In Ear Monitors - help needed...

[EBS_freak]

OK OK... so, here's my first impressions. They don't seem as thick in the bass - they are defo cleaner and more precise but maybe don't have the immediate weight of the ZS10s. Theres a roll off somewhere around 70 Hz I'd say, so I would tend to go for the ZS10s to have that weight in the kick and the sub. They are more revealing in the mids and treble - they seem more honest than the ZS10s but also bring on fatigue quicker. They are also a lot easier to drive - and consequently a lot louder... so defo watch your ear drums with these ones!

[stingrayPete1977]

I'll stick with the ZS10s then, that's saved me a few quid! 

[tonyf]

Russ taking one for the team again. How can our lug holes ever repay him?! 😂

[burno70]

Brill - thanks Mr EBS.

[Phil Starr]

Any advice please, I bought the ZS10's on the basis of advice here and they are everything offered, they sound very good if not exactly honest when properly seated but, and this is a deal breaker for me I can't get a seal that lasts. Don't suggest the foam plugs either, tried them too. I've had this problem with just about every other in ear and most ear plugs as well. The only ones that seem to work are the long skinny fittings on the ACS plugs. My ears are different sizes and it seems my ear canals are quite narrow. I  tried to fit the silicon ends from the ACS plugs to the ZS10's but the diameter of the ZS10 is too big, in fact I've realised the ZS10 won't take anything that fits my ears, they are already about the diameter of my ear canal so anything that goes on the outside won't work. Any suggestions of something smaller that might fit welcome.

[stingrayPete1977]

Great in ear mix tonight, even the guitarist is starting to like them now! 

Cheap foam tips off ebay held my KZs in all night although they do alter the sound compared to the standard silicone ones. 

[Lozz196]

We’ve been advised to try IEM, and without tracking through all 70+ pages could someone advise if they’ll work for us please. We play on multi-band bills, sometimes headlong, sometimes not, sometimes soundchecking sometimes not, with 15 minute changeover between bands. Is it doable, and if so in easy layman’s terms how would we do it?

[EBS_freak]

On 23/07/2019 at 17:14, Phil Starr said:

Any advice please, I bought the ZS10's on the basis of advice here and they are everything offered, they sound very good if not exactly honest when properly seated but, and this is a deal breaker for me I can't get a seal that lasts. Don't suggest the foam plugs either, tried them too. I've had this problem with just about every other in ear and most ear plugs as well. The only ones that seem to work are the long skinny fittings on the ACS plugs. My ears are different sizes and it seems my ear canals are quite narrow. I  tried to fit the silicon ends from the ACS plugs to the ZS10's but the diameter of the ZS10 is too big, in fact I've realised the ZS10 won't take anything that fits my ears, they are already about the diameter of my ear canal so anything that goes on the outside won't work. Any suggestions of something smaller that might fit welcome.

It sounds like you are in a similar position to me. Universals will fit me - but have a tendency to just fall out every now and again - which was the reason I first tried customs.

It may be the time to look at customs - but understand that that's quite an investment compared to a set of ZS10s. 

[Phil Starr]

5 hours ago, EBS_freak said:

It sounds like you are in a similar position to me. Universals will fit me - but have a tendency to just fall out every now and again - which was the reason I first tried customs.

It may be the time to look at customs - but understand that that's quite an investment compared to a set of ZS10s. 

I think that's right but I want proof of concept before I splash out that much. In rehearsal I'm loving ambient miking and I'm gradually adjusting to using the ACS plugs in gigs. One of the ZS10's will stay in place for a few minutes and the other ear maybe 20s, not even a whole song. I've some Sennheisers I use to listen to music with and they are better but I've always had problems with keeping anything in place in my ears especially when I start moving.

 

[pete.young]

Is there any possibility that these are real, and not fakes?

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/142816406026

[stingrayPete1977]

Could be worth taking a punt as long as you don't need them soon. 

[EBS_freak]

2 hours ago, pete.young said:

Is there any possibility that these are real, and not fakes?

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/142816406026

It’s a trick to get you into the auction page - select a earpiece in the drop down to get the proper pricing!

[EBS_freak]

6 hours ago, Phil Starr said:

I think that's right but I want proof of concept before I splash out that much. In rehearsal I'm loving ambient miking and I'm gradually adjusting to using the ACS plugs in gigs. One of the ZS10's will stay in place for a few minutes and the other ear maybe 20s, not even a whole song. I've some Sennheisers I use to listen to music with and they are better but I've always had problems with keeping anything in place in my ears especially when I start moving.

 

Maybe take a punt on a few different types of tips... you may find something that fits you a bit better. Otherwise it’s a leap of faith!

[Phil Starr]

Never been big on faith, plodding realism is more my thing

Thanks though

 

Edited August 5, 2019 by Phil Starr

[EBS_freak]

21 hours ago, Lozz196 said:

We’ve been advised to try IEM, and without tracking through all 70+ pages could someone advise if they’ll work for us please. We play on multi-band bills, sometimes headlong, sometimes not, sometimes soundchecking sometimes not, with 15 minute changeover between bands. Is it doable, and if so in easy layman’s terms how would we do it?

