Old-Rocker Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 I don't know if this is the correct section,but i have an HD500X,so i'll ask here. :) . With the recent problems with my hearing,plus the general diminishing hearing of the other Old Git in the Band,we've started talking about useing IEM's for our small gigs. Can anyone on the forum offer an advice or words of wisdom, about decent value for money IEM's & how to go about getting to grips with using them,we're thinking lower end of Shure range etc.,but very open to suggestions :) . Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pfsmith0 Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 Be sure to get dual-drivers. Triple drivers are overkill. Single drives lose either high-end or bottom-end. Westones are the standards and are notoriously very nice. If you can afford those, I like them the best. I have both Westones and Shures and I like the fit/feel of the Westones better. But signal fidelity-wise, I don't think I can hear the difference between these two. Etymotic is a 3rd company to look at. They're somewhat more boutique, for lack of a better word. Some people really like them but i can't say one way or the other since I don't have any. Then there's the R-50 from Rock-It Sounds. Less expensive but with less bottom end. They are very clear but can bottom out when the signal level is cranked. Not so good used live but I use them when I'm flying. IEMs are best used when each member can have their own signal feed. We use the X32-Q app that works with the Behringer x32 digital mixer and, wow, the system works very, very well. I use my iPhone or iPad as my own personal mixer. So does everyone else in the band. I can tweak what I hear to maximize whatever I want or need. And this is all independent of what the house hears. It's great. I must say, though, that it took about 1 month of use for us to become comfortable with using IEMs. At first you feel like there's a barrier between you and the other members of the band as well as between you and the audience, but this goes away as you get used to it. I don't even notice it anymore. We still give each other visual cues, we still feel the groove (actually, we feel it better now), we still get turned on by audience appreciation, etc. Stage volume is very low (drums are in a cage). Mic bleedthru is gone. Hearing is saved. Can't say enough good things about the system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterHamm Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 If you're on a budget, the single-driver Shures that are a hundred bucks sound just fine for stage work to me. Do not ever use just one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rewolf48 Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 Also good for the money: Westone UM-1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old-Rocker Posted February 22, 2016 Author Share Posted February 22, 2016 Guys,thanks for the replies,it looks like the Bass player's decided on the Shure 535,because it's got 2 bass drivers :) ,so that's the easy bit,a bit more money than he planned(but it always is)right? I just need to work out what to use to amplify them & sort out a mix from my old MixWizard. pfsmith0,after reading your reply i checked out the X32,nice,but way out of our Pub band budget,but the X18,looks really interesting,never had a Behringer product,but that reads very good especially for the cost. I'd value your opinion on the way i'm thinking of driving the Shures,which is(after reading the Behringer site) a Behringer P1,fed from 2 Aux outs on the MixWizard to give a sort of stereo feed,wired is ok,he dosen't move around anymore(takes him all his time to stand up :D ),any thoughts on this as a way of getting up & running? Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt_Brown Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 We have an X18 Air and I still brill. We all get our our own monitor feed we can play with with the air q app (so we don't play with FOH by mistake!). We are currently using wired iems - the pubs are just too small to worry about moving about a lot! - to get an idea of if we can get on with them. £6 outlay for the mixer thing from maplin. No big deal when/if i decide yo go wireless... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old-Rocker Posted February 23, 2016 Author Share Posted February 23, 2016 Quote from leisure491 [As far as the in-ears themselves go, I would say they're the biggest disadvantage to going IEM. Personally, it takes me a lot of $$$$ to get a sound I'm happy with. As it wasn't till I finally broke down and got the 4 driver Shures that I was happy. The singles and doubles just didn't please my ear, they always sounded thin. But that could be my hearing problems coming in to play there as well.] Hi,leisure491.have you tried the Shure 535 with Dual Bass drivers & a single Mid/High driver,that i mentioned above,we have never tried any in ears,but they seem like they might be aimed at Bass & Drums. Anyone any thoughts on the Behringer P1,to get us going? