Non isolating/ non noise cancelling earbuds/iem

[Baldwin Funster]

I'm thinking of improving my self monitoring at gigs. I'm new to iems and dont want to feel isolated. I would be monitoring right off of the output of my ipad via a y-cord not from a monitor mix. So I'm thinking that sound leakage from the room would be a good thing. I'm not looking to get my monitoring from the iems only, just an enhancement. Anybody have success using sub $50 earbuds for this sort of thing?

[Brad Kaenel]

I don't use earbuds, but, sure, I do this all the time -- usually when I'm not allowed to use an amp or a monitor on stage. Instead of earbuds, I prefer on-ear headphones; YMMV. Those are the kind of phones where the cups are smaller and don't envelope your whole ear; plenty of leakage from whatever is going on "in the room", sound-wise.

[PianoMan51]

For gigs where I don"t need to attenuate stage volume I often use earbuds.

 

First, I mean the kind of earbud that sits in the cup of your ear like the original buds I got with an iPod years ago. These should be hard plastic so they let in all the sound around you. They don"t go in your ear canal and they"re not rubbery. You basically hear everything around you as if you weren"t wearing them. I don"t think the audience even registers that I"m wearing them.

 

Next, since I sing and play, both my vocals and keys go into a small cheap Mackie mixer. The keys come in as a stereo pair. For my own powered speaker (which provides sound for the band and the audience), I feed a mono signal. Yes, I purposely don"t play in loud situations.

 

From the mixer headphone jack I get my STEREO keys and mono vocal. I think I"m typically adjusting the earbud level so I"m hearing my own parts about 6dB hotter than everybody else, and this is exactly what I want.

 

So, on the old stereo-mono discussion, I get stereo, everybody else gets mono. And I get to have my own vocal loud enough to really focus on pitch and timbre. For ME, I hear all my own parts perfectly. This means I"m actually hearing the left hand piano voicing. I"m actually hearing my own vocal stage whisper.

 

Now the caveats.

 

You need a reliable sound partner in the band to guide you on your Speaker sound level. Usually I start the first tune without the earbuds, then stick them in after the stage volume is set. Then I"ll gradually turn up the headphone level until I hear myself crystal clear in the mix. There have been a few times when I started out with the buds, but forgot to turn up the mains. That"s when you need an understanding friend on stage.

 

For the earbuds I ended up with a set that doesn"t provide much bass unless I shove them in hard. On stage my speaker may not be facing my ears anymore, but the bass frequencies are Omni-directional so I hear any low tones quite well without the earbuds turned up.

 

 

[nursers]

I know this is out of your budget criteria, but I use Westone AM30s as they do let in some on-stage noise so you're not fully isolated. I love them to bits

[Stokely]

My Shure 215s let in enough low end bleed that I could hear drums and bass ok...but I did need guitar and vocals in my mix for sure.

 

My primary reason for wearing iems is volume reduction; I suspect trying to wear earbuds AND the outside world would result in more volume to your ear...which might be ok if it's still low enough for you and you can hear.

 

Personally I'd probably look to get a small powered monitor and keep it all outside-the-ears...or go all out iems...mixing and matching seems a bit iffy. but that's more of an initial reaction, if what you want to do works for others, go for it! Another idea that would mean a bit more complexity is having a mixer where you can simply hang a mic out and mix that with your keyboards in earbuds. I wouldn't want to monitor my own vocals this way (I sing) but it should work to hear others provided there is stage volume.

[Baldwin Funster]

Thanks for the responses. Keep em coming. My application is for gigs where the organ is just glue in the background. But who can really play that low and not just play from seeing the keys not hearing myself? Not me. So I want to enhance my volume to myself and if others want to hear it louder they can turn it up. If not, screw em, as long as I get paid.

[Tom Williams]

My Westone 20's come with both isolating (foam) and ambient-passing (silicone) inserts, and I prefer isolation in my IEMs, with the proviso that everything -- all instruments and vocals -- is available for me to add to the mix.

 

I use IEMs to setup _my_ preferred environment, excluding other players or singers if it helps me play or sing my part. Part of my approach is that I leave the front of house mix and balance entirely in the hands of the sound man -- I don't pretend to know what is going on in the front of house. And I don't need to, any more than the third chair english horn has to know how the orchestra sounds up front.

 

Disclaimer: I was introduced to IEMs at church with (at the time) individual monitor mixers and isolating Bose earplugs provided, so I am a bit biased towards that model. That said, I perceive a lot of mixing problems come as a result of musicians who leave one ear "open" so they can monitor the house sound; those folks almost always make the sound guy's job harder, not easier.

[cphollis]

Another vote for perhaps splashing on the Westone Pro AM 30s. They do ambient right. I convinced an entire band to go out and buy their own set. Way cheaper than decent stage monitors, BTW.

[Baldwin Funster]

I'm hijacking my own thread because I think this post is on the theme.

 

Anyone curious about the new Behringer B105D personal spot monitor?

 

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/B105D--behringer-b105d-50w-powered-monitor-speaker

 

Sweetwater page

[Chris Link]

Another plug for the Westones. They have -25 dB filters. Unless your stage volume is at jet engine levels, that"s plenty to protect your hearing. The ambient sound coming through prevents the 'like having your head in a box' sense that full isolation gave me. I generally can hear bass and drums enough that I don"t put any in my mix.

 

I"m sitting up front off to one side and I get people coming up to me with requests and such. Not having to remove an earpiece to talk is another plus.

 

https://www.westone.com/store/music/um-pro-30-earphones

[drawback]

I used Shure SE525s and just didn"t seal them all the way in.