In Ear Monitors M-Audio OR Sure?

[Jazz+]

Any thoughts?

[timwat]

I've not used either of these specific units, so this may not help you much.

 

But I have A/B'd the $99 Shure E2s with my Shure E3s, and immediately reached the conclusion I would never be happy long-term with the E2s. I've also used ~$100 Sony and JVC in-ears and reached the anecdotal conclusion that with IEMs, you get what you pay for. The low end units I've tried have all erred either on the side of too tinny or way muddy. You also get poor bass response unless you get a good snug fit in the ear canal. All to say I now have two pairs of E3s to make sure I have a backup.

 

The M-Audio line was highly reviewed in KB, and Preve ended up buying his, right? But there too, he went with the more expensive model. Since by their very nature they're not "try and return" items, and sound quality is more crucial since they're jammed up near your eardrum, I'd suggest going higher end UNLESS current users of these specific models can thumbs up one or both.

 

Just my 0.02.

 

 

 

 

[eric]

Jazz+ if you are switching to in-ears, you need to spend the money on good ones. Particularly given your champagne taste for monitors. You have repeatedly questioned folks for not spending money on monitors, so I would expect you to get cream of the crop IEMs. Good luck!

[Jazz+]

Good advice guys. After giving it some thought and some testing, I have decided to wear what I already own on my gigs. My Sony MDR-7506 headphones plus my custom molded ear filters with Etymotic ER 15 (-15 db filters). They take the edge off of everything and provides extra isolation.

 

http://www.duke.edu/~jak21/pair.jpg

 

 

Plus

 

http://img3.musiciansfriend.com/dbase/pics/products/regular/1/9/2/369192.jpg

[bloodyMary]

The whole in-ears thing has become very popular on the forum lately. Seems like many of the forum members are using this technology. I've got myself some hi class consumer in-ears recently. Gonna try them today on the rehearal...tried semi-open akg's, they don't isolate well. Are your sony's closed type?

[timwat]

bloodyMary:

 

Let us know what think after your rehearsal. I've only run into one player who tried IEM who didn't make the jump, curious how you'll find it.

[Jazz+]

Sony MDR-7506 headphones are closed ear design, they do cut down background noise. When I wear my -15 db ear filters under them it it provides even more isolation.

[keysplease]

This may sound like a stupid question, but when you've made the leap to in-ear monitoring for live gigs, do you still use a keyboard amp? I told a drummer I was planning to use them, and he said I would still need an amp so he could hear me play -- but I assumed that since he has a PA monitor, he would hear my keys in the mix.

[Jazz+]

His monitor would suffice.

[timwat]

+1 w/ Jazz+.

 

No keyboard amp necessary if you have a good PA, and a good sound man...not a gimme, especially re: the sound man. But that's another forum thread.

[bloodyMary]

bloodyMary:

 

Let us know what think after your rehearsal. I've only run into one player who tried IEM who didn't make the jump, curious how you'll find it.

 

 

I did the rehearsal yesterday. Using in-ears was a blast,I could hear myself clearly and a little bit over the mix (I mean, louder then the rest of the mix) - this way I can focus on mistakes I make, dynamics of the playing - something I could barely hear when playing through speakers. I remind you again - I play in a loud band.

 

All I did was plugging my earphones (humble JBL Reference 220), armed wiht only the stock silicon earpads, into hearphone out of my Korg. 2 problems I had were - I had trouble hearing the guitarist, because he plays at low volumes (hear bass, vocals, and drums perfectly, so it can be solved). Second problem - the headphone output of the Korg is too hot, so I had to realy turn down, and then set the gain high on the mixer console, so the rest of the band can hear me properly. It can be solved by plugging the earphones through an extension cable with in-line volume control. Third problem - the cable was too short, but again, once I get the extension cable, it'll go away.

 

 

Conclusion - even with the most basic setup (~$60) - just wired in-ears running through headphone out of my board I was impressed.

Next steps are going to be getting an extension cable, probably a small mixer so I can mix other sounds (click track, guitarist) into my ears, and coming up with a way to arrange cables in a good way (I'm going to fix an extension cable to my belt so if/when it gets pulled, my earphones/ears won't be damaged).

