IEM recommendations?

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TrudeTrude Frets: 914
I've been using IEMs for a lot of gigs lately, and I think it's time to invest in some decent kit.  So far I've just used the cheapy earbuds that came with the wireless system we have, and I want to get something better.

Any recommendations for where the smart money is here?  I'm thinking £200 would be the max I'd want to spend on something so small and potentially losable/pinchable at gigs.  
Some of the gear, some idea

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Comments

  • Danny1969Danny1969 Frets: 10357
    Shure 215's are pretty good for the money, generally cost around £90 ish. Beware of fakes, friend of mine brought a set from bay for £58 and they are fake and sound terrible 
    I've had my 215's for around 6 years now with no problems 
    www.2020studios.co.uk 
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  • TrudeTrude Frets: 914
    Good to know - thanks!

    By the way, how are you getting on with your wired IEM amp product? I might be able to put a couple of orders your way potentially...
    Some of the gear, some idea

    Trading feedback here
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  • Got some ears from Read Audio, they do an entry level custom fit around that price. 

    http://www.read-audio.com/r100-1/

    They also do interest free on the expensive one.

    Highly recommended 
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  • John_PJohn_P Frets: 2744
    +1 for the Shure 215.  For my ears they are the only thing that has come close to my custom moulds.
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  • Danny1969Danny1969 Frets: 10357
    Trude said:
    Good to know - thanks!

    By the way, how are you getting on with your wired IEM amp product? I might be able to put a couple of orders your way potentially...
    I've been giging the new version of it for about 8 gigs or so and it's great. Basically it gives the user control over their vocal, their guitar and the amount of ambience completely independent of the sound guy.



     It's time consuming to build though so I need to think of a quicker way to build it before I can make any money selling them 
    www.2020studios.co.uk 
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  • TrudeTrude Frets: 914
    Looks good @Danny1969. ; Do you have a spec sheet I could send to a couple of mates? (and a price)
    Some of the gear, some idea

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  • BigMonkaBigMonka Frets: 1763
    At the budget end I’ve seen a lot of online (mainly US based) recommendations for the ZST or ZS6 by KZ. The more expensive ZS6 is still only £25ish but people swear that they beat the Shure 215s. I’m actually planning to get a pair to try (although don’t use IEMs live).
    Always be yourself! Unless you can be Batman, in which case always be Batman.
    My boss told me "dress for the job you want, not the job you have"... now I'm sat in a disciplinary meeting dressed as Batman.
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  • TrudeTrude Frets: 914
    BigMonka said:
    At the budget end I’ve seen a lot of online (mainly US based) recommendations for the ZST or ZS6 by KZ. The more expensive ZS6 is still only £25ish but people swear that they beat the Shure 215s. I’m actually planning to get a pair to try (although don’t use IEMs live).
    Great suggestion - I may well give those a try.  Good to have as a backup set in any case!
    Some of the gear, some idea

    Trading feedback here
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  • Danny1969Danny1969 Frets: 10357
    Trude said:
    Looks good @Danny1969. ;; Do you have a spec sheet I could send to a couple of mates? (and a price)
    Cheers dude 





    The Price will be around £140 .... I'be pretty much finalised the circuit design just need to get a PCB layout done as all versions up to now (including my own) have been built on veroboard 
    www.2020studios.co.uk 
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  • May I hi jack this thread a bit? For those of us who has standard Mackie PA system can you add an IEM system to it? I ask because I was going to buy another mackie active speaker for monitor usage but thinking could I do this cheaper if the vocalists had Ear monitoring etc ?
    Link to my trading feedback:  http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/59452/
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  • bignormbignorm Frets: 191
    edited February 2018
    We've been using iem's in the band for quite a while now and I wouldn't go back to floor monitors.
    It takes a bit of getting use to though coz at first you feel a bit cut off, but once you get used to it the benefits are huge.

