In Ear Monitors - help needed...

[EBS_freak]

Tony's been buying....... looking forward to your feedback man!

[mr zed]

Mr Zed has also been buying...........gone for a secondhand Sennheiser EW300 G2 model with a secondhand pair of Westone UM2's to get me started. All look brand new and sound brilliant. Total cost was £450 which to mind mind is a budget price for a quality system. Agreed, it is not the latest up-to-date kit but it sounds great to me and does the job extremely well. As money allows, i'll go for custom molded buds to further improve things (probably the 1964 quad drivers) but for the time being, i'm a happy bunny. Just wanted to say a huge thank you to Russ (EBS Freak) who really has gone above and beyond with advice on these threads and for the many detailed PM's we have exchanged which has put me right on the in-ear journey. Russ, you are a fine example of what makes basschat so good!

[tonyf]

[quote name='EBS_freak' timestamp='1384861648' post='2281485']
Tony's been buying....... looking forward to your feedback man!
[/quote]

I have :-)

With more of Russ's invaluable assistance over the past few weeks, I've made a start on putting together our IEM solution.

My band consists of two main vocalists, a keyboard player, a guitarist, the drummer and me. Our keyboard player and drummer are now going wired IEMs, both of them having purchased some Shure SE215s as a toe into the earbud market. Both seem really happy for the moment but intend on investing on better buds as and when funds are available.

With the sale of a bass a few weeks ago, I had some spare cash so went out and purchased a LD Systems MEI1000X with a couple of receivers. The plan is for me and the guitarist to try these out over the next couple of gigs and iron out any problems. The MEI1000X allows you to run in mono, stereo or use the "focus mode" which allows one to pan from one side (left or right) into a centre mono mix. This means we can potentially use the one transmitter for two separate mixes.

Well, that's the theory. We need to have a think about how we set it up as we're currently limited with AUX outs on the desk so it maybe that me and Paul (the guitarist) share the same mix in focus mode (from left) and then the vocalists share the same mix in focus mode (right). That'd be a compromise for the moment (until we upgrade the desk) meaning we'd just need to buy a couple of more receivers for the vocalists to use the single transmitter. Dunno, we'll see if that can work if we can get me and Paul happy with the one mix.

In terms of buds, I've had a pair of Shure e2cs for a few years which have given good service with my iPhone but I wanted something better for the IEM solution. Russ has done wonderful work in making me realise that it's a whole world of wonder in choosing buds but I've had to really limit myself with how much to spend. Perhaps at some point in the future I'll splurge out on some serious custom molds kit but in the meantime, I've managed to score a pair of Shure SE535s which seem to be pretty amazing compared to the e2cs.

The triple drivers in the SE535s really do make a world of difference compared to the previous single driver pair. I guess it's all relative though, when you compare lesser spec'd monitors to higher spec'd ones. Hence the reason why I've told Russ I REALLY MUST NOT listen to anything else now for a while after splashing a load of cash on the SE535s.

I've got a small Mackie 12 channel mixer at home so have tested the system with a mic, bass and some music from my iPhone. it's surprising how much easier already it is to sing with the isolation in the phones and my vocals properly mixed into the foldback. I've always struggled at some gigs to pitch as the monitors are generally prioritised for the vocalists. However, with wearing IEMs, this seems to be a positive move for monitoring my bvs and bass.

Looking forward to gigging this weekend to see how it all hangs together in the "real world"

Yet again Russ, thanks for the invaluable help and I think from this point forward, you should now be known as IEM_Freak

Cheers
T

Edited November 19, 2013 by tonyf

[EBS_freak]

Thanks for the name check!

Glad that you have sorted yourself out - that's a great deal you've scored for the money! The EW300 will serve you well I am sure... nice find.

Have you gigged with them yet? How do you find them if you have? A revelation?

I think the 1964s are perfect - a quad with double bass drivers at a great price (not cheap but very competitively priced compared to the competition)

Good luck and let us know how you get on!

Edited November 19, 2013 by EBS_freak

[stingrayPete1977]

I wish I had filmed you and Greg at your gig so as to let people here understand why you are all wireless or maybe just clueless
PAT testing and food later then, see you in a bit

[EBS_freak]

And thanks to Tony too!

The sad thing is, I'm kinda addicted to this stuff... as Tony has no doubt found out! (My wallet hates it when my brain goes into IEM mode!)

The good news for you Tony, is my latest order won't fit in your ears.

