EBS_freak

They seem to be on uk ebay, shipped direct from china.

In terms of construction, not a great deal. It's the frequency response that matters. For hearing aids, they tend to be hyped around 2k and not very linear in terms of their response. They also tend to not go very low. Things have moved on though - there's dsp in hearing aids that can assist with compensating for an individual's frequency loss and also flattening out the frequency response of the balanced armature itself. For IEMs though, the devices are all passive, so like speaker manufacturer, the deficiencies have to be scienced out of the equation. It was Jerry H that realised that you could get the extended lows out of an IEM by using a pace maker balanced armature in conjunction with a traditional BA. By putting the drivers in phase (to some extent) by changing the bore and length of the connecting tubes and by dampening the air flow to reduce the peaks, you could get a pleasant sounding IEM, albeit far from flat. That is why for some time that his inears could do what everybody else's couldn't - getting the extended lows. Of course, by then specifying your own balanced armatures, you can have drivers that are designed for sub, low, mids and highs which work in conjunction with your own specific crossover design. Each of these BAs will each have their own peaks and that's where the tuning and crossover design comes in again. The more drivers you have, the higher the complexity and task of actually getting a nice sounding ear without the inherent peaks that you get from a balanced armature. Some manufacturers are better at this than others (remember that the final product is the sum of lots and lots of variables) and of course will result in a specific sound signature. That is why when people A/B brands, they'll tend to favour a particular brand because their sound signature is more to their liking. Additionally, by specifying the impedance, you have more control in controlling what the super highs are doing - which is why balanced armatures can reach super high frequencies - that give the feeling of "air" to the sound. Thats the high level version anyway :-p

How did this clown get in here? What is this nonsense?

Oh wow - looks like they could be Knowles drives in those KZs. OK, off the shelf armatures... but assuming that they have got some level of knowledge in tuning, damping and implementing the passive crossover, they could be a very good shout... especially for that kind of money. It would be silly not to take the risk at that price. Great find @Ceebass

I'm guessing they are off the shelf bulk purchase balanced armatures - probably from the Chinese wholesale manufacturers where a single balanced armature can be had for as little as 1 USD. Given that KZ themselves originate from China, it doesn't work out why their retail costs are so low. The main players in the IEM world tend to stick with Sonion and Knowles (I don't believe Sony make their balanced armatures available to others) as the manufacture and audio output from balanced armatures can vary widely. Given the prices of the balanced armatures from these manufacturers, (a quick look shows that they are more like 9x the prices of the Chinese equivalents), it doesn't take long to work out why their is the price difference. It's probably worth also mentioning that the balanced armatures that you buy direct from the manufacturers are primarily used for hearing aids and pace makers, not hifi audio reproduction. Additionally, the various balanced armatures used by the CIEM world, (eg the quad balanced armatures etc) are specifically made for each IEM company, the specs of which are kept between the manufacturer and IEM company... and certainly not available off the shelf to anybody. For BAs like that, you'll pay a premium... and there will be a minimum order. This is why a lot of the small fish IEM companies using off the shelf components don't tend to compete with the offerings from the larger players. The KZs are definitely worth a go though - in fact, I may be tempted myself! I quite like the idea of having a dynamic drive in the mix. In fact, I have GAS for the new Ultimate Ears Live piece... I want to hear it!!

Probably speakers in the audience facing back at the band so you can hear yourselves. Or something equally as daft.

The Shure 215 - the gateway drug of the IEM world!

As above - the 30ms or above latency will kill ya!

I've come across them before (well, not this model, their others) but never heard them. As you say, they tend to appear on forums. Almost worth a shot for that kinda money isn't it? :-p

And another one...

I'm not too sure what will happen re: the G3/G4 - I'm watching with interest to see what happens. The later G3 units have the same boards in as the G4 and it appears to be just a cosmetic and software change. The actual RF performance and sound quality doesn't seem to have changed... so maybe the G3s will have very high residuals. I certainly haven't seen anybody pulling out any deals... yet.

I'm all about channel strips. Much prefer to sims (on bass that is)

Well, this is true I guess. I suppose having been through the route, nothing really compares to the full on custom for fit, isolation and comfort... even the sleeves (they have a tendency to separate from the monitor). Sometimes it's better to bite the bullet than spend little amounts trying out different approaches. In other words, save up and do it, rather than throwing money at lesser options. Again, depends what your budget is looking like - but experience has shown me that most people go through the dabbling with 215s and tips, sleeves, etc... and when they look back at the investment, they could have gone for a custom. ok maybe it's a bit more difficult to do that with Inearz currently out the game (and the lower priced UE900s off the scene)... but null audio may be the answer for the pathway to a cheaper IEM?

I've found with IEMs, plugins aren't great. You can certainly get away with them without though. Im currently messing around with Dante interfaces and Live Professor and getting some great results. I'm so tempted to get the Waves bridge... but don't want to be locked into Waves plugins...

@TPJ and @dand666 - There's always Null audio in Singapore, they do get mentioned on headfi from time to time, but I have no direct experience of their reshells. https://www.null-audio.com/collections/earphone-remolding-service Just looked into the cost - nominally about £135 with postage and import on costs. You'll probably get it around the £200 mark door to door with all the extra costs, so comparable to what inearz was doing it for.

Family safe formula is the one you need re:sugru. I still reckon custom sleeves will be better than home brew, as the key thing for a good custom fit is getting a moulding that passes the second bend of the ear. I personally wouldn't want to be stuffing stuff in my ear that deep with out the cotton gauze that stops the moulding stuff going too deep into your ear.

Sugru (from hobby craft) is the usual candidate for this kinda hack. Have fun but be careful putting stuff in your ears!

What sort of latency are you getting... in ms?

Indeed, with IEMs, the monitor mix generally remains static - or at least in the ballpark - between gigs. Just recall the mix on the desk and you just have foh to worry with. Better still ditch all amps and you'll only have to eq for the room. Drummers and guitarists. Always the pain in the donkey you can rely on.

I need to stop reading this thread. It's making me too angry.

Dark?! Are you sure your tweeter is up... and working? EBS cabs are amongst the brightest cabs out there!

Depends upon your kit as to whether the sound is awful. If you took away the visuals and titles of this video and you had just the audio... I would say it would have most people fooled. If it doesn't, I would wager, that this is hundreds of times better sounding than the woeful micing jobs that I've heard on the circuit. Of course, this sound can be had at low volumes too. There's a lot of snobbery about digital stuff - whether it be modellers or electric kit... but those were the ideas of 20 years ago. Don't get me wrong, I like analogue kits, especially nicely miced and processed - as long as the room is big enough to take them of course. Oh... and lets not forget that electric kits don't tend to look very "rock n roll"... but thats why you get a set of Jobecky shells.

Oh the phase, the phase! And to think some guys on here are anal about their speaker placement.

"Please dont check my Internet history" that was it, wasn't it?

For 24 years I've been living next door to Alice. Even if you don't write profanity into a song, some other fker will.