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Wireless stereo for in-ears?


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Hey all! So, I started using in-ears right before the pandemic hit, and while I haven't gigged with them as much as I would have had things not ground so horrifically to a halt, I am definitely of the mindset that I will never go back to wedges. It's the single best thing I've done for my playing and especially my singing in a live context.

 

Now, seeing as I'm usually stuck inside a fortress of keyboards, I've been content to stay wired, with an XLR or two trailing from my beltpack at gigs. But the urge for a little more mobility, plus a really bad experience with a cable that went bad before my set the other night (what's worse than no monitors at all? Monitors cutting in and out and distracting you from what's happening), have me thinking it might be time to liberate myself like the guitarists and bassist have, and go fully wireless.

 

But a lot of the functional-but-affordable wireless monitoring systems for players like us, who aren't hitting up Madison Square Garden anytime soon, are mono only (a lot of folks I know use the little XVive U4 transmitter/receiver combo that charges over USB and plugs right into the mixer, but that's mono only). Monitoring piano and organ in stereo is a much more pleasant, immersive experience for me. So I'm wondering if any of y'all run wireless ears in stereo, and how much you've invested in those systems, if there's anything you'd recommend. Obviously I want something that's reliable, but I also am trying to be realistic about the price points and what they mean -- how much money do I *need* to spend to get a wireless setup I'd be happy with, rather than "what's the best, most bulletproof thing that all the pros use that will set me back 3k?"

 

Aaaaand GO!

Samuel B. Lupowitz

Musician. Songwriter. Food Enthusiast. Bad Pun Aficionado.

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Hey Samuel,

 

I've used wireless IEMs for a long time.

 

I currently own the inexpensive Carvin system, which like all these systems is a head unit transmitter and a belt-pack receiver. I have wired custom IEMs from 64 Audio that complete the package.

 

I've used Shure systems on tour, and I think I probably have used a Sennheiser system sometime in the past.

 

In my experience, the Carvin has more static (but I had to pony up my own money). But once the band gets to stage volume, it's not noticeable to me anymore. On the tours I have done, the systems were all provided...someone handed me a belt pack and off we go to the races.

 

Because I don't exclusively use IEMs, I personally didn't want to spend thousands on one of the pro systems for my personal infrequent use. I do more lower volume jazz and similar gigs where I have to schlep one (or both) of the DXRs - the IEMs are a luxury, so that's why I went the way I did.

 

Hope that helps some.

 

Tim

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I've been exclusively on a wireless IEM rig for over ten years and it is THE MOST AWESOME gear purchase ever.

 

You get what you pay for and I have invested what I feel like is not extravagant money for a nice and reliable rig. I use the Shure PSM900 and I have custom molded Ultimate Ears (several different ones). This rig has served me quite well. Glad to chat more about my experience if you have questions. I monitor in stereo and it's glorious.

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My main band switched to IEMs 4 or 5 years ago. I've always run mine in stereo because, like you, I find it more comfortable and inspiring to do so. And every venue we play has stereo FOH, so it's not a problem for them.

 

Initially I used a wired setup with a Fischer Amps In Ear Stick, which is a nice little unit. This worked quite well, except for being tethered to my rig all night. I use a coiled cable connected to the mixer in the crook of my X stand, and keep a spare nearby, but haven't needed it so far (knock on wood).

 

Last year I picked up a used Audio-Technica M2T wireless system and have been fairly satisfied with it. I like the convenience of the wireless system but find that it's a bit more twiddly than the Sennheiser systems our singer and bass player have. The Sennheisers have an automated frequency scan feature, which seeks out unused radio frequencies in the area. With mine, I have to manually check for unused frequencies and set the transmitter and receiver accordingly. And even then I'll often run into interference issues (static, pops of white noise, etc.) that pop up only after the show starts. Although my Audio-Technica system does the job and was reasonably priced (especially because I bought it used), I'd recommend one with the automated frequency scan function.

 

All that said, I have to say that my wired system simply sounds better: more clarity, absolutely no noise (at least, none that I can hear with my 63-year-old ears), etc. So what I've been doing recently is going back and forth between wired and wireless, depending on the size of the stage (and sometimes just the mood I'm in).

Live: Yamaha S70XS (#1); Roland Jupiter-80; Mackie 1202VLZ4: IEMs or Traynor K4

Home: Hammond SK Pro 73; Moog Minimoog Voyager Electric Blue; Yamaha S70XS (#2); Wurlitzer 200A

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I use the ancient PCM200 for my own gigs.

I can"t even imagine what mono would be like.

 

IEM"s Layla"s and Roxanne"s from JHAudio.

 

Gigs of yore we were usually supplied with PCM1000 dual antenna body packs. And an actual Monitor Man for custom mixes.

These days I make sure I can hear everyone while keeping my sounds low but above the stage volume.

 

12 way drivers and custom silicon will change your life.

Magnus C350 + FMR RNP + Realistic Unisphere Mic
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I've been exclusively on a wireless IEM rig for over ten years and it is THE MOST AWESOME gear purchase ever.