 

 

Something you'd want to consider - a limiter. There are chances of someone twisting that volume knob, causing your ears to bleed.

What I'm going to do is just solder a right resistor/voltage divider into an extension cable, so volume never possibly gets high enough to hurt me.

 

 

So, I've got myself the ghetto in-ear monitoring set-up, and I'm happy with it for now. It'll get upgraded to wireless at some point - when it proves itself something I have to use all the time.

 

 

Oh, yeah, and the isolation level was just right, cutting off all the unpleasant peaks. I suspect it won't suffice at a gig, but I haven't even try the foam ear pads yet. And there's an option of getting Shure foam earpads (should fit most other earphones too).

 

 

 

Forgot something - which is a big bonus. These things are the most compact thing you can imagine for monitoring. Fit in my pocket! I tried headphones, like Jazz+ did, but they're still bulky, don't look so nice on stage (IMHO), and I was afraid to break them (easily done in live setting, and I love my AKG's).

[Analogaddict]

Something you'd want to consider - a limiter.

 

Good call, considering the fact that the monitors are IN your ears. The Shure systems have limiters, I use the PSM-200 and love it. Nothing beats stereo in-ears though..!

[bloodyMary]

Something you'd want to consider - a limiter.

 

Good call, considering the fact that the monitors are IN your ears. The Shure systems have limiters, I use the PSM-200 and love it. Nothing beats stereo in-ears though..!

 

 

I'd say, if there's anything going to the in-ears tht you don't have full control of, like a feed from external source (a mixing console, guitar amp, etc), then limiter is a must, because someone out there can rise volumes to dangerous (for you) levels.

 

If the only feed is coming from your keyboard's headphone out (or the submixer), then it's not that scary - you're in charge of the volume, just remember not to rise it too much.

 

 

But still, there are dangerous pops and clicks. If someone trips over your power cable, there's a chance for a loud 'pop'. If you're listening through speakers, or regular (not in-ear) phones, it's ok. But when a 'pop' occurs right next to the eardrum.. I donno, maybe I'm making it up - people use in-ears in consumer stereo (portable players). I'm sure they plug the earphones in and out without taking them off, and don't go deaf, otherwise we'd hear about it.

 

 

 

 

I thought of getting an external limiter, much cheaper than Shure beltpack. But then it seemed like wasting money - it'd be better to invest it in the real in-ear system.

[Jazz+]

Wearing headphones on stage is a fashion statement, it's very hip. I wear my ear plug filters inside them for maximum hearing preservation.

 

Radio Shack has a 4' stereo extension cable with in-line volume control for headphones:

 

http://www.radioshack.com/sm-accurian-4-ft-in-line-volume-control-headphone-extension--pi-2552561.html

[DanS]

This may sound like a stupid question, but when you've made the leap to in-ear monitoring for live gigs, do you still use a keyboard amp? I told a drummer I was planning to use them, and he said I would still need an amp so he could hear me play -- but I assumed that since he has a PA monitor, he would hear my keys in the mix.

 

I had my in-ears plugged into my left ear for monitoring my backing vocals, and used my amp for my keys monitor on our last show, and I heard everyone perfectly. This was our first show running in mono as well....

I like to have my amp behind me.

[Jazz+]

Seems like a recipe for eventual tinitis of the right ear. My tinitis is worse in my right ear. I used to place my monitor on my right side when I was in R&B bands. No more.

[bloodyMary]

Placing the in-ear only in one ear is okay only he one's very disciplined about setting the safe volume and not touching it afterwards. Because one's going to want to add volume as the night goes on. Maybe feeding whatever you plug into the amp, into the in-ears, would work better?

[JamesWI]

I have used IEM's for the last 2 years. (Ultimate Ears) And the 4 years before that, I used my sony ear buds to self monitor my keys through the headphone jack on my mixer. I can't begin to describe the difference it made in my playing. When you can clearly hear yourself you quit "overplaying" to compensate.

 

You really don't need a keyboard amp or monitor if you go the IEM route. You do want to purchase quality IEM's and most important IMHO, you need a competent monitor engineer. Without that, IEM's are an exercise in futility.