

[Freakae2]

Hey guys. Went shopping for new IEMs to replace my aging Shure E2cs. Followed my audiophile (he is a psycho) friend around. Thought of sharing some good finds for those who are looking for monitors.

By Sound quality "my preference". (price and ruggedness not a factor)
1.) Sleek SA 6. ( one word to describe audio quality.....SICK!)
2.) UE Superfi 10
3.) Westone UM1
4.) Westone UM2
5.) Livewires Custom
6.) Shure E5s
7.) UE Superfi 5

For drummers ( ruggedness a serious consideration...and isolation)
1.) Westone UM1
2.) Livewires Custom
3.) UE 5 & 10
4.) All Shure IEMs

Ultimately. I'm going for UE Custom moulds.... farewell $$$.

IEMs are a must, the audio mix u get is the soundman's problem. Be friends with him.

 

[Frummer]

Holy Crap Ultimate Ears CUSTOM MOULDS?!

woo...kaching! $$$

...audio-heaven i bet...=)

 

[Razorzedge]

guys can share some info about IEMs? i went to this shop that sold them but ehh they really look like regular earphones to me =S like whats the real use of IEMs and how can you use it on performance days as a monitor? are the wires long enuf to patch thru to mixers esp when your on stage? yea super curious la...

 

[Freakae2]

Hi razoredge. IEMs (In-Ear-Monitors) are basically fancy earphones in a way. Many people use em. Musicians, audio engineers, soundcrew, normal consumers etc etc. I prefer them over stage monitors as its offers hearing protection and the ability to hear your audio mix in the midst of all that drum smashing. Yes you could use a extentions to reach the mixers at the foh. but that would cause phase problems. I have a small mixer next to me where the Foh feeds in the various instruments and whateverelse is needed. I control everything else from there. Lol. i used to think that all you need to know is how to play drums well.... and then came all the technical aspects. groan.. but its fun la. always good to gain exposure

 

[DullTheater]

bro...
once you do the custom mould IEM, tell us how much they cost..
mi thinking of getting one also....

thanx

 

[trowaclown]

Using Livewires for music listening I am. Cost $480 they do. Other brands and products there are. Different prices for different ranges they cost.

I wouldn't suggest that you get those that're too awesome. You really can't get to that quality in a live setting. If, however, you intend to double it up as use for earphones, then please, go down to the shops and audition them to see which you like.

I recommend Jaben at the Adelphi, as they have a HUGE range of headphones and earphones to suit all budgets. You can check out their product range as well as a review of my Earpeace Livewires on Jaben Community - Index.

Other shops in the Adelphi area sell different earphones and stuff as well. If I were a drummer I'd probably get the Etymotics ER-4P. Check out their website for it. It's sound signature is more bassy, and tuned for portable products, and it has a low impedence. It will be quite easy for a wireless system to drive the ER-4Ps. Most importantly, it isolates DAMN well, to the point that you can be in a train underground, and not be playing any music, and yet hear almost nothing. By the way, they're not custom, instead using various universal sleeves. They cost around $500 dollars.

On the other hand, customs do not offer THE perfect fit. Nothing does. The little bit of leaking sound may be good if you wanna hear your fans cheer or just prefer to hear the snap of your drums/amps mixed with the sound engineer's mix.

All types of choices for all types of uses and budgets. So how? Best don't buy. This isn't some slippery path that brings you down. It's a cliff. Once you drop down, buy buy money! You'll have more things to GAS over....

 

[Freakae2]

hi trowaclown. haha. you sound like yoda in your first paragraph. Yeah. I was looking at the livewires too. its the custom mould that interests me. lol. i was a jaben too. intimidating with all their stuff. thanks anyway. Hi dulltheater. UE custom moulds could work out to be 1.2k after calculating everything.

 

[eugen3]

For drummers i think a UM2 would be better. It'd be much easier recgonising the bass line than compared to the ety 4. the ety's single-drivered, really good for highs but little bass.

 

[SoulJah]

I'm no drummer, but I couldn't help but dig into this thread too.

Like you guys I'm a big fan of IEMs, I've used 3 of them so far, Shures, Ultimate Ears and Westones. Out of them all I like the Westone UM2s, they are really the most comfortable and have the best fit. I just cannot justify the price of having a dual driver.

My daily beater is a pair of Ultimate Ears Superfis' I've used them for almost 3 years now! I was very impressed with their service, mine actually broke down halfway. I emailed UE and was told to contact the local distributor here. Upon emailing them local distributor, he directed me to my nearest UE dealer to get a replacement set!!!

How cool is that for after sales service!

You guys might wanna check out this site, I got it off some recommendations on TGP...

Sensaphonics / Products

They make custom earpieces which actually serve as direct replacements for Shures and Etymotics.

 

[Razorzedge]

i not sure about you guys but i prefer keeping in eye contact with the bassist and take cues from the rest of the instrumentalists... light faster then sound theory cus by the time you hear it ur 1 millisecond late... =S

 

[shinobi]

i beg to differ, the light may travel to your eyes faster, but whether or not the brain can process the sense of sight into a reflex faster than hearing is another matter, which i don't think is the case. and when the bassist is standing within a few metres of you, the 'advantage' is down to a very very small fraction of a second

it also doesnt help if the bassist is tripping on stage :twisted:

 

[shinobi]

4.) All Shure IEMs

i think you forgot to EXCLUDE the SE110

 

[vx02]

ive tried the Sleek SA.6 and i have to say, it is THE BEST in ear monitor headphone i ever had the chance of trying. if im not wrong it comes with interchangeable bass / treble thingamajigs that let you tune the amount of bass / treble. power la seriously.

 

[Razorzedge]

i beg to differ, the light may travel to your eyes faster, but whether or not the brain can process the sense of sight into a reflex faster than hearing is another matter, which i don't think is the case. and when the bassist is standing within a few metres of you, the 'advantage' is down to a very very small fraction of a second

it also doesnt help if the bassist is tripping on stage :twisted:

Change bassist la... hahaha =P