In Ear Monitors - help needed...

[EBS_freak]

1 hour ago, miikebass said:

Big apologies for not having read all 84 pages. Some great info here. 
 

5 piece band here.  Based in Australia. 

My issue is, and always has been, not hearing a clear bass tone through my IEMs. 
We run a QSC Touchmix 16 desk. I run a wired Behringer PM1 mini amp from an aux then to my in ears. 
Have used Shure SE215s.  They were ok but not great.  
Currently use Westone UM Pro 30s. Slightly better but nothing like what I expect. 
I’ve tried mono.  I’ve tried stereo. Panning vocals and instrument left and right.  Tried every combination of ear buds.  Big. Small. Foam. Rubber. Nothing gives me a bass I can hear clearly. All band members have our own personal in ear mix.  I can have my bass turned up to a squillion and still can’t hear it over everything else. 

What works best for me is running all vocals and instruments through my right ear and leaving the left bud out and relying on my cab volume to hear the bass.  Not ideal right?

 

Do I invest in a 6 driver IEM? Current Westone IEMs are 3 driver.  

 

Or am I doing something completely wrong?

Have a read of this - 

It combines pretty much everything you'd want to know into the several first posts.

 

From what you are describing, it sounds like there's not enough headroom in the lows to really push that bass through. Try cutting the volume on everything and building a mix around the bass - e.g. start with the bass and then bring everything in around that.

 

It could be that your ears are full of wax - getting your ears syringed would solve this.

 

I would always recommend investing in a decent multidriver IEM - typically a quad (treble, mid, bass, bass) or as a minimum, the UE6 with its dynamic drivers (instead of balanced armatures) in the lows/mids. However, before you do this, you may want to spend a bit of money on something like some KZ10s - because if they don't fix the bass response problem, it's not your IEMs which are at fault. 

[miikebass]

On 26/11/2021 at 20:40, EBS_freak said:

Have a read of this - 

It combines pretty much everything you'd want to know into the several first posts.

 

From what you are describing, it sounds like there's not enough headroom in the lows to really push that bass through. Try cutting the volume on everything and building a mix around the bass - e.g. start with the bass and then bring everything in around that.

 

It could be that your ears are full of wax - getting your ears syringed would solve this.

 

I would always recommend investing in a decent multidriver IEM - typically a quad (treble, mid, bass, bass) or as a minimum, the UE6 with its dynamic drivers (instead of balanced armatures) in the lows/mids. However, before you do this, you may want to spend a bit of money on something like some KZ10s - because if they don't fix the bass response problem, it's not your IEMs which are at fault. 

Thanks for this.  All good now.  

I took your advice and bought a set of KZ AS10s.
What a game changer.  Here I was thinking I had to spend big to get a good bass sound.  
My IEM bass is now clear.  I’m playing lighter.  I’m playing better. 
Also there’s an added bonus.  I can now hear the kick drum. 
Thanks again for the advice and all the info you’ve put into this thread. 

[EBS_freak]

10 hours ago, miikebass said:

Thanks for this.  All good now.  

I took your advice and bought a set of KZ AS10s.
What a game changer.  Here I was thinking I had to spend big to get a good bass sound.  
My IEM bass is now clear.  I’m playing lighter.  I’m playing better. 
Also there’s an added bonus.  I can now hear the kick drum. 
Thanks again for the advice and all the info you’ve put into this thread. 

A good result! Nice one 🙂

[foxyFuze]

Hi all,

Must be one of the longest threads on the forum, and one which has helped me greatly!
I’m considering getting a second set of custom IEMs mainly for listening rather than playing (via a DAC, from phone) for travelling. 
Seems to be limited info on suitability in general of IEM suitability for general listening vs live / studio monitoring, wondering if there really is much difference especially at the higher end with multiple drivers.  I got my first set from the chap who runs Lugs in NI, so would probably go back again for my next pair.

Thanks