Am I using my IEMs wrong?

[JCBass]

Me and my band are straying into the realm of using IEMs to eliminate the need for onstage cabs and sound. I today just bought a pair of Sennheiser SE535s and the SubZero SZ-IM2 transmitter & receiver and, I don’t know, I’m disappointed. Admittedly I’ve never tried IEMs before so I didn’t know what to expect, but for hundreds of pounds worth of gear, I expected better sound quality. I get better clarity from my Apple earphones frankly, please someone tell me I’m doing something wrong? 

[jrixn1]

I wonder if https://www.basschat.co.uk/forum/35-accessories-and-misc/ might be a better sub-forum to ask in.

How's the seal?  Here is a test: https://www.sensaphonics.com/pages/audio-seal-test

Also, since you have two new pieces of equipment, how do things sound if you use the Sennheisers with a wired connection, or the Apple earphones with the SubZero?  Perhaps it will narrow the issue down to one component.

 

[Muppet]

8 hours ago, JCBass said:

please someone tell me I’m doing something wrong?

Can you tell us what you are doing and what issues you are experiencing?  Given the current situation I'm assuming you're not able to test this out in a band situation so how are you setting up your equipment? 

[Bobthedog]

I have a pair of SE535s (used as earphones not used as iems) but actually gave up on them as they were just too clear and precise for me. Something seems amiss. 

[EBS_freak]

12 hours ago, JCBass said:

Me and my band are straying into the realm of using IEMs to eliminate the need for onstage cabs and sound. I today just bought a pair of Sennheiser SE535s and the SubZero SZ-IM2 transmitter & receiver and, I don’t know, I’m disappointed. Admittedly I’ve never tried IEMs before so I didn’t know what to expect, but for hundreds of pounds worth of gear, I expected better sound quality. I get better clarity from my Apple earphones frankly, please someone tell me I’m doing something wrong? 

I suspect your SubZero SZ-IM2 is going to be you main culprit. Play some prerecorded music (as in normal produced song) through your IEMs directly from source... and then put your SubZero SZ-IM2 in the chain and compare. If the quality goes through the floor, that confirms your problem. 

[EBS_freak]

45 minutes ago, Bobthedog said:

I have a pair of SE535s (used as earphones not used as iems) but actually gave up on them as they were just too clear and precise for me. Something seems amiss. 

The sound of balanced armatures - very clear. You may prefer a hybrid setup, with dynamic drivers. Additionally, with the single BA in the bass, they may appear a bit bass shy.

[JCBass]

Thanks for all the replies and advice guys! This is all super helpful.

Yesterday was the first time I’ve played around with wireless IEMs etc so I’m sure there was an element of me being a novice. All I did was try playing along to a backing track with the track plugged into one input and the bass into the other.

This morning I tried EBS_freak’s suggestion, and there is a definite drop in audio quality going through the transmitter rather than direct from the source. I also think my seal isn’t fantastic, so a combination of the two is probably what’s lead to the overall low quality.

The transmitter unfortunately I may have to deal with as I can’t really afford to spend the amount of money needed for a decent one! I’m thinking of getting some earpieces moulded which may also help. 
 

Further experimentation with levels and EQ might also resolve it. Thanks again for all the advice, great stuff!

[EBS_freak]

39 minutes ago, JCBass said:

Thanks for all the replies and advice guys! This is all super helpful.

Yesterday was the first time I’ve played around with wireless IEMs etc so I’m sure there was an element of me being a novice. All I did was try playing along to a backing track with the track plugged into one input and the bass into the other.

This morning I tried EBS_freak’s suggestion, and there is a definite drop in audio quality going through the transmitter rather than direct from the source. I also think my seal isn’t fantastic, so a combination of the two is probably what’s lead to the overall low quality.

The transmitter unfortunately I may have to deal with as I can’t really afford to spend the amount of money needed for a decent one! I’m thinking of getting some earpieces moulded which may also help. 
 

Further experimentation with levels and EQ might also resolve it. Thanks again for all the advice, great stuff!

Have a read of this! 

 

[LukeFRC]

On 20/05/2020 at 12:29, JCBass said:

Thanks for all the replies and advice guys! This is all super helpful.

Yesterday was the first time I’ve played around with wireless IEMs etc so I’m sure there was an element of me being a novice. All I did was try playing along to a backing track with the track plugged into one input and the bass into the other.

This morning I tried EBS_freak’s suggestion, and there is a definite drop in audio quality going through the transmitter rather than direct from the source. I also think my seal isn’t fantastic, so a combination of the two is probably what’s lead to the overall low quality.

The transmitter unfortunately I may have to deal with as I can’t really afford to spend the amount of money needed for a decent one! I’m thinking of getting some earpieces moulded which may also help. 
 

Further experimentation with levels and EQ might also resolve it. Thanks again for all the advice, great stuff!

be careful how and where in your signal chain you Eq. 

I've got some Ultimate Ears UE900s or something like that - they are good enough to give a decent mix and headroom to play live (in my case at church) - but it's helpful to realise what you can hear in your IEM and what you want to send to the PA are not necessarily the same thing.

Especially if you're used to hearing your bass from a cab, and you're now listening to your bass through a DI

 

[Nobatron]

Usually I find with anything wireless the cheap stuff is a false economy. In terms of IEMs I've pretty much always used wired which I'd definitely recommend if you don't have the budget for a decent wireless setup. My band use the Behringer P2 which sounds great to me. I'd definitely recommend that over the Behringer MA400 as that doesn't have a balanced input so requires some funky wiring to get a useable signal from a balanced output. If you can return the cheap stuff and buy wired you'll save yourself some money and probably a headache down the line.

With the seal I'd recommend playing with the different available sleeves before looking to get custom ones. The drummer in my band bought moulded sleeves for his and quickly switched back to the stock ones. He's now awaiting delivery on some moulded IEMs, but he didn't recommend the moulded sleeves when I asked him. I'd try out the different sizes and make sure you're inserting them properly before looking to buy something new.