The IEM (in ear monitors) Bible thread

[Chienmortbb]

 Just had a look at those 64 Audio IEMS, they are a bit on the heavy side, and I am not talking weight.

[bassmansam]

Anyone else get a different mix in their ears every gig? We never change the desk settings much but always seems to vary. I've put it down to how are ears are on the day 🤪

Edited November 18, 2022 by bassmansam

[Al Krow]

On 14/11/2022 at 11:55, police squad said:

I tried my KZ10s with the P2 on saturday night. A bit of a game changer really. 

I have ordered a set of these foam tips as the silicon ones aren't great

 

This seems to be a great way forward at the budget end i.e. KZ ZS10Pros + upgrade tips/sleeves. 

Be really interested to get your recommendations for "off the shelf" tips/sleeves (short of getting bespoke moulded ones)?

[dave_bass5]

25 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

 

This seems to be a great way forward at the budget end i.e. KZ ZS10Pros + upgrade tips/sleeves. 

Be really interested to get your recommendations for "off the shelf" tips/sleeves (short of getting bespoke moulded ones)?

I’ve been using Comply memory foam tips for a few years. On my Airpod pros, as well well as my IEM’s. They need a bit of a squeeze before putting them in but they feel rock solid and block out so much more noise that silicon ones (for me at least). 
They make different types for different situations so they are quite versatile.  
I know some use the much cheaper Inairs, which are very similar. I’ve got two boxes of them but don’t feel they offer the same level of comfort as the Comply’s I’m using. 

[EBS_freak]

8 hours ago, bassmansam said:

Anyone else get a different mix in their ears every gig? We never change the desk settings much but always seems to vary. I've put it down to how are ears are on the day 🤪

Usually pretty consistent here. But it depends upon what you are using. The biggest variance for me would be drums and percussion )which are miced) - everything is through modellers.

 

Using a separate monitor desk may be one of the reasons for such consistency however, as EQ and stuff never really changes and doesn't need to change... all the room based EQ and processing is on the main desk.

 

Even with one desk, I wouldn't haven't thought that there should be that much variance... unless you have mics that are picking up a load of the room (and there's reasons why you wouldn't want to gate them (e.g. overheads, percussion toys, lead vocals etc)

Edited November 18, 2022 by EBS_freak

[DaytonaRik]

On 17/11/2022 at 14:56, Chienmortbb said:

 Just had a look at those 64 Audio IEMS, they are a bit on the heavy side, and I am not talking weight.

Mine are definitely at the lower end of their price range - A3s - but they’re worth every penny…the custom fitting makes a huge difference

 

Edited November 19, 2022 by DaytonaRik

[dave_bass5]

Im sutre its been covered already, but is there a cheap(ish) way of getting stereo IEM’s without a cable, and without buying yet another mixer etc.  

Obviously ive got the IEM part, and happy to use my P2, but id like to lose the wire if possible/feasible. 

[dave_bass5]

3 hours ago, dave_bass5 said:

Im sure its been covered already, but is there a cheap(ish) way of getting stereo IEM’s without a cable, and without buying yet another mixer etc.  

Obviously ive got the IEM part, and happy to use my P2, but id like to lose the wire if possible/feasible. 

 

[EBS_freak]

7 hours ago, dave_bass5 said:

Im sutre its been covered already, but is there a cheap(ish) way of getting stereo IEM’s without a cable, and without buying yet another mixer etc.  

Obviously ive got the IEM part, and happy to use my P2, but id like to lose the wire if possible/feasible. 

Would 250 quid be classed as cheap(ish)? (Remember, this is wireless IEMs)

[dave_bass5]

2 minutes ago, EBS_freak said:

Would 250 quid be classed as cheap(ish)? (Remember, this is wireless IEMs)

Well that’s not extortionate but more than I was hoping for.
I’m only asking as it seems a bit more convenient, it’s not a must have and I have a feeling it will be money wasted seeing as I’m already up and running with a wired system, which needs no power and won’t have any drop out or latency issues. I don't actually need a wireless system, but it would be nice.

Im willing to see what’s out there though, 

I have seen the Sub Zero one for £180 but I’ve seen issue with their low cost stuff. 
 

[EBS_freak]

7 minutes ago, dave_bass5 said:

Well that’s not extortionate but more than I was hoping for.
I’m only asking as it seems a bit more convenient, it’s not a must have and I have a feeling it will be money wasted seeing as I’m already up and running with a wired system, which needs no power and won’t have any drop out or latency issues. I don't actually need a wireless system, but it would be nice.

Im willing to see what’s out there though, 

I have seen the Sub Zero one for £180 but I’ve seen issue with their low cost stuff. 
 

Im thinking along the lines of the RODE Wireless Go 2 - a bit left field. Two transmitters, one receiver. So use them as just mics, or use the LR from the desk to send to one of each of the transmitters.

[EBS_freak]

(There's probably a cheaper chinese knockoff - but you probably want both the mic and the mic input options on the transmitters (not that you can use both simultaneously - but it gives you options)

 

You can output from the receiver into the P2 to give you a more useful, quick access volume control. The Rodes will need line of sight though...

Edited November 19, 2022 by EBS_freak

[dave_bass5]

11 minutes ago, EBS_freak said:

(There's probably a cheaper chinese knockoff - but you probably want both the mic and the mic input options on the transmitters (not that you can use both simultaneously - but it gives you options)

 

You can output from the receiver into the P2 to give you a more useful, quick access volume control. The Rodes will need line of sight though...

Hmm. Thanks. I’ll look in to that. Good idea. Sounds a bit more involved than i hoped, but yes, ideally id use the P2 as the final bit in the chain before the IEM’s. 

