New IEM system. Earbud/Headphone questions

[gafftaper]

I'm setting up a new wireless in ear monitor system. We are going with the Sennheiser EW 300-2 G3 combos, which comes with the Senny IE 4 earbuds.

1) How do you feel about the IE 4's? When it comes to purchasing additional earbuds should we go with something else? or are the IE 4's good?

2) Should we get big fully closed ear circumaural headphones for the bass player and/or drummer, stay with the IE 4's for one/both of them, or do something else?

3) We have a keyboard player with a hearing aid on one side. What is the best way to provide monitors for her?

 

[DaveySimps]

The IE4's are only OK. They are difficult to keep in and only sound ok. The unfortunate part of ear pieces is that so much of it has to do with artist preference and pricepoint. The custom molds set up can get costly very quickly, and need to be redone on occasion as anatomy changes. In general, people like your drummer and bass player really benifit with an ear piece with the most isolation and best fit. So much of the bass response depends on these factors. I know a lot of drummers who still prefer thei big muff headphones.

As far as a reasonably priced ear bud, I have found the Future Sonics Spectrum Series G10 to be a good universal entry level unit. Their predacessor the Atrio was good too. They come with several different tips that help with finding the best fit for the musician. Tips are also cleanable and replacable for sanitary purposes.

The only recomendation I would have on a musician with a hearing aid is to be prepared to expirement with a few things (hearing aid in / out, ear buds, headphones). I worked with an artist that had 2 hearing aids. He sprang for nice custom molds and preferred those with out hearing aids on stage. Another preferred headphones over their single hearing aid. Just make sure all musicians have something in or over both ears. The single ear bud or phone just does not work and causes an unrealistic situation for your sound engineer.

If this is your groups first venture into in ear monitoriung, I offer my best wishes. It can be a difficult transition for many.

~Dave

 

[StradivariusBone]

We did the transition about a year ago and it's mostly gone well. Like Dave said it is difficult, particularly for the musicians who play by "feel". I mix sound for our church as well as play bass so I got to see it from both sides. Both me and the drummer tried over ears (started with 7506's just to test the water), but I honestly didn't care for it. #1- we looked ridiculous. #2- it just didn't sound right. Granted those are not isolation type headphones, but I just didn't like the feeling of playing with cans on. It is a very personal preference thing.

A lot of our guys use the Shure SE215's that came with the wireless units, but some ended up going more expensive and some less. I ended up buying a pair of el cheapo monoprice buds and foam rubber tips and am perfectly happy with that. I tried the 215's but couldn't justify spending more than $50 on something I'd use 2 times out of a month at most. The response is not bad for what they are and I've found isolation (via the foam tips) is more important than sound quality when it comes to IEM's. We use Avioms for the instruments so I can dial in a decent mix on my own. The vocalists use wireless packs that are aux-fed so there's a bit more back and forth between them and the booth.

We have a guy with hearing aids and he also takes them out and uses custom molds. No complaints generally from him. The single ear bud also puts you at risk of hearing damage from what I've been told. You can't judge the sound of the IEM relative to your open ear and eventually turn up to compensate and will reach unsafe levels without realizing it.

 

[JohnD]

These have gotten a lot of positive comments in IEM threads at both PSW and SF:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FWGU10...TF8&colid=33XDLXAC89ZJB&coliid=I240HN04HC0H5J

 

[TimmyP1955]

You might try open-air headphones on anyone with hearing aids. I recommend Grado.