EBS_freak

In addition to what tonyf has said - Another thing to consider is lead times - the JH Audio stuff is way longer than the 64s. When I ordered my JH Audio stuff, I already had IEMs so it wasn't as though I needed them that bad... (although I did really want them!). The Roxannes are - and continue to be - a nightmare on lead-time, although I think they have reigned it in a bit now. I think off the top of my head, mine took nearly 9 months to arrive. The 64s I ordered - 5 weeks. The ACS, less than a fortnight - although I did wait over two years for the live pack to become available... and even then that was because I was given the opportunity to be a tester before it was officially released... which was many months later again. Anyway, no matter, the ambient pack is available now. Also remember - and this is fairly crucial - that it's not all about driver count. In fact, 1964s released the V6 and V6s. Same driver count, very different sound signature (later tuned for more bass). Its about finding what you like. I could say to you, defo get a V8, defo get a Roxanne... but if you were to ask me what I would be happy with, in reality, a quad would do me just fine and sound incredible. I'd be equally at home with either a 64 quad or the JH11 (although the JH 11 is a couple hundred quid more!). So why did I buy a Roxanne? Well, it's because I'm an IEM slag and IEMs and monitoring, PA desks etc are my thing (if you hadn't figured by now) and at the time, they were the only IEM that you could get manufactured from solid carbon fibre. It wasn't really the driver count and I actually bought the Roxannes not having heard them - hence why I was shocked that it sounded nothing like the JH13 and JH16 that I shall discuss in a bit. I have to say though, I do love my Roxannes. They are simply awesome... but I do appreciate that they are at a serious cost - overkill city by most people's standards. What does a CF Roxanne run at now? Circa 1800 quid? That's a lot, a lot of money. You could get a V8 (or a JH11) AND a EW300/PSM300/PSM900 AND the channel 38 license for that... and still have change (depending upon which wireless unit you buy). Another thing about the Roxanne which you may not realise - that due to the driver count (4 more BAs than a V8 or JH16 for example), it can be a large unit, so if you have small ears, then you run the risk of looking like Shrek. Fortunately, I seem to have a fair bit of space in my lugs but I have some seen some hideous examples where I think they protrude so far out of the ears than what I think is acceptable. (You should see the new JH universals, I think you could have trouble walking through doors with those!) Also, another "feature" of the Roxanne is that it has a non standard cable connector, which makes your task of finding an aftermarket cable a little more difficult should it break. JH seem to have adopted this new cable as their standard on their siren series... I don't think it's a problem per se, just thought I would mention if for completeness. If you go the Roxanne route, you need to know all the info which isn't necessarily made clear at time of order. So... the JH13 vs the JH16 - some think that the JH13 is a more neutral IEM compared to the JH16, whereas others think that the JH16 is a bass monsters, where others think that it's too bass heavy! In the audiophile world, most think that the JH13 is king of the JH Audio range. (Well, until Angie and Layla came along - but they are shooting at a very different target - pure reference, flat response). When I listened to the JH13s, I loved them. When I listened to the JH!6s, they simply blew me away - but I am a bass head who probably likes a bit more bass in the mix than is really necessary (think everything you listen to having that club feel bass!). The thing is, when you get into this game, there aren't necessary any winners, they are just simply different. The Roxanne for example, as mentioned, doesn't really have the JH Audio signature (typically very smiley face eq). Its a very laid back treble - despite having a quad in the high end - (the reason for this is to influence the impedance curves such that the frequency response goes even higher than most IEMs - useful if you still have your dog like hearing) with very detailed, yet thick mids and thundering bass... in all honesty though, it's probably capable of far too much bass than is practical. But hey, I love mine... and due to the recessed treble, can listen to music for a long, long, long time before fatigue sets in. Then take the 64 V3 - its a fairly honest IEM and if you are listening to music, it's a fantastic choice. Then step up a driver to the quad and the tuning is naturally more bassy and more importantly, you have the extra headroom on the bass. This is why I always recommend the quad (dual lows, mid, treb) as a minimum for bass players. If you are watching the budget and like the sound of the quads, then they are probably the ones to go for because of 1) the cost 2) you are going to be taking your ears out before the bass drivers give up 3) beyond which you are into the laws of diminishing return... I've ordered JH, ACS and 1964s and listened to my fair share of other IEMs. I have to say out the three Ive mentioned, I would say that the build quality is best on the 1964s... but if you have the opportunity to listen to the demo units, you have to find out what camp you sit in because different manufacturers have different sound signatures... and then within their models, there are different models each with different sound signatures due to the differing number of drivers and different tunings. It's about finding out what you like best. For example, you may find you prefer the V6s to say either the V4 or the V8. Even if you were to take a gamble and order any of the inears mentioned, you wouldn't be disappointed, we are talking about the nuances of each model coming out when you test them side by side. If you must have the live ambient system, then ACS is the only choice (apart from sensaphonic who haven't got as good pack) - but I would say that this is a killer setup for vocalists more than bass players. Great ambient sounds can be achieved with standard IEMs anyway, especially if you have lots of open vocal mics (or alternatively a couple of condensers on stage) and the ability to get a stereo IEM mix. Anyway, the ACS monitors I personally don't find as good as the competition and the bass is what I would call adequate. I've not tried the new lineup of monitors yet but I was disappointed to see that they haven't included one with a dual low. Also dood, I suspect that your band plays pretty loud - and the mics do have a habit of distorting at high spl (even with the pads maxed out on the ambient pack). Its super expensive... and overall, I think people are creaming over it because they know no better. I've got it. I'm being honest. I still use them though - as variable earplugs. Ive even worn them when I've been in the audience at loud gigs. Bloody expensive earplugs though. Expensive units - look at the price of a triple T1 (or whatever it is called now) - which is actually a two BA unit (one of the BA units is a two in one) compared to a triple by the competition. As stated also, there is no comfort differences, in my opinion, between silicone and acrylic. You may think I am running the ACS units down - I'm not really - for singers at the west end or say singers in an orchestra, I suspect there is no better system. I just wish Andy and the guys would make a decent quad and beef up the microphones a bit to cater for those on smaller, louder stages - because it really is a killer concept. Also, a lot of musicians in the UK rave about ACS because they are home grown and usually the company that everybody deals with when it comes to IEMs. Take it with a pinch of salt because these same guys have no other experience with any other IEMs or personal monitoring units, hence have no benchmark against which to draw any conclusions. You know what I'm saying here. I'd definitely look at UE also and also noble... and I have to admit, those cosmic ears look great value for money although I must declare that I have never had any cosmic ears near my ear. tonyf - scroll up. I notified you because your opinion on LD Systems stuff may be useful.