    You're no longer at the mercy of dodgy room acoustics but a decent monitor mix is crucial.
    The band has all put some money in to get their own own belt packs for the set up. 
    We started off with a single sennheiser transmitter giving a two way mix.
    Then we gradually added to that and now have a five way mix with a behringer xr18 mixer giving individual monitor mix control via phone apps. 
    We're not loaded we just bought stuff second-hand when it came available.
    Trading up the old Allen heath 16ch desk to a new xr18 desk etc.
     I'm using some Westone UM20s which are pretty good for the money and our drummer is using shure 215s.

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  • hotpickupshotpickups Frets: 1813
    edited February 2018
    I forgot about this thread but remembered after starting my own thread. Anyway. I'd like to hear more advice and recommendations for an IEM wireless system please. Don't want cheap and cheerful but not wanting massively expensive either. What would you suggest ? I trust it just goes into any mixer i.e. Mackie in my case etc?

    Ideally we'd want one transmitter and each vocalist can buy their own belt pack and earphones etc. Does one have to stick to the same brand / model for them to connect etc?
    Link to my trading feedback:  http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/59452/
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  • TrudeTrude Frets: 914
    OP here - I also forgot to come back and update with what I ended up doing!

    So, on @Van_Hayden 's recommendation, I looked up Read audio.  I figured I could just about justify the £200 for their entry level custom moulds.

    A nice guy from Read came TO MY HOUSE to squirt some magic playdough into my ears.  I mentioned that I have some ACS custom mould earplugs that I use for conventional backline gigs, but that I found the top end clarity a bit lacking.  Read do a 15dB plug that is supposed to really good for that.  He then hit me with a January-only offer that kinda threw my plans into disarray.  Basically I could step up to the dual-driver model (203) at a big discount, with a pair of the 15dB plugs thrown in for free!

    After a lot of deliberation I decided to go ahead with that.  I spent about double what I was planning to, but now have a ludicrously high-spec level of ear comfort, for only slightly ludicrous money.

    I've only done one gig with the IEMs so far.  I was almost hoping to be underwhelmed so I could back out and send them back, but they were pretty awesome.  More gigs coming up over the next few weeks, so I'll be able to give them a good trial.
    Some of the gear, some idea

    Trading feedback here
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  • smigeonsmigeon Frets: 282
    Trude said:
    OP here - I also forgot to come back and update with what I ended up doing!

    So, on @Van_Hayden 's recommendation, I looked up Read audio.  I figured I could just about justify the £200 for their entry level custom moulds.

    A nice guy from Read came TO MY HOUSE to squirt some magic playdough into my ears.  I mentioned that I have some ACS custom mould earplugs that I use for conventional backline gigs, but that I found the top end clarity a bit lacking.  Read do a 15dB plug that is supposed to really good for that.  He then hit me with a January-only offer that kinda threw my plans into disarray.  Basically I could step up to the dual-driver model (203) at a big discount, with a pair of the 15dB plugs thrown in for free!

    After a lot of deliberation I decided to go ahead with that.  I spent about double what I was planning to, but now have a ludicrously high-spec level of ear comfort, for only slightly ludicrous money.

    I've only done one gig with the IEMs so far.  I was almost hoping to be underwhelmed so I could back out and send them back, but they were pretty awesome.  More gigs coming up over the next few weeks, so I'll be able to give them a good trial.

    Ha! I was offered the same deal, and also took it up - and was also glad that I did. Read Audio seem to have a great product, and a lot of justified confidence in it, and their enthusiasm is translating to great customer service. Recommended.
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  • TrudeTrude Frets: 914
    Yeah, the fact that they offer half-price replacements and seem to go all-out for customer satisfaction is a pretty big deal.

    If I hadn't been already considering new plugs as well as IEMs, I might have stuck with the £200 units, but as a package it was pretty hard to turn down.
    Some of the gear, some idea

    Trading feedback here
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  • Good ain’t they!?!
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