In Ear Monitors - help needed...

[EBS_freak]

5 minutes ago, stingrayPete1977 said:

I threw the drummer a mix together at last night's gig, had a regular wedge on standby but we didn't need it, he's a convert, loved it! 

How he like the ZS10s?

[CameronJ]

Am I right in saying these ZS10s are a pretty significant upgrade from the Shure 215s? I had a pair of the Shures years ago but they crapped out on me. 

[intime-nick]

4 minutes ago, CameronJ said:

Am I right in saying these ZS10s are a pretty significant upgrade from the Shure 215s? I had a pair of the Shures years ago but they crapped out on me. 

yes, is the short answer - i have both and they aren't even in the same ballpark
they aren't the most accurate sounding universal IEMs but have headroom where it counts and sound good on a gig (maybe not for critical istening perhaps).  i always take mine to gigs in case someone needs a pair (with new tips !).  for the money - i think they're great

the supplied tips are not to my personal liking so i got some memory foam ones from amazon (i think) and they sealed a lot better but some people find the std. ones OK

Edited January 6, 2019 by intime-nick

[EBS_freak]

25 minutes ago, intime-nick said:

yes, is the short answer - i have both and they aren't even in the same ballpark
they aren't the most accurate sounding universal IEMs but have headroom where it counts and sound good on a gig (maybe not for critical istening perhaps).  i always take mine to gigs in case someone needs a pair (with new tips !).  for the money - i think they're great

the supplied tips are not to my personal liking so i got some memory foam ones from amazon (i think) and they sealed a lot better but some people find the std. ones OK

Nailed it - for bass players, headroom on the gig is where it’s at. You may prefer the Shure for listening to music - as it’s got a more honest frequency response... (not as hard to tune as it’s only a single driver) - but the extended lows of the ZS10s should be immediately apparent.

Edited January 6, 2019 by EBS_freak

[CameronJ]

*Ahem*

Where were we? Ah yes...

1 hour ago, intime-nick said:

yes, is the short answer - i have both and they aren't even in the same ballpark
they aren't the most accurate sounding universal IEMs but have headroom where it counts and sound good on a gig (maybe not for critical istening perhaps).

 

1 hour ago, EBS_freak said:

Nailed it - for bass players, headroom on the gig is where it’s at. You may prefer the Shure for listening to music - as it’s got a more honest frequency response...

Good to know. The vast majority of my “aural hours” are spent just listening to recorded music so if they aren’t great for that they’re a no-go. I definitely want a set which excels at critical, casual and live instrument monitoring applications so perhaps the ZS10s are out for me, despite the low cost risk to try them out. Need to give Custom IEMs a call tomorrow methinks.

[intime-nick]

As with all these things, you’d have to try them to see if you liked them (and whilst they are pretty cheap, it’s still something you have to take a chance on)

i personally quite like them for listening to bass-heavy music - I’m most definitely no audiophile and they work for that genre of music for me (I wouldn’t mix or set up a Heilx patch on them though).  I still think they are a great way to get into IEMs, combined with a Behringer P1 and a custom stereo cable from OBBM, they will give you a good insight into the slippery slope of IEM usage 😉😉

having said all that - no matter how good the tips seal on a universal, they will never match the audio joy of a custom moulded IEM and I only wish I’d done it sooner. 

Edited January 6, 2019 by intime-nick

[andysg42]

Evening Russ . Had a fun day 😜. Q— Shure Glx d4r any good or am I better off saving for the Sennheiser g4 500 guitar wireless system. Regarding my Roxanne’s it’s just the left one that keeps popping out ! So just use acrylic nail varnish to build up the affected area ? . Speaking for a lot of people on this post , can’t thank you enough for all your help and advice Russ 🙏🏼🍺🍺

[stingrayPete1977]

1 hour ago, EBS_freak said:

 

All I am saying, all those who have transferred to IEMs... who are prepared to give them up?