Ive just ordered the G4M subzero passive version of the P2. This takes TRS jack only, but thats what im using with my P2. Ive found the cable can quite easily be pulled out with the P2, and as im using the phones out from the desk i don’t think i need an active amp. 

Edited November 19, 2022 by dave_bass5

[EBS_freak]

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Microphone-SYNCO-Smartphone-Streaming-Wireless-Lavalier-Microphone-SYNCO-G2/dp/B091L4WZ91/

[dave_bass5]

4 minutes ago, EBS_freak said:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Microphone-SYNCO-Smartphone-Streaming-Wireless-Lavalier-Microphone-SYNCO-G2/dp/B091L4WZ91/

Thanks. I’ll have a read. 

[Woodinblack]

Well, my XVive U4 died during a gig on friday, and trying it again on saturday (I assumed it had gone low on power), it has no range - it works if the rx and tx are next to each other, but not so handy.

 

I will take it apart today to check for obvious stuff, but I guess I will be getting something new soon!

[dave_bass5]

4 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

Well, my XVive U4 died during a gig on friday, and trying it again on saturday (I assumed it had gone low on power), it has no range - it works if the rx and tx are next to each other, but not so handy.

 

I will take it apart today to check for obvious stuff, but I guess I will be getting something new soon!

EXACTLY what happened to my singer’s first one. We thought it had stopped working completely  but i noticed if i held both parts in one hand it would work. 

Andertons swapped it over and the second one has been fine ever since. 3 gigs in and around 8 rehearsals. 

[Al Krow]

Hmmm, that's interesting. Sounds like a not great QC on this Xvives then. Shame - they look very neat. 

 

Was wondering whether the Rodes, which Russ mentioned above, might actually be an outright alternative to the Xvive U4s for wireless IEMs (I believe they can be used both for mono and stereo) - but he did mention line of sight limitations plus they're also 2.4 GHz. 

[Woodinblack]

29 minutes ago, dave_bass5 said:

Andertons swapped it over and the second one has been fine ever since. 3 gigs in and around 8 rehearsals. 

 

I just checked and bought it in May 2021, so out of warranty now.  Which is a shame, I really liked the form factor of those. Shame they didn't break earlier. I mean I have dropped them a lot, kind of goes with the territory for devices of this size, but when they went I was just playing normally.

 

12 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

Was wondering whether the Rodes, which Russ mentioned above, might actually be an outright alternative to the Xvive U4s for wireless IEMs (I believe they can be used both for mono and stereo) - but he did mention line of sight limitations plus they're also 2.4 GHz. 

 

The XVives are also 2..4GHz but not the limitation. In fact the XVives being 2.4g is what made me go to 5GHz for the Behringer mixer, they interfered badly

[Al Krow]

9 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

 

I just checked and bought it in May 2021, so out of warranty now.  Which is a shame, I really liked the form factor of those. Shame they didn't break earlier. I mean I have dropped them a lot, kind of goes with the territory for devices of this size, but when they went I was just playing normally.

 

 

The XVives are also 2..4GHz but not the limitation. In fact the XVives being 2.4g is what made me go to 5GHz for the Behringer mixer, they interfered badly

Ah ok, that puts a very different spin on it ie stopped working after 18 months having been dropped several times vs being a new set out of the bag, which is what I initially thought. Ok, they're back on my agenda - particularly as Dave's replacements also seem to be working fine. 

[Woodinblack]

44 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

Ah ok, that puts a very different spin on it ie stopped working after 18 months having been dropped several times vs being a new set out of the bag, which is what I initially thought

 

Oh no, they have lasted a year and a half and not been treated particularly well. There was no issues I had had with them aside from the inteferences at 2.4GHz which was solved (and worked out better that way) and the fact the reciever has a habit of switching itself on in the bag!

[Al Krow]

7 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

 

Oh no, they have lasted a year and a half and not been treated particularly well. There was no issues I had had with them aside from the inteferences at 2.4GHz which was solved (and worked out better that way) and the fact the reciever has a habit of switching itself on in the bag!

 

Ah cool, thanks. Yeah, if we get 2 to 3 years decent use out of them (we'll be gigging pretty much weekly in 2023) then they will have given us good use - I love the hassle-free compact form factor they provide and the fact that they are a reasonably priced.

[Woodinblack]

4 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

 

Ah cool, thanks. Yeah, if we get 2 to 3 years decent use out of them (we'll be gigging pretty much weekly in 2023) then they will have given us good use - I love the hassle-free compact form factor they provide and the fact that they are a reasonably priced.

 

Battery life (although non replaceable) has also never been an issue - we do 2.5-3 hour gigs and never run out of power or anything.  I am annoyed it died (and will take it apart tonight) but it wouldn't put me off getting another one. maybe rather than putting it in its bag and throwing that bag in another bag with everything else I would get a padded box!

[dave_bass5]

1 hour ago, Al Krow said:

Ah ok, that puts a very different spin on it ie stopped working after 18 months having been dropped several times vs being a new set out of the bag, which is what I initially thought. Ok, they're back on my agenda - particularly as Dave's replacements also seem to be working fine. 

Well to be clear, Dawns first set lasted 3 rehearsals without being dropped. 😬

Just one of those thing i guess, the second pair is working well and i know 3 other people that use them on a regular basis. 

Only issue i can see (and i may be wrong), is the the working channels seem quite limited if whole band are using them. Could be wrong though, and im basing that on seeing the guitar versions clash a couple of times in my old band. 

[andytoad]

All,

Is the on the market a 9v headphone amp that has separate input gains for the two channels and a master volume?