The IEM (in ear monitors) Bible thread

[EBS_freak]

The digital aspect of the Mipro will have even the best analogue compander based IEM system beat.

 

The EW is likely to have a further range and due to the lower frequency rf - better for passing through walls and stuff.

 

If you are worried about drop outs and interference, the 5.8 system is going to be way more stable than a 2.4 system. As I say, if you have line of site and can keep the units close to the stage, right now, I’d go MiPro.

[gazhowe]

2 minutes ago, EBS_freak said:

The digital aspect of the Mipro will have even the best analogue compander based IEM system beat.

 

The EW is likely to have a further range and due to the lower frequency rf - better for passing through walls and stuff.

 

If you are worried about drop outs and interference, the 5.8 system is going to be way more stable than a 2.4 system. As I say, if you have line of site and can keep the units close to the stage, right now, I’d go MiPro.

Thanks, that's much appreciated. 😎

[warwickhunt]

3 minutes ago, EBS_freak said:

If you are worried about drop outs and interference, the 5.8 system is going to be way more stable than a 2.4 system. As I say, if you have line of site and can keep the units close to the stage, right now, I’d go MiPro.

 

I have mine on my pedalboard.  I run a line from my pre pedal to one input on the transmitter and the other channel is fed from the PA; it means I can tweak just the bass volume from the transmitter without needing to get engineer to boost me.

[EBS_freak]

47 minutes ago, warwickhunt said:

 

I have mine on my pedalboard.  I run a line from my pre pedal to one input on the transmitter and the other channel is fed from the PA; it means I can tweak just the bass volume from the transmitter without needing to get engineer to boost me.

`you run in mono?

[warwickhunt]

4 minutes ago, EBS_freak said:

`you run in mono?

 

Where there is a fine line between having lovely stereo sent by an engineer who I can trust or me having control of bass level in a multi band, quick turn round scenario... it works for me.    

[EBS_freak]

I can understand that.

[mcnach]

14 hours ago, EBS_freak said:

I see Thomann have started stocking it now (£469) - https://www.thomann.co.uk/mipro_mi_58rt_58_ghz.htm

I believe there's no additional costs on the published figure...? (I haven't bought from Thomann in years)

 

I've bought the MiPro58 from Thomann a week ago, and yes, that's the full cost, no extras.

[Phil Starr]

So back in Dec I had moulds made of my ears and today I received two sets of custom IEM tips back from Snugs. For those of you who haven't followed this these are custom made moulds that are made to fit your ears one side and to fit your own headphones the other side with the idea that you get all the benefits of custom IEM's and a proper seal but at a fraction of the price. In my case I've been using in-ears for monitoring with my band and no back line for a couple of years successfully and had the usual journey towards them that so many people have experienced. I now have  custom tips for my KZ ZS10 Pros which is probably the most popular choice for bassists here and also my Sennheiser IE100's another popular choice.

 

OK they have arrived today and this is an initial impression, I'll do something with a proper write up after I've gigged them, all I've done today is try them out in my studio playing bass and singing along to recorded music. Let me say I'm blown away by how good they are and for £160 for two lumps of plastic they are absolutely worth it. The sound through both headphones is improved but one now just blows me away. More later about that.

 

So I started with my Sennheiser IE100's They have to be mounted in the tips before putting the tips in your ears, a bit fiddly but get everything lined up and the buds just snap into place. Conveniently the right tip was marked in red as is the right bud from Sennheiser. The next thing is to push the tips into your ears, that wasn't easy they are a perfect fit when in place which means nothing fits until you get them there and they feel too bulky to fit. Eventually I wiggled them into place and they felt comfortable, really comfortable, like 'I could wear these all day' comfortable. Sound isolation was good but no better than the triple flange tips I'd been using whch are great but feel like a surgeon is enthusiatically probing up to my eardrum with a metal probe. The thing was that ten minutes later (looking for something that has a headphone socket) the isolation hadn't changed and didn't change until I took the plugs out.

 

The sound when I finally found an adaptor and connected to my mixer was just stunning, bass was full and deep but just there not artificially enhanced, vocals were gorgeous and cymbals lovely and clean but with no jarring from over-presentation. I was hearing things I only get from my £200 open backed Sennheier over ears. Having that perfect fit to my ears meant all frequencies were there in the correct balance and it sounded lovely. Singing along with the music gave me a painfully honest reflection of my voice with a little bit of a peak from my old EV microphone, bass just sits in the mix where you put it. The volume goes to painful without distortion. The real glory though is that the IEM's stay put so the bass doesn't change and outside noises never intruded because whatever i did the seal remained intact. When the time came to remove them you need a real tug and a wiggle to get the plugs out.