Besides, I'm more interested in the case

Edited November 19, 2013 by EBS_freak

[EBS_freak]

I wish I had filmed you and Greg at your gig so as to let people here understand why you are all wireless or maybe just clueless
PAT testing and food later then, see you in a bit

Clueless. Yeah - that's more like it!

Yup. Looking forward to it! (Well, not so much the PAT testing element, more the food element and waitresses that look like your ex-girlfriends...!) Edited August 31, 2018 by EBS_freak

[stingrayPete1977]

Food is always good, waitress thing just a bit weird. l8rs

[EBS_freak]

Food is always good, waitress thing just a bit weird. l8rs

You're not wrong. Freaks me out. Edited August 31, 2018 by EBS_freak

[tonyf]

[quote name='EBS_freak' timestamp='1384868051' post='2281590']
Besides, I'm more interested in the case
[/quote]

The plugs are amazing but that case is truly awesome in it's own right. There's nothing so sexy as shiny carbon fibre. Yummy!

[EBS_freak]

The plugs are amazing but that case is truly awesome in it's own right. There's nothing so sexy as shiny carbon fibre. Yummy!

I just hope that the whole thing lives up to my expectations - otherwise I've made a very costly mistake! Edited August 31, 2018 by EBS_freak

[mr zed]

[quote name='EBS_freak' timestamp='1384866025' post='2281551']
Thanks for the name check!

Glad that you have sorted yourself out - that's a great deal you've scored for the money! The EW300 will serve you well I am sure... nice find.

Have you gigged with them yet? How do you find them if you have? A revelation?

I think the 1964s are perfect - a quad with double bass drivers at a great price (not cheap but very competitively priced compared to the competition)

Good luck and let us know how you get on!
[/quote]

Only had a chance to test that everything works ok before Mrs Zed snaffled said newly acquired kit, wrapped it in shiney red & white paper with pictures of reindeers on and proudly stated "these are for Christmas". Bit harsh if you ask me - I mean they're not even a toy are they? So, these will be used in anger for the first time on our new years eve gig. Looking forward to it, and i'll report back early in the new year.

[mr zed]

[quote name='tonyf' timestamp='1384865181' post='2281535']
I have :-)

With more of Russ's invaluable assistance over the past few weeks, I've made a start on putting together our IEM solution.

My band consists of two main vocalists, a keyboard player, a guitarist, the drummer and me. Our keyboard player and drummer are now going wired IEMs, both of them having purchased some Shure SE215s as a toe into the earbud market. Both seem really happy for the moment but intend on investing on better buds as and when funds are available.

With the sale of a bass a few weeks ago, I had some spare cash so went out and purchased a LD Systems MEI1000X with a couple of receivers. The plan is for me and the guitarist to try these out over the next couple of gigs and iron out any problems. The MEI1000X allows you to run in mono, stereo or use the "focus mode" which allows one to pan from one side (left or right) into a centre mono mix. This means we can potentially use the one transmitter for two separate mixes.

Well, that's the theory. We need to have a think about how we set it up as we're currently limited with AUX outs on the desk so it maybe that me and Paul (the guitarist) share the same mix in focus mode (from left) and then the vocalists share the same mix in focus mode (right). That'd be a compromise for the moment (until we upgrade the desk) meaning we'd just need to buy a couple of more receivers for the vocalists to use the single transmitter. Dunno, we'll see if that can work if we can get me and Paul happy with the one mix.

In terms of buds, I've had a pair of Shure e2cs for a few years which have given good service with my iPhone but I wanted something better for the IEM solution. Russ has done wonderful work in making me realise that it's a whole world of wonder in choosing buds but I've had to really limit myself with how much to spend. Perhaps at some point in the future I'll splurge out on some serious custom molds kit but in the meantime, I've managed to score a pair of Shure SE535s which seem to be pretty amazing compared to the e2cs.

The triple drivers in the SE535s really do make a world of difference compared to the previous single driver pair. I guess it's all relative though, when you compare lesser spec'd monitors to higher spec'd ones. Hence the reason why I've told Russ I REALLY MUST NOT listen to anything else now for a while after splashing a load of cash on the SE535s.

I've got a small Mackie 12 channel mixer at home so have tested the system with a mic, bass and some music from my iPhone. it's surprising how much easier already it is to sing with the isolation in the phones and my vocals properly mixed into the foldback. I've always struggled at some gigs to pitch as the monitors are generally prioritised for the vocalists. However, with wearing IEMs, this seems to be a positive move for monitoring my bvs and bass.