 

You get what you pay for and I have invested what I feel like is not extravagant money for a nice and reliable rig. I use the Shure PSM900 and I have custom molded Ultimate Ears (several different ones). This rig has served me quite well. Glad to chat more about my experience if you have questions. I monitor in stereo and it's glorious.

 

Yep - got set up for IEM about 10 years ago myself. Like you, I felt my hearing was worth it and made the investment on a set of Ultimate Ears and the AKG IVM4500 and never looked back. I now have a new set of UE7s which I bought last year during NAMM, and I have two more AKG systems I bought used for use with some band members - it really helps to have everyone on ears.

 

I really love the versatility of the AKG system, as I can run stereo, mono, or dual feed simply, and have separate volume control via a balance feature so I can have a partial FOH mix in one ear and my keys exclusively in the other, and adjust how prominent each of those feeds are in relation to each other right from the remote pack.

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Got myself a set of Shure P3T T11 / P3RA T11 and built a small half-rack case that I just hand to the monitor guy, containing the transmitter, a panel with permanently installed XLR ins and thrus, and a little padded drawer for batteries, receiver and headset.

 

I don't usually use any monitoring for the trio at all, but for everything else, this works really well.

"The Angels of Libra are in the European vanguard of the [retro soul] movement" (Bill Buckley, Soul and Jazz and Funk)

The Drawbars | off jazz organ trio

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My .02: stereo ears, absolutely. Keyboards demand it, imo. I'm wired and use the cheap Rolls mixer (PM55P) that lets me mix my keys with a feed from the monitor board. That feed is mono, but I can deal with that as long as I hear my stuff in stereo.

 

For grins I googled around for a few minutes and the cheapest stereo in-ears system I saw is the Galaxy AS-950: https://www.amazon.com/Galaxy-Audio-AS-950N-Wireless-Personal/dp/B07TYRQSGB

 

On my one & only gig where I use in-ears, I'm mostly in back of my little keyboard except for a few songs where I play bass. It would be cool to be able to step out front with the fellas for those songs, but for me that's not reason enough to take the plunge to wireless. Of course I have not had any cable failure or malfunction with my Rolls in the six years I've been using it. I do carry a spare cable of course - $10 of insurance there. In my opinion, and based on my experience so far, the risk of my wired system screwing up is less that the risk of dropouts or other anomalies I might get from one of these cheaper wireless systems. And since we fly with our gear and already bring a filled-up rack of wireless transmitters & receivers with us (for the sax players, bass player & lead vocalist), I would need to find a way to safely carry my own transmitter, power supply, antenna, etc. Combine that inconvenience with the risk factor and expense and for me it seems not worth it at all. So again, my unsolicited advice would be to think hard about how much that "cool factor" of being mobile would be worth to you, given the potential downsides and hit on your wallet. One other thing is that even with the stereo systems, you still might want to control the mix of your keys with the rest of the band mix coming from the monitor board like I do with the two knobs on my $80 Rolls. Do any belt packs have ways to mix these two sources? You might need a mixer along with a wireless transmitter then (or maybe you already have one?). Anyway, good luck and sorry for the length of this post!

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I don't think any of the belt packs I looked at (wired) let you mix stuff together, not in stereo. My behringer p1 would work provided you were ok with mono (one input for keys, another for FOH non-keys).

 

I've found ways to monitor in stereo by using pre-fader sends on a submixer...it's a bit clunky and I'd prefer, if possible, to just rely on a monitor mix with keys in it, as long as I can mix myself, which many mixers allow.

 

This saturday is the first time I'll use my Behringer p16m, which will give me complete control in stereo and I'm really looking forward to it ;)

 

One bright side of being wired--nobody can ask me to dance! Believe me, you DO NOT want me "dancing" (the air quotes are required in this case). An intense head bob will have to do.

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One bright side of being wired--nobody can ask me to dance! Believe me, you DO NOT want me "dancing" (the air quotes are required in this case). An intense head bob will have to do.
My animated nature behind the keys (but especially when playing bass) is legendary among my bandmates past and present, hahaha.

 

Anyway, good to hear all this. I don't think the wireless purchase would be immediate, but it's good to keep an eye on what I might want to spend some money on in the future. Need to invest in a sturdier TRS cable for my wired beltpack in the meantime, and keep weighing pros and cons of the Galaxy or the Shure wireless system.

Samuel B. Lupowitz

Musician. Songwriter. Food Enthusiast. Bad Pun Aficionado.

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The Shure PSM 300 system is great if you can afford it. I use the more expensive PSM 900 system every week at church, but although it has more features than the PSM 300, it's getting a little long in the tooth, and I think the PSM 300 actually sounds better. It's probably a good thing that it's not an immediate purchase, though â I work in the AV industry and a lot of Shure wireless gear is currently on backorder with long lead times. Hopefully it will be better by the end of the year or next spring.
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I just realised that the "Shure P3T T11 / P3RA T11" I use is actually the PSM 300 system (P3RA being the metal-cased receiver, as opposed to the larger plastic one, and T11 referring to the unit's specific licensed frequencies here in Europe).

