In Ear Monitor Advice

[rustyg61]

I emailed 64 Audio to tell them how much I love their product & they have posted my email on their website!


http://www.64audio.com/blog/2016/10/25/481/

[Bradley Young]

I ordered the Sensaphonics, since their design made sense to me, and there was a local audiologist on their preferred vendor list.

I ordered the 3-driver model (it's a 2-way design, with 2 bass drivers, AFAICT). Anyhoo, I'll report back here with results, if anyone is interested.

Rusty, your thread, so if you'd rather I report elsewhere, I can.

[rustyg61]

Sensaphonics was on my list too, but I went with 64 Audio A8's & couldn't be happier! Please do report back here how you like your Sensaphonics, hopefully our data can help someone else make their choice when they are searching for the best IEM for themselves.

[edwin]

Rusty, for some reason I was thinking of you at my gig last Saturday night, while enjoying my ears. Hope all is well!

[rustyg61]

It's nice to be thought of Edwin, thanks! I played my Stanley tonight in church so I had to adjust the EQ on my SansAmp DI & loved the responsiveness of my 64 Audios! The Stanley had a nice bottom, but really cut through the mix when I did some high runs.

[Bradley Young]

Ok, so I got my Sensaphonics 3MAX in-ears today. Have not put the Alembic through them yet, but did listen to some music. They sound good, and have good bass response.

The best part is the fit. They are very comfortable! They are molded silicone, so they are soft, and mold well to the ear. I have had harder (fitted) earphones before, and these are much better for long term wear.

They passed with flying colors on my normal test & tune track: Acoustic Brew (Victor Wooten and Steve Bailey).
Also ran a bunch of Stanley tracks through it.

Anyhow, on early testing, I'm giving a thumbs up.

[rustyg61]

Glad you like them! Let us know how they sound with your Alembic. How long did it take to build them?

[lbpesq]

You guys are a bad influence on those of us susceptible to G.A.S.!  I was recently invited to play in an ongoing jam where they use IEMs.  I thought I'd just bring a pair of headphones.  Then I started reading this thread.  I'm not in a position to drop a grand on these, but I thought I'd dip my toe in and got a pair of Westone UM2s for a  good price.  They sound great listening to music.

Bill, tgo

[rustyg61]

Sorry to be a bad influence Bill! Being a skinny string player, you don't need an 8 driver in ear like mine, but if you ever decide to upgrade your Westones, 64 Audio has models for guitar players starting at $399.

[piers_williamson]

Has any one else checked out the new Phil Jones Ear Box.  It's a very small speaker you daisy chain into your rig and mount on a mic stand on the opposite side to your main rig.  It's quite subtle, but very good.

[lbpesq]

How do you IEM guys deal with the whole mono/stereo thing?  From the research I've started to do, it seems most mixer AUX sends are in mono and IEMs are obviously stereo.  Also, suggestions on a half-way decent but still economical headphone amp to use with IEMs would be appreciated.  I just bought a Mackie DL1608 mixer and I'm intrigued by the idea of having everyone in the band able to do their own individual monitor mix.

Bill, tgo

[jalevinemd]

So not everyone in the band needs to use the same brand IEM?

[lbpesq]

I don't believe so, Jonathan.  It's the same as wedge monitors - everyone doesn't need the same brand monitor, you just need to get the impedence matched.  And some can use wireless IEMs while others, (like drummer and keys), can simultaneously use wired IEMs.  The Mackie mixer has six AUX outs, so this allows for six individual monitor mixes, whether through powered wedges or IEMs.  Then each band member can control their own monitor/IEM mix with an iPad.  At least that's how I understand it to work.

Bill, tgo

[rustyg61]

Bill, you are correct about using different brands of in ears, the brand & type doesn't matter at all. I did research on 9 different brands before getting my 64 Audio buds & the impedance ranged from 14.2 - 46 ohms. Most headphone amps will be able to handle a wide range of imedance, it is not as critical with in ears as it is with matching speaker cabinets to the amp impedance.

The way my band dealt with having stereo capability was to assign each of us 2 Aux output channels from the board. The wireless transmitters had 2 channel inputs so you could do panning for different instruments. We had a Behringer X32 digital rack mount module & each of us did our own monitor mix with iPads or iPhones.

[jalevinemd]

Thanks for the info guys. My band's been considering going the IEM route. we're just beginning to scratch the surface.