Looking forward to gigging this weekend to see how it all hangs together in the "real world"

Yet again Russ, thanks for the invaluable help and I think from this point forward, you should now be known as IEM_Freak

Cheers
T
[/quote]

Congrats on the new system Tony - glad it's all starting to come together for you. Let us know how you get on with your IEMs after your gig this weekend.

[tonyf]

[quote name='EBS_freak' timestamp='1384878421' post='2281779']
I just hope that the whole thing lives up to my expectations - otherwise I've made a very costly mistake!
[/quote]

If it doesn't, at least you've got a totally bangin' shiny carbon fibre small snack box

[tonyf]

[quote name='mr zed' timestamp='1384884844' post='2281887']
Only had a chance to test that everything works ok before Mrs Zed snaffled said newly acquired kit, wrapped it in shiney red & white paper with pictures of reindeers on and proudly stated "these are for Christmas".
[/quote]

Genius! I like the cut of your jib goodly sire!

Wondering if I can convince Mrs TF to allow me extra "christmas pressies" this year?

Edited November 20, 2013 by tonyf

[EBS_freak]

I shall fill it full of Skittles.

[EBS_freak]

So Tony... The survey says...?

[tonyf]

Russ, as you probably know from my FB feed, the IEMs were fantastic. Well chuffed.

Took a bit of setting up. As already discussed, we've got limited outputs on the desk at the moment so in terms of individual monitoring, it's not exactly as "tailored" as we'd like. There's two AUX outs as well as a monitor out so the monitor out fed the wedges at the front for the vocalists, one aux fed the IEM via the drummer's wedge and Brian, the keyboard player, had the other for his wired IEM.

The first problem that became immediately apparent was that there was interference between the Sennheiser EW172 transmitter for the bass and the LD Systems MEI1000X. Both were using different frequencies, the Sennheiser on 861.100Mhz and the IEM transmitter on 863.500Mhz. However the bass receiver was picking up some intermittent signal. Once the bass transmitter was switched on though, this seemed to resolve the issue, probably because of the strength of the signal from the bass pack and the squelch setting being altered.

Myself and Paul (the guitarist) used the IEMs. It took a little while to balance the output from the wedge into the LD transmitter. I couldn't get any output (but Paul could) until I discovered I was in "focus" mode on the receiver. A quick tweak and it was working.

I then found a big problem with running both the IEM and the bass transmitter pack next to each other. During the first couple of level checks, there was a load of background noise in my IEM and also some dropout that Paul the guitarist wasn't getting. Didn't take long to realise that the bass transmitter was kicking out interference into the receiver of the IEM. I turned my transmitter off and it was fine. Again, changing channels sorted this out.

After that, it was then just a case of launching into the next sound check tune and wow, I had a grin from ear to ear. It was just brilliant, I could hear everything. Tight, controlled, punchy, the Shure SE535 buds with the triple drivers sounded fantastic. Paul couldn't get his hat on, he was just bowled over with how good it sounded, even though he was using my old Shure e2cs.

Admittedly, it took a few numbers of the first set to get used to hearing the set differently but TBH, I didn't really feel any of that "detatchment" that people talk about. There was enough of the crowd coming back through the vocal mics during the breaks between songs to keep me engaged with the audience and we've already discussed having an ambient (or two) mic to help with this.

Following on from this, Paul and his wife Jo (the singer) are already ordering another LD Systems MEI1000X and choosing their buds, the initial choices are probably Shure SE215s as starters but having discussed with them the options (following our chats) they'll probably be looking at upgrading in the future.

Almost certainly, the wedding on Saturday will almost certainly be ALL IEM for Second City Soul ;-)

So glad I made the leap of faith and now wondering if all that money spent the Berg cab was justified now that I'm only hearing my bass through the buds! lol

[EBS_freak]

Wahey - sounds like a bit of a result then! It's a revelation isn't it? I just don't understand why anybody wouldn't go down this route. You are at the entry point and you are already noticing the benefits (it's night and day isn't it?) - from this point forward, your wallet is going to hate you but things just get better and better! If you choose to invest in a capable digital desk as you've suggested you are considering, things will get really mind blowing!

OK - the interference doesn't entirely surprise me but you have seemed to worked that out. Just a note about proximity of devices and the like - you'll find the more distance you can put between stuff the better, so for example, I run my wireless IEM on my left above my back pocket - means I can easily drop my left hand down to adjust volume. I don't know where you put your bass transmitter but I have mine on my strap on the right hand side of my body positioned as far as it can be from the IEM receiver. Seems to work nicely. (PS, I use a Neotech pouch - they are actually spot on despite looking pretty meh in the pictures you find online).