 

So yeah, another vote for the PSM 300.

"The Angels of Libra are in the European vanguard of the [retro soul] movement" (Bill Buckley, Soul and Jazz and Funk)

The Drawbars | off jazz organ trio

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I realize that my situation is somewhat unique, but here is what I am using for my audio and ears needs.

 

Here is what I currently have:

 

E52299D9-7F11-4BC2-AFC8-B0F48923833F.jpeg

 

I bought the Mackie DL32S at first and was using it for my ears as well as for band practices. I bought the 4U flight case and installed the power strip, the used QSC amp, and a half shelf to hold my AKG transmitter.

 

I also bought and incorporated an Esinkin bluetooth adapter and a small Rolls interface, which you can see mounted on top of the DL32S via velcro:

 

6E3026DB-1C11-4054-A9C7-01748BB27D83.jpeg

 

The BT allows me to connect any BT audio source and route it to my ears and/or amp for practice or live performances (intermission and such).

 

The band decided to incorporate ears, so I got the DL16S (used off of Reverb) and leveraged it for the ear transmitters and the personal monitor mixes. I repurposed an old Netgear wireless router, so both mixers are cabled into the Ethernet ports. That allows anyone to connect to the router, then running the Mackie Master Fader 5 software they can connect to the DL16S to manage their personal monitor mix.

 

I now have two half shelves in the 32S enclosure, each holding two AKG transmitters so everyone who needs wireless monitoring has their own device and mix. The drummer uses a channel on the 32S to feed his Senn wired belt pack.

 

It"s elaborate for a keyboard player, but I"m set up for whatever situation I encounter and can use this setup for the entire band audio for rehearsals and small gigs, integrate whatever is needed for FOH scenarios, and anything in between.

 

The Mackie software allows me to reconfigure on the fly, save and manage any number of permutations of I/O and call them up on demand, and provide custom monitor mixes which are unique and accessible to each member.

 

I have a laptop which is connected to the router via Ethernet so I don"t have to worry about wireless dropouts. I typically have the laptop connected and controlling the DL32S, and my iPad on my stand connected to the DL16S.

2310.jpg.3090548b8aa4e7ac64c90106fac38cb8.jpg

2311.jpg.2cb4f10c826a4559b791f5906c036118.jpg

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One small thing.

 

I got custom IEMs made back in 2015 - went to the local audiologist, got molds and sent them off to 1964 Ears (now 64 Audio). I actually had to have one of the molds redone - I guess the audiologist I originally used didn't do a perfect job.

 

Ended up getting their 3-driver V3 - which they stopped making a long time ago, as 64 Audio's technology has evolved along with their prices.

 

What I've found over these 6 years or so is the IEMs don't fit as 100% perfect as they used to - I guess my ears and head are changing over the years. And because there's no flexible Comply foam or silicone eartip, any infinitesimally small gap is going to degrade audio performance. So what I need to do is use a lubricant on the hard shell to get a great seal. I don't like using saliva, so I end up using a very thin application of KY Jelly on the stem, don't ever get any into the holes, and bob's your uncle.

..
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One small thing.

 

I got custom IEMs made back in 2015 - went to the local audiologist, got molds and sent them off to 1964 Ears (now 64 Audio). I actually had to have one of the molds redone - I guess the audiologist I originally used didn't do a perfect job.

 

Ended up getting their 3-driver V3 - which they stopped making a long time ago, as 64 Audio's technology has evolved along with their prices.

 

What I've found over these 6 years or so is the IEMs don't fit as 100% perfect as they used to - I guess my ears and head are changing over the years. And because there's no flexible Comply foam or silicone eartip, any infinitesimally small gap is going to degrade audio performance. So what I need to do is use a lubricant on the hard shell to get a great seal. I don't like using saliva, so I end up using a very thin application of KY Jelly on the stem, don't ever get any into the holes, and bob's your uncle.

 

 

They should be painful actually as they stretch the ear hole, as that guarantees a tight fit after a while.

 

I"ve used the same molds since the guy who created IEMs (Shure"s partner @NAMM '95/Ultimate Ears/JHAudio) sent me to the audiologist in LA.

They hurt like hell for a while but now I send them in for driver replacements, sometimes a crazy new design, etc.

 

I"m so deep with these I went from 3 way, to 6 and now 12 way stereo. Basically clusters for lows midi and highs w/ a sub boost knob.

Even have the Jodi Vac to clean the insides of the shell.

 

Best thing since sliced bread.

Magnus C350 + FMR RNP + Realistic Unisphere Mic
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I don"t agree that they should be painful, but they should certainly fit properly and that means snug and not real easy to insert.

 

My UEs are snug, and I have to pull on my ear lobe and rotate them to get them to seat, but they are comfortable and seal extremely well.

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