Always difficult in these situations due to not having much control over the setup. My advice would be utilise something like this -

At least you can play and protect your ears - and get an easy “more me” function if needed by taking a free from your amp (even if it’s just taking your own mic and putting it in front of the bass cab)

 

[pete.young]

9 hours ago, EBS_freak said:

It’s a trick to get you into the auction page - select a earpiece in the drop down to get the proper pricing!

AH, of course. Thanks for pointing that out. I'm really not safe to be allowed out without a minder these days 🙂

[Phil Starr]

11 hours ago, EBS_freak said:

Always difficult in these situations due to not having much control over the setup. My advice would be utilise something like this -

At least you can play and protect your ears - and get an easy “more me” function if needed by taking a free from your amp (even if it’s just taking your own mic and putting it in front of the bass cab)

 

this is a great way of doing it, I use a Zoom H4N at the moment. The sound is fantastic through headphones with the built in mic's and they run on batteries for way longer than a gig. I just put it in a pocket at rehearsal straight into headphones. You hear a kind of super-real copy of everything around you (we have floor monitors so it's already fairly well balanced already) except that you can control the volume, turn everyone down at will. If you reposition the Zoom it allows you to alter the balance a little. Put it nearer the bass amp if you want more bass and nearer the vocal monitors if you want more vocals etc. By carrying it on my body I get more of my vocals which is what I want and it's hands free without a wireless connection. All until the ZS10's fall out that is

I'm looking at the Zoom H1 or H2 at the moment the H4 is a bit heavy in your pocket or on a belt. I reckon the H1 on a lanyard might be right for me.

 

[Rik (ESA)]

Has anyone any experience of the Minerva Mi range? They look well priced against similar setups for UE etc., but I can't find much info online by way of a review... 

Thanks, 

Rick

[EBS_freak]

There's no way I would put Minerva in the same ballpark as UE. Historically Minerva had quite a high failure rate but I don't hear so much about that any more... In fact, I now no longer know of anybody that is actually using Minerva... they've all moved onto other things.

I'll repeat the same advice I tend to give on here... Save up for a UE6. If you haven't got that sort of budget, my next advice would be get a quad from Lugs. Knowing Robert's background, he knows what he's doing. He's not just shoving drivers into custom moulds, like some of the other companies I know of are. (Mentioning no names). 

Also, CIEM company is at the Drum Show in Manchester... so if you are interested, it may be worth getting yourself along there - there's usually free impressions and a decent discount to make it worthwhile.

[Rik (ESA)]

Many thanks - I've dropped Robert a line to see which of his range he suggests - I'm with work in Derry quite a bit so might be able to get there in person! The drum show is a great shout too, thanks. 

[EBS_freak]

55 minutes ago, Rik (ESA) said:

Many thanks - I've dropped Robert a line to see which of his range he suggests - I'm with work in Derry quite a bit so might be able to get there in person! The drum show is a great shout too, thanks. 

Ask for a quad - treb, mid, bass, bass.

[mrtcat]

1 hour ago, Rik (ESA) said:

 The drum show is a great shout too, thanks. 

Custom iem co (and EBS_freak) sorted me a cracking deal on a pair of ue6 at the London drum show at the end of last year. 77 gigs later I still get blown away every time I put them in.

[EBS_freak]

23 minutes ago, mrtcat said:

Custom iem co (and EBS_freak) sorted me a cracking deal on a pair of ue6 at the London drum show at the end of last year. 77 gigs later I still get blown away every time I put them in.

And does Graham still go on about how expensive IEMs are nonsense?

[intime-nick]

I’ve got some UE6s and a set of LUGS quads - I’ve been favouring my LUGS at practice recently (for no other reason than I like to rotate them so I get used to the differences in case I need to swap mid-gig in case of failure - however unlikely)

i would have absolutely zero hesitation in going for either again -  Robert has invested a lot of money in new 3D scanners and printers since I had mine done and would appear to be well on top of the IEM game - I will eventually get my LUGS reshelled by him with a full acrylic shell (I have acrylic and thermosoft tips on mine)

Both are great - now I’ve had more time with them- there are slight differences - the UE6 is warmer in the highs and the LUGS quads possibly more detailed but I don’t think you can go wrong with either option to be honest  

 

Edited August 30, 2019 by intime-nick

[Rik (ESA)]

Spoke with a chap at Custom IEMs yesterday, and going to meet them at the Northern Drum Show for a proper discussion, but after I said I'd be interested to try the UE6s, he suggested I may well prefer the UE6s (knowing I was a bass player), which are a bit cheaper so I liked his honesty! Excited to try the different options and will definitely keep the LUGS in mind, Robert seems a top chap! 

Thanks for the pointers!