Nope and taking an amp just for one member of the band to hear won't be happening either, as soon as we're all on ears I think my amps will be redundant, turns out a pair of AAA batteries have more heft than any amp/cab I've ever tried! 

[Rich]

Ok, as requested I've had a tidyup and removed the argumentative non-contributions. Valuable and informative topics/discussions like this one are part of what makes this place so good. Please let's not spoil it with petty nonsense. Can I suggest that people use PMs in future if they want to have a handbag fight? 

So. As you were.

[EBS_freak]

Cheers Rich.

 

1 hour ago, CameronJ said:

*Ahem*

Where were we? Ah yes...

 

Good to know. The vast majority of my “aural hours” are spent just listening to recorded music so if they aren’t great for that they’re a no-go. I definitely want a set which excels at critical, casual and live instrument monitoring applications so perhaps the ZS10s are out for me, despite the low cost risk to try them out. Need to give Custom IEMs a call tomorrow methinks.

The ZS10s are well worth it for the money. You may listen to them and think that they are sonically amazing (I have some friends that think they are). It’s the same as when you get IEM threads and folks say that 215s are amazing and you’ll never want for anything else... well, that all depends upon what their benchmark is! For the money, the ZS10s should be in everybody’s gig bag - as a primary IEM, or as a backup down the line.

In reality, if you want critical listening, you’d be better off buying some over the ears for that type of listening and some IEMs for live use. The amount of money you need to spend on IEMs to get the same level of performance as an over ear... probably 4 times the amount. That’s the trade off for going small!

If you are going to CIEM company, do make the time to sit and try them all out - it’s the best thing you can do to understand the differences that are talked about in this thread!

[EBS_freak]

14 hours ago, andysg42 said:

Evening Russ . Had a fun day 😜. Q— Shure Glx d4r any good or am I better off saving for the Sennheiser g4 500 guitar wireless system. Regarding my Roxanne’s it’s just the left one that keeps popping out ! So just use acrylic nail varnish to build up the affected area ? . Speaking for a lot of people on this post , can’t thank you enough for all your help and advice Russ 🙏🏼🍺🍺

This is a difficult one... because the Sennheiser stuff (100/300/500) is all compander based (being analogue). In reality, it’ll probably be Ok because you are probably doing a HPF to take out some of the lows on your bass anyway, especially if using subs... but my view is I’d rather the bass got there as intended in the first place and I choose what happens to the low frequencies at the desk for FOH. My vocal mics are all EW500 G3 and have proven to be superb though.

GLX is digital (full range, no compander) but on 2.4ghz which means it’s more prone to interference and personally, I don’t like the inbuilt batteries. I’d rather have something that I can nip down the petrol station and get fully charged batteries for incase I forgot to charge the inbuilt batteries. Therefore I would be more likely to go for the Line6 equivalent to give me the AA option. In reality, unless you are playing venues that have a lot of WiFi going on, you are going to be ok 99% of the time. When I was running a Sony DWZ, I only had troubles at 2 venues - 1 which was a conference based hotel that had some serious amounts of WiFi going on - and the other when I was doing a broadcast in a tv studio... which didn’t really come as a surprise given the amount of stuff they had running. That was 2 gigs in around 300 that I was using the Sony for... so hardly the end of the world.

If you want to go “pro”, digital and get onto a channel 38 frequency, I think the QLXD is probably the cheapest way about doing it but still going to set you back around a grand (maybe slightly over) per channel. I went ULXD - but back then QLXD was not out.

So if you were to push me as to what to do if you are looking at keeping to a budget... well I’d probably go Line6 G5/75 or something along those lines and if I get interference at a gig, well, there’s always a cable.

As you probably know, my ULXD had to go back to Shure to be repaired - that just cost me £300... that would buy something Line 6 based Im sure. It’s certainly something to consider when dropping large amounts of cash on wireless. My other half runs a v75 (headset) on her spin classes and it’s proven to be a great piece of kit. Anyway, which ever way you go, the costly bit is going to be getting away from 2.4 if you think that is important to you.