[quote name='dood' timestamp='1424024450' post='2691690'] Your comments are very much appreciated and I will certainly give this thread a good read in detail. Speaking frankly, it's my hearing that needs looking after too and if I am already happy to pay for pro moulds just for protecting my lug-oles then I shouldn't skimp on getting good quality sound in to them either. [/quote] Indeed! Quad as a minimum... anything up from there is a bonus. I bet all your questions are covered off in the thread... if not, ask any questions below!

[quote name='dood' timestamp='1424017627' post='2691563'] I think ultimately I will always wonder if I should have upgraded to customs in the first place and thus the likes of ACS will be on the list. - I've asked on my FB page for experiences too, I guess I wanted to know if 535's with some moulds would do the job. [/quote] No.... don't go the 535 moulds route...!! it's a half way house. If you are going to pay for moulds and 535s, seriously, just go custom. The difference is way big. I tried telling Tonyf this... he ended up going to customs in the end anyway after going the Shure with moulds route. Listen to me on this one! Also, read through the thread for opinions on ACS. They are OK - but ultimately, there are far better options for bass players, for lot less money. I have the live pack with a set of T1s. They are OK, but I'd rather take a better monitor with a decent aux feed over the T1s with the live pack (this all depends on the desk of course). For example, check out a 1964 quad. [url="http://www.custom-inearmonitors.co.uk/iems/1964-ears-1964-Qi-quad-driver-custom-in-ear-monitors.php"]http://www.custom-in...ar-monitors.php[/url] Seriously, spend half an hour or so reading through this whole thread. I reckon it gives you the best information that you can find on the net. You are looking 260 + 130ish (factoring in impressions cost) for a set of Shure 535s with sleeves. 110 quid short of a full on custom (you can normally wangle free imps) with the treble, mid and dual lows that you really need. I know it's 110 quid but the difference between custom and universals is night and day and easily worth 110 for the comfort and perfect fit which gives you the uber clarity and thumping bass that you don't get with an ill-fitting universal. They will never fall out when you are performing... and above all, they are as cool as.... ...and you can't put a price on that.

Nothing beats customs but if you don't have problems with universals and don't want to throw yourself into the world of custom IEMs, the Shure range is actually pretty good. You have to pay serious money (circa 1k+) on IEMs to get as good as a great set of on ears (width of soundstage is always cited as a problem) - but not many people want to sport the Paul Gilbert look on stage!

I would happily endorse barefaced cabs. I don't know what everybody is on about.