The other thing is, there actually needs to be a bit of space between your transmitter and receiver - if you are ever playing on a stage where you are standing on top of your amp and your receivers/transmitters units are right next to the ones on your body, you can get RF overload and it will cause you grief. Nothing which can't be remedied by moving the units further apart but worth knowing about all the same. So this, together with a smart choice of frequencies (e.g. make sure you are on different channels - I don't know if the LD systems reports it's frequencies in terms of channels or not?) you should be ok. Channel 70 is a bit of a squeeze (only 2 chunks of bandwidth) so don't expect to push the whole band out on wireless ears and mics if you are thinking of going that way.

Anyway, it sounds like the triple drivers are doing if for you - I think you have made a wise choice there, I certainly wouldn't be pushing anything less than a triple if you are a drummer or a bassplayer - will be interesting to see how Mr Zed gets on with his dual drivers - Mr Zed - just remember to get them as far as you can into your ears to maximise that bass. Mind you, I am a bit of a bass junkie so like to "feel" the bass in my skull from my IEMs.

The isolation issue that is talked about has never really bothered me that much. It's a bit odd having no spacial awareness - e.g. when you move about, everything stays the same volume - but it sounds like you are similar to my setup. With all those open mics, even if they are great at rear rejection, you'll get a good sense of audience presence but nothing that will damage your mix.

As for Paul and Jo upgrading their drivers, they may be ok with some basic IEMs - a lot of guys (e.g. singers) can get away with a single or dual driver in their ears (primarily because they have their vocals forward in the mix and the band mix quite low - the opposite for what we lowenders want). I've found that it's the bass players and drummers that crave the headroom and lowend. Also, keys guys may crave some more if they happen to play alot in the low bass range - e.g. synth bass, piano, hammond sweeps and the like - they are pretty demanding on IEMs, especially if you are running with no compressors.

As for the Berg - well, it's a nice cab. I haven't offloaded my cabs because I never know when I have to do a dep gig where in ears are just not an option. Plus some of the gigs that I am doing, I need a lot of speaker real estate for the visual impact. But yeah, nowadays, it's all about the PA doing all the work. The quieter the stage, the better your IEMs! For example, I'm playing Battersea Evolution next month - will have 4 2x10 cabs on stage. None of them will actually be plugged in - my EBS head will be acting as a pre to the PA... and thats about it. The only sound on stage will be the drums and guitar amp.

Enjoy your IEM journey Tony - and try not to become as addicted to it as I am.

PS - guess who bought a Sennheiser IEM system at the weekend? Shall be able to do a PS900/EW300 comparison for you! (Want to try out the LD system one day too!)

Oh... and yeah, I've started on the next bit of tech for the show... :-p

Edited November 25, 2013 by EBS_freak

[tonyf]

[quote name='EBS_freak' timestamp='1385382823' post='2287504']
OK - the interference doesn't entirely surprise me but you have seemed to worked that out. Just a note about proximity of devices and the like - you'll find the more distance you can put between stuff the better, so for example, I run my wireless IEM on my left above my back pocket - means I can easily drop my left hand down to adjust volume. I don't know where you put your bass transmitter but I have mine on my strap on the right hand side of my body positioned as far as it can be from the IEM receiver. Seems to work nicely. (PS, I use a Neotech pouch - they are actually spot on despite looking pretty meh in the pictures you find online).

The other thing is, there actually needs to be a bit of space between your transmitter and receiver - if you are ever playing on a stage where you are standing on top of your amp and your receivers/transmitters units are right next to the ones on your body, you can get RF overload and it will cause you grief. Nothing which can't be remedied by moving the units further apart but worth knowing about all the same. So this, together with a smart choice of frequencies (e.g. make sure you are on different channels - I don't know if the LD systems reports it's frequencies in terms of channels or not?) you should be ok. Channel 70 is a bit of a squeeze (only 2 chunks of bandwidth) so don't expect to push the whole band out on wireless ears and mics if you are thinking of going that way.
[/quote]

Makes sense, the IEM receiver was on the left side of my belt whereas my guitar transmitter always sits in my back pocket (where the wallet goes for any pickpockets out there) on the right hand side. There would have been a bit of separation but probably not much. Will try and move it to the inside or breast pocket in my suit jacket on Saturday. Paul seemed not to suffer any issue but then again, he's using a Line6 G30 digital transmitter. Whilst I've used my Sennheiser for years, I guess changing to a G30, G50 or G90 could solve that problem but then it's a case of throwing money at a problem which can be fixed by a bit of experimentation and/or a frequency change. Besides which, I really wanna keep the wireless in the rack rather than on my pedal board where I'd have to then try and free up space and rework my signal layout. Anyway enough of that for the moment. If it ain't broke....