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pfsmith0 Posted February 24, 2016 Share Posted February 24, 2016 I've used both Axiom (for many years) and the Behringer system (for ~2 yrs) and your buddy is correct. The Behringer system is better. There are a lot more channels and a lot more flexibility and are a lot less intrusive on stage. However, it does not have headphone drivers like the Axiom does, so you'll still need to add those. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rewolf48 Posted February 24, 2016 Share Posted February 24, 2016 several hundred dollars?? Shure SE846 (the only Quad Driver IEM from Shure) are £800 list in the UK and at best £600+ from ebay. I will need to win the lottery to something that expensive that also doesn't work properly without a digital wireless system too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old-Rocker Posted February 24, 2016 Author Share Posted February 24, 2016 Just to be clear,the Shure in-ears i mentioned are the 535V they are 2 way,but with Dual Bass Drivers & a Single mid/high,so 3 drivers in total. UK Retail 319 but can be bought for less. 800 for in-ears is for rock stars,we're not :) pfsmith0,i understood the Behringer P1 is a driver,with left/right balance,Volume & anti-feedback,have i got this wrong?,do i still need another component? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt_Brown Posted February 24, 2016 Share Posted February 24, 2016 I think the P1 will do what you want. We are experimenting with these https://www.studiospares.com/Headphones-and-Speakers/Headphone-Amps-and-Splitters/Behringer-MicroAmp-HA400-Headphone-Amp_380280.htm?CAWELAID=120173110000082957&CAGPSPN=pla&catargetid=120173110000047515&cadevice=t&gclid=CP_y46DwkMsCFRYW0wodMMcH9w. Although they are '4 way' we have one each and I run mine from the mains and have it by my feet and plug in with two headphone extensions linked together. The other guitarist runs his from a battery connector and then has it in a pouch (modified camera case) on his belt. Cheaper way of testing whether you can get on with it before deciding to go wireless... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indianrock2020 Posted February 24, 2016 Share Posted February 24, 2016 I think the biggest problem with these is people don't learn how to insert them all the way into the ear canal and get a seal. There is some lotion out there made to help with this also. No seal, no bottom and it will be thin and unpleasant. Basically they go in like foam ear plugs you'd use to run a chain saw. I have some 6-year-old Shure Ec2 ear buds that I paid $75 for and they have great tone and bottom. Not even sure what their driver setup is. Screw them in !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pfsmith0 Posted February 24, 2016 Share Posted February 24, 2016 I'm sure the P1s will work just fine. We just use some generic headphone driver. I don't even know what it is. Regarding number of drivers, you can think of it like this: single mid-range: 80% of the sound dual bass/tweeter: 90% of the sound triple bass/mid/tweeter: 95% of the sound quad bass/bass/mid/tweeter: 96% of the sound I personally wouldn't pay for the quads. The extra bass is minimal and largely a marketing ploy. They don't extend the bass any lower, which is what you want. In essence they EQ the sound so there's more of what bass is already present in the triple driver system. That is, they no longer have a flat response. If you want more bass, get Dr. Dre Beats. They're cheaper. In my mind the sweet spot (biggest bang for the buck) is the dual-driver. A few other things to consider. Shure systems are black and can look funny in the ear. Westones are clear or tan colored and are much more subtle. Also, even though a large part of the comfort is in the foam plugs themselves, these are usually interchangeable between the companies. So don't let those be a large part of your decision. However, that cables are another aspect of comfort and, in my opinion, the Westones are far superior to Shures. Be sure to check those out. Full disclosure, I work for a company that makes the drivers that go in these. Shure, Westone, Etymotic, Rock-it, etc buy our drivers and wrap them in the ear piece, tune the port, and add the wires, etc. But, hey, if you want to buy the quads then go ahead! It's more sales for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old-Rocker Posted February 24, 2016 Author Share Posted February 24, 2016 Thanks for all the info,i'll pass it onto the bass player & let him decide,i suspect he'll go for the Shure SE535V,he knows the name & they have 2 x Bass drivers,so they MUST be better :) ,plus there are some pretty good deals on them in the UK,i'll go with the Behringer P1 to amplify them with. It'll take a couple of weeks,but i'll report back how we get on. Once again thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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