 

I replaced the Sennheisers with the ZS10's, this time I read the instructions and found Snugs had provided some 'IEM Balm' to apply to the tips which made fitting a little easier. IEM balm looks ly KY-Jelly to me I didn't like the ZS10's as much Having a perfect seal underlined the exagerrated frequency resonse of the KZ's Bass was a little overpowering as was the top end and the mids have a couple of resonances which make my voice slightly more unpleasant than it actually is (honest) . I'd bought the Sennheisers to get a better vocal sound which I've never got on with from the KZ's I suppose I'd hoped that the customs would cure the midrange issues but they didn't. Nothing bad happened, the KZ's just sounded like KZ's not exagerrated or toned down.

 

So initial conclusions, custom tips will get the best out of your off the shelf IEM's I can't see them ever coming out during a performance and you don't lose the bass as happens when the seal is imperfect. I'd hoped for exceptionl isolation and maybe expected too much, these are as good as the better ear plugs but there is some ambient noise coming through, You wont hear normal speech if any music is coming through but a loud drummer would be audible. The big difference is that it doesn't make a difference what you are doing these customs just sit there.

 

Custom tips v's custom IEM's? I can't tell you how close the custom tips get to the real thing but  Custom IEM's seem to go up from £500 plus fitting. On a special offer I paid £125 for the tips and the Sennheisers cost me £85 so that's £210 overall. On top of that I've seen people unhappy with the quality of the built in speakers in £500-1,000 IEM's, that's a lot to pay for something you might not get on with.

 

I'll get some picsup next week

[Phil Starr]

As promised some pics. The first one shows the ZX10 Pros fully fitted to the tips.  The second shows the bit that is moulded to my ear, hopefully you can see the bit that actually goes down my ear canal with the hole in the middle the other knobbly bit fits neatly into the folds in my ears and almost all of that surface is in contact with my ear achieving a better seal than non moulded tips. The third shot shows the mould of the ZX10's and the fourth the hedphone fitted. These tips are made from a moderately soft silicone which if you look carefully attracts the dust wonderfully well

The zx10's are fairly bulky and the tips hold them a little further away from the ear so they do protrude 2-3mm clear of the ear and are not as discreet as proper fitted IEM's, I can't say it's much of an issue as they sit nice and comfortably. The Sennheisers being smaller sit very nicely in the ear and I don't think a punter would realise they weren't  expensive fitted IEM's.

 

 

 

[dave_bass5]

Wow, thanks for the write up Phil. Im happy with the foam tips i use with my IE400’s, but this could be an upgrade i can actually afford and wont lose my IE400’s. Like you say, just going ‘Custom’ can be as varied as buying off the shelf for some. This is what has put me off, as i like what i hear already, but could do with it being a bit easier to get them in the ear so they sit well. 

I’ll definitely be looking in to this option in a month or so. Need to sort out the ear fitting first. 

Edited 18 hours ago by dave_bass5

[Phil Starr]

I know a lot of the Sennheiser IE range use the same shell so Snugs shouldn’t have any problems with your IE400’s.

 

I spent a long time experimenting with off the shelf tips and was happy enough in the end but nothing has come close to the moulded tips for comfort, isolation and stability.

[dave_bass5]

3 hours ago, Phil Starr said:

I know a lot of the Sennheiser IE range use the same shell so Snugs shouldn’t have any problems with your IE400’s.

 

I spent a long time experimenting with off the shelf tips and was happy enough in the end but nothing has come close to the moulded tips for comfort, isolation and stability.

Cheers. did you have to send your IEM’s in? I looked on his website and they aren't listed. The IE 400 is a bit different to the IE100 (i have both), although still in the same ballpark size wise. 

Once i get my ears done I’ll get a bit more serious about it. 

[Phil Starr]

8 hours ago, dave_bass5 said:

Cheers. did you have to send your IEM’s in? I looked on his website and they aren't listed. The IE 400 is a bit different to the IE100 (i have both), although still in the same ballpark size wise. 

Once i get my ears done I’ll get a bit more serious about it. 

Sorry, I live in Somerset so I went into their offices for the impressions and they tried my IE100’s in something they already had, perfect fit so we went ahead. They took about a month to turn around the moulds but over Christmas so I guess you’d be without the IE400’s for three weeks. It’s a small family business on a farm. Really helpful but also a bit laid back. Try ringing them and see if you can talk to Michele who was very helpful.

[Greg Edwards69]

13 hours ago, dave_bass5 said:

Cheers. did you have to send your IEM’s in? I looked on his website and they aren't listed. The IE 400 is a bit different to the IE100 (i have both), although still in the same ballpark size wise. 

Once i get my ears done I’ll get a bit more serious about it. 

PLease do share if you find out about getting them for the IE 400's.  I notice they aren't listed as well, although admittedly, I'm quite happy with the comply foam tips.

Edited 1 hour ago by Greg Edwards69

[dave_bass5]

57 minutes ago, Greg Edwards69 said:

PLease do share if you find out about getting them for the IE 400's.  I notice they aren't listed as well, although admittedly, I'm quite happy with the comply foam tips.

Well I did email them using the link on their website and the email bounced back as address not found. 

I'll try via FB.