[quote name='EBS_freak' timestamp='1385382823' post='2287504']
As for Paul and Jo upgrading their drivers, they may be ok with some basic IEMs - a lot of guys (e.g. singers) can get away with a single or dual driver in their ears (primarily because they have their vocals forward in the mix and the band mix quite low - the opposite for what we lowenders want). I've found that it's the bass players and drummers that crave the headroom and lowend. Also, keys guys may crave some more if they happen to play alot in the low bass range - e.g. synth bass, piano, hammond sweeps and the like - they are pretty demanding on IEMs, especially if you are running with no compressors.
[/quote]

As we've often said, it's all relative at the moment. Paul LOVED my (single driver) e2cs so I'm guessing until he's tried anything better, him and Jo will probably be getting the 215s. Brian has these and seems happy too but I'll work on them to try and make them see sense and splurge out some serious wedge for serious buds. No doubt Jo will want some "BLING" plugs so I'll point her in your direction.


[quote name='EBS_freak' timestamp='1385382823' post='2287504']
PS - guess who bought a Sennheiser IEM system at the weekend? Shall be able to do a PS900/EW300 comparison for you! (Want to try out the LD system one day too!)
[/quote]

You're welcome to borrow my LD Systems wireless for a comparison when we've a bit of downtime in the New Year mate. I'll have a look in the diary later and give you a yell when there's three or four weeks of no gigs.

[quote name='EBS_freak' timestamp='1385382823' post='2287504']
Oh... and yeah, I've started on the next bit of tech for the show... :-p
[/quote]

Spill the beans!

[EBS_freak]

[quote name='tonyf' timestamp='1385387713' post='2287586']
Makes sense, the IEM receiver was on the left side of my belt whereas my guitar transmitter always sits in my back pocket (where the wallet goes for any pickpockets out there) on the right hand side. There would have been a bit of separation but probably not much. Will try and move it to the inside or breast pocket in my suit jacket on Saturday. Paul seemed not to suffer any issue but then again, he's using a Line6 G30 digital transmitter. Whilst I've used my Sennheiser for years, I guess changing to a G30, G50 or G90 could solve that problem but then it's a case of throwing money at a problem which can be fixed by a bit of experimentation and/or a frequency change. Besides which, I really wanna keep the wireless in the rack rather than on my pedal board where I'd have to then try and free up space and rework my signal layout. Anyway enough of that for the moment. If it ain't broke....
[/quote]

Breast pocket could be bad - don't want to ruin the lines of the dapper suits do you?! Talking of suits, despite our jackets being made of gig friendly, lightweight cotton, I'm still getting drenched! I think I need to replace the shirt - it seems to be encouraging far too much heat for my liking!

Anyway, running something on 2.4Ghz range for your bass is probably a good idea - especially for being digital alone - as it will remove the need for a compounder and give you back some of your bass that is being robbed by your analogue system. Good for front of house bass... but with IEMs, it depends whats happening compounder wise on your LD transmitter. I've done a lot of looking into wireless systems over the years - I'm like you, I like it all racked, which doesn't give you a lot of options at a sensible price point. I think about the cheapest "properly" rack mountable digital unit is the Line 6 G55. So about 300 quid and 45 quid for the rack ears. Otherwise, you are looking at getting the Sony DWZ Lavlier system (another few hundred quid on top when you have bought the rack ears - but to be fair, does packs extra features such as encryption) or getting something like a Stageclix, AT System 10, Shure GLX-D etc... but none of those will rack mount properly - they are all shelves and velcro jobbies. Have you got a dedicated tuner on your board? If so, you could sack it off and replace it with the Shure GLXD6. To be honest, if you are pleased with what you have in the Sennheiser, working out some friendly frequencies should get you there and keep your wallet happy. (Just be mindful some gigs may scupper your plans if they are RF noisy - we've had one or two environments where channel 70 gear has been a bit sketchy and in one case, when we had a PSM200 in the setup, completely useless. This was a big corporate show though, with loads of radio gear so it didn't come as too much of a surprise to me). Anyway, I use both my digital bass wireless and ears on channel 38 and they play nicely. Can't see why you can't do similar on channel 70 if you have enough clean bandwidth to play with.