Using one monitor in your ear is bad idea - its a surefire way to get hearing damage very quickly as you over compensate the monitor ear and end up blasting your ears. Ideally you should be routing everything you want to hear through IEMs. Have you tried the wedge route or one of those on micstand monitors. I've said it numerous times in the thread, you can't do good IEM on the cheap. Woodinblack - Drop tonyf a line. He uses LD systems stuff (not entirely sure which one) that is a lot cheaper than the Shure and Sennheiser monitoring systems mentioned. Maybe for a little more money you can stretch to the MEI 1. Anyway, ask Tony, I've never heard one - we keen meaning to have a shoot out but various situations have prevented so far! You can always put am ambient mic pointing at the band and send that only through the aux and not fog if the singer needs to hear more of the band. Depends how good the inears are at blocking out the sound. Wireless mics and inears can be run simultaneously as long as there is enough space in the spectrum in which they are operating to run without running into intermodulation problems. In band 70 you can expect to run 3 or 4 wireless devices. In channel 38, (paid band), you can typically run to 8 devices and maybe 9 if you are willing to risk a little robustness (of course, there are now devices that can be run on very low transmission levels and you can cram many of those into a very small piece of the spectrum... but they tend to be very, very pricey).

If you are using them for stage use, they are pretty much as good as anything else you can get in the price range - there's the IE8s from Sennheiser too... which are meant to have have a very deep bass but I am yet to find anybody who can fit them in their ears without them falling out.

What desk are you using?

Look at getting some Shure 315s... ...and http://www.meelec.com/Sport_Fi_M6_s/436.htm For the gym. Don't be put off with the price - they are superb. At least you won't be bummed (as much) if they get destroyed through TVs/sweat.

Those blocks!! Yum!

Absolutely - that white bass is a complete tarts bass. You don't have to turn all the LEDs on - you can just have the side lights... or turn them all off as Pete correctly says. That bass was ordered especially for the gigs that I am doing. Lots of functions and weddings where stuff like that is seen as a bit of fun. Being on a completely dark stage with just the LEDs on does get people interested - the LEDs are definitely for the audience and not for me. As I said earlier, pub gigs and this bass are probably not appropriate. Can I play better with LEDs on? Absolutely not. If you can't do it on a bass without LEDs, a LED loaded bass isn't going to help you! It's all about the right time and place. (Some may argue that there is never an appropriate time and place!!)

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1423609897' post='2687118'] .... out of interest... what make it stand out - I'm thinking in comparison to other similar 3 way designs like the ACME or Barefaced Big Baby? [/quote] the build of it alone smacked seven shades out of... well... any other bass cab. I suspect things could have been different if the single 12 came first too. Not being "small footprint, super light" was probably the achilles heel...

couldn't sit for days...

Nice bass at a crazy price. That Aguilar modded MM... wow

I should add that there is a definitely a right time and place for LEDs.

[quote name='Misdee' timestamp='1423335886' post='2683720'] In the real world LEDs are unnecessary, from a playing point of view at least.It seems crass (and rather uncool) to be so focussed on flashy appearances. [/quote] If you're gonna be a twat, then wear a big hat!

[quote name='WhiteNGold' timestamp='1423251792' post='2682903'] I'm interested to know if the fretboard needs to be removed to install them...my PDN Stingray has a lacquered neck & fretboard join so that worries me... [/quote] If Martin Simms does it, then no, the fretboard isn't removed.

[quote name='paul_5' timestamp='1423523162' post='2686040'] Why no firewire? [/quote] With a name like that, I can see why they didn't want to take any chances...

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1423482316' post='2685193'] maybe they were too good..?? [/quote] Woop!

I can't ever see it catching on... Except for the most diva of divas. As you say, problem that didn't exist. Doesn't mean i wouldn't like to play with it!

Shame these cabs didn't break into the mainstream

No latency issues - it's Dante from desk. The unit just mixes on the fly. The positioning of the stereo image won't matter even if it's circa 10ms out which I highly doubt it will be anyway! Highly expensive but a great little gadget. Don't think it will be widely adopted though...

http://www.klang.com/en/ Interesting concept...

EBS HD350 is my fave amp of all time. Characteristics are typically super clean with the ability to deliver super highs in addition to bass. EQ is very versatile so you can make it a mud monster too. It's still packs a punch (it seems very efficient) at 4 ohms. With one of the larger EBS cabs - they are 4ohms (like a 410 or a 212 for example) they are perfectly loud to gig no problems. Don't be put off by the relative modest wattage. They deliver the beans very efficiently. HD350s typically go between 350 and 450 used.

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1423134883' post='2681131'] Just plug in and fire it up? [/quote] Exactly ;-)