Funnily enough, out of all the wireless I’ve got, it would be the ULXD, the most expensive unit, that failed! Argh!

So to wrap up... err... it depends!

As for the Roxannes and acrylic build up - Id get the acrylic added and seamlessly polished in by JH... I’ve never personally adjusted any IEMs with err nail polish!

Edited January 7, 2019 by EBS_freak

[Graham]

I've been looking at external routers for XR16, from what I've found on Google, dual band 5ghz seems to be the way to go (I'm not very clued up on IT matters though)

Would this be a good bet?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B06X1CHFJ5/ref=asc_df_B06X1CHFJ557903292/?tag=googshopuk-21&creative=22122&creativeASIN=B06X1CHFJ5&linkCode=df0&hvadid=205210909091&hvpos=1o2&hvnetw=g&hvrand=4223867372370295799&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1006692&hvtargid=aud-543776533562%3Apla-405706062384&th=1&psc=1

Whilst the singer will be pleased to sort out the wireless issues, he wont want to spend a lot of money, as his microphones were nicked at Saturday's gig 😠

[EBS_freak]

2 hours ago, Graham said:

I've been looking at external routers for XR16, from what I've found on Google, dual band 5ghz seems to be the way to go (I'm not very clued up on IT matters though)

Would this be a good bet?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B06X1CHFJ5/ref=asc_df_B06X1CHFJ557903292/?tag=googshopuk-21&creative=22122&creativeASIN=B06X1CHFJ5&linkCode=df0&hvadid=205210909091&hvpos=1o2&hvnetw=g&hvrand=4223867372370295799&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1006692&hvtargid=aud-543776533562%3Apla-405706062384&th=1&psc=1

Whilst the singer will be pleased to sort out the wireless issues, he wont want to spend a lot of money, as his microphones were nicked at Saturday's gig 😠

That would do it.

[Graham]

Cheers 😀

[EBS_freak]

16 hours ago, stingrayPete1977 said:

Nope and taking an amp just for one member of the band to hear won't be happening either, as soon as we're all on ears I think my amps will be redundant, turns out a pair of AAA batteries have more heft than any amp/cab I've ever tried! 

Ha! Be careful, your playing may turn to stinky poo or something if we are led to believe all that we read.

So what happens to the Genz collection now? Mind you, I'm guessing you'll be keeping at least some of it for those ad hoc gigs you may get asked to do. Next step... custom IEMs. I know you'll say, nah, happy with the ZS10s... but I remember you saying that about 4 string Stingrays    

I'm intrigued - so presuming that you used your split bass monitor channel, what EQ and processing have you got going - or have you not got to that bit yet? Is that whats being sorted out at the tech rehearsal?

As for heft, I've got another project planned this year...

Edited January 7, 2019 by EBS_freak

[stingrayPete1977]

It wasn't even off the split channels just like a wedge mix from the same as FOH, yeah that's your task to mix everyone fully. 

I'll keep the dinosaur rigs for now. 

[EBS_freak]

21 minutes ago, stingrayPete1977 said:

It wasn't even off the split channels just like a wedge mix from the same as FOH, yeah that's your task to mix everyone fully. 

I'll keep the dinosaur rigs for now. 

Oh yeah - stupid me... you did tell me. Yeah, the split mix should move it up a notch or two again.

The dinorigs(tm)

[GrahamT]

Hi Guys,

Has anyone got experience of the JTS SIEM111 iem system? It is channel 38, metal bodied receiver, seems to have all the required technical stuff (to my untrained eye) and is priced at £460 from Sound Induction Systems - https://soundinduction.co.uk/jts-siem-111t-siem-111r-in-ear-monitoring-system-channel-38.html

What do you think about it please?

Ta

 

[EBS_freak]

I don't have any experience of JTS directly - personally, I wouldn't recommend anything but a Sennheiser EW300 or Shure PSM300 (with pro pack) as a benchmark (I'd take the Sennheiser over the Shure for the flexibility with the RF tuning - you don't get the same sort of flexibility until you get to the PSM900) but I do appreciate thats quite a price hike over the JTS.