[quote]
As we've often said, it's all relative at the moment. Paul LOVED my (single driver) e2cs so I'm guessing until he's tried anything better, him and Jo will probably be getting the 215s. Brian has these and seems happy too but I'll work on them to try and make them see sense and splurge out some serious wedge for serious buds. No doubt Jo will want some "BLING" plugs so I'll point her in your direction.
[/quote]

As you are probably aware, there's plenty of options when it comes to bling!! Rhinestone those badboys out! Ha ha. (Not my thing though!) Again, it's all relative as you say - but what I will say about IEMs is that they don't all sound better the more expensive you get. They all have their own characteristics and sound stage - you have to find the ones that suit you - you may find a quad suits you better than a sextet. It's all about finding the IEMs with the characteristics that you like - it may take you a while if you are really anal about finding your pefect IEMs. Mind you, if you want to keep budget under control, the best advice I can give, is that if you love the sound you are getting, don't start looking at other systems... that's when you start falling out of love with things... and other things start getting crazy expensive.

[quote]
You're welcome to borrow my LD Systems wireless for a comparison when we've a bit of downtime in the New Year mate. I'll have a look in the diary later and give you a yell when there's three or four weeks of no gigs.
[/quote]

That's could be quite interesting. Would be interesting to get them all together and do a shoot out. If the LD outperforms the Shure PSM200s, then that certainly worthy of a headline or two given the popularity of the PSM200 and it's performance (which in my opinion is pretty ropey)!

[quote]
Spill the beans!
[/quote]

A long way to go before the beans are spilt! It's going to take a fair bit of investment and a lot of time in preperation (which is a problem as I don't seem to have much time free at the moment!)

Edited November 25, 2013 by EBS_freak

[TPJ]

What is the relationship of Ohms on the IEM buds to output and sound quality? Looking at the IEMs on offer on the Thomann page, they seem to range quite a bit from around 15-17 ohms all the way up to 38 ohms.

[EBS_freak]

What is the relationship of Ohms on the IEM buds to output and sound quality? Looking at the IEMs on offer on the Thomann page, they seem to range quite a bit from around 15-17 ohms all the way up to 38 ohms.

In short, none. Sound quality is not related to ohms. Neither is output - you need to look at the sensitivity of the drivers AND the impedance. For example, if you had IEMs with a low impedance with low sensitivity, then your IEM with high impedence yet high sensitivity could be louder with the same power input. If you've got otherwise identical IEMs (e.g. same sensitivity) and the only variable is ohms, for the same power in, the IEMs with the lower impedance would be louder... how much... well, that depends... ...and just to make things a little more complex, the impedance changes with frequency...! Edited August 31, 2018 by EBS_freak

[EBS_freak]

Tony - read you fb post this morning. Your band has caught the bug... I can tell.

Still no sign of my customs yet... the wait is killing me!

[tonyf]

Yeah, absolutely. I blame you

I was never in doubt but I think getting Paul (the guitarist) on board at the last gig and having him play with the other receiver pack really helped me sell it to the band. He was absolutely convinced from the first song in the sound check. Of course it helps that me and Brian (the keyboardist) "get" the advantages of using IEM but to be fair, the others are more than open to making it work as it all helps. Funnily enough, as we'd turned down the backline a fair bit, Fiddy and Jo said they really benefited from having to not struggle with monitoring.

Paul and Jo have ordered another LD Systems MEI1000X so this should be delivered today for tomorrows gig. They've also got some Shure SE215s on the way through Brian (who works for Roland at PMT) and I've got a 2U rack at home which I'm planning to rack both transmitters in in order to make the setup easier.

I've been using the SE535's a lot at work and practicing with Amplitude in order to get used to them. Really enjoying them, admittedly I could have probably easily spent WAY more money on something "better" but for the moment, they're ticking all the boxes in terms of what I need. I appreciate what you say about sometimes spending 6 times the money won't always get you 6 times the quality/sound and it's all about finding something which works best for your ears.

What I have decided to buy is the molded plugs from the headphone company though which will work with the Shures. I think it's a worthwhile investment in order to get a really good isolated fit for the bottom end. Just about to give them a call to find out more.
[url="http://www.theheadphonecompany.co.uk/headphones/acs-customs-custom-made-moulded-earphone-sleeves.php"]http://www.theheadphonecompany.co.uk/headphones/acs-customs-custom-made-moulded-earphone-sleeves.php[/url]