I know that doesn't help you in regard to the level of the JTS perfomance - but the compander is such an important aspect of a wireless IEM system, especially for a bass player (e.g. the one on the PSM200 is so poor, it doesn't do any favours for people looking to get into IEMs as it eats all the bass and makes the top end really harsh... and you have no option but stereo) that I would say you should stay wired, or save up to push for a EW300. I think that everybody that has bought an EW300 on my recommendation will be able to confirm their performance is very, very good... but having tried other systems in the past, well, they weren't for me.

Are you wired at the moment (both from an IEM point of view and a bass point of view), or are you looking at getting into IEMs? The reason I say this, is that if you have a fixed budget, staying wired and investing in a decent set of customs will ultimately score you a better solution...?

EDIT: just remembered, you have just bought some ZS10s so I guess you are now looking at moving your IEM solution on.

Edited January 7, 2019 by EBS_freak

[GrahamT]

2 hours ago, EBS_freak said:

I don't have any experience of JTS directly - personally, I wouldn't recommend anything but a Sennheiser EW300 or Shure PSM300 (with pro pack) as a benchmark (I'd take the Sennheiser over the Shure for the flexibility with the RF tuning - you don't get the same sort of flexibility until you get to the PSM900) but I do appreciate thats quite a price hike over the JTS.

I know that doesn't help you in regard to the level of the JTS perfomance - but the compander is such an important aspect of a wireless IEM system, especially for a bass player (e.g. the one on the PSM200 is so poor, it doesn't do any favours for people looking to get into IEMs as it eats all the bass and makes the top end really harsh... and you have no option but stereo) that I would say you should stay wired, or save up to push for a EW300. I think that everybody that has bought an EW300 on my recommendation will be able to confirm their performance is very, very good... but having tried other systems in the past, well, they weren't for me.

Are you wired at the moment (both from an IEM point of view and a bass point of view), or are you looking at getting into IEMs? The reason I say this, is that if you have a fixed budget, staying wired and investing in a decent set of customs will ultimately score you a better solution...?

EDIT: just remembered, you have just bought some ZS10s so I guess you are now looking at moving your IEM solution on.

I have been using a second hand, ex-rental  Shure PSM700 iem unit for the past year. It always sounded tinny and crackled and popped occasionally and it burned through PP3 9v batteries at an alarming rate. It finally failed on me at the NYE gig so I am looking to replace it.

[GrahamT]

Next question - I have tracked down a supplier who has access to a limited stock of Sennheiser EW300 G3 iem units @ £792, which is £47 cheaper than the similarly specced G4 units.

Is it worth paying the extra for the newest variant?

[EBS_freak]

1 hour ago, GrahamT said:

Next question - I have tracked down a supplier who has access to a limited stock of Sennheiser EW300 G3 iem units @ £792, which is £47 cheaper than the similarly specced G4 units.

Is it worth paying the extra for the newest variant?

Performance wise, there’s nothing between them. The only upgrade so to speak is the case and the menu system. The RF and audio performance remains the same. I would pay the 47 quid based on the fact that the resale if you ever chose to, will be higher on the G4 - and will make back that 47 quid no problem.

[stingrayPete1977]

3 minutes ago, EBS_freak said:

 I would pay the 47 quid based on the fact that I'm a massive gear slut. 

[GrahamT]

7 minutes ago, EBS_freak said:

Performance wise, there’s nothing between them. The only upgrade so to speak is the case and the menu system. The RF and audio performance remains the same. I would pay the 47 quid based on the fact that the resale if you ever chose to, will be higher on the G4 - and will make back that 47 quid no problem.

Many thanks. You have confirmed my thinking.

 

 

[GrahamT]

4 minutes ago, stingrayPete1977 said:

Brill!

Edited January 7, 2019 by GrahamT