HELP IEM suggestions in these confines please.

[Red Planet]

Hi I am searching and reading while posting this. I have a need to pick up a set of IEM's and I know absolutely nothing about this. I currently have some 30 dollarish Skull Candies and they are not getting the job done. When everyone is full up on I loose definition/clarity of the kick and timing plus all of it turns to mush. We are playing with a click, backing track, three guitars, mandolin, percussion, keys, bass, drums, and four vocals. I'm currently plugging the Skull Candies into Aviom.

I'm on a limited budget say $200.00 to $300.00 is the absolute most I could spend.

I have found a used set locally with belt pack Shure PSM 200/SE215 but these may not be good enough?Can anyone please suggest something in my budget that really will get the job done? I do have the option of just getting the IE's and using Aviom (which is what I'm doing now).

Any help would be greatly appreciated, I'm under the gun here.

 

[s0c9]

Are you only ever going to plug into the Aviom or do you need the complete set?
If only Aviom's (so you're wired), do you want Universal Fit or Custom Mold Ears?... the latter will have a much better fit but require impressions to be made but you're going to bump the price, and there's a world of choices/prices in both types.

For buds only.. your best bang for the $$ is universals with multiple drivers...
Best fit, duration, wear, seal and so on will be the Customs. Depends on your ear canal size.
If they are not small canals, universals may work OK...
Either way you WANT multiple drivers - at least 2. I use 1964 Ears Qi (quad drivers) to get the best sound. Single drivers will cause phase cancellations with all those instruments going on.

If you need full wireless... go with Carvin EM900. Cheaper, stereo (PSM200 is MONO), but the buds are junk.. you'll needs bud anyway as the E215's with the PSM are single driver.

BE warned, that everyone has their idea of what best is.. much like basses.. so do a ton of research, and TRY some universals if you can find them locally.

some sources..
http://www.head-fi.org/t/620519/best-iem-for-300
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http://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=46.0 (long but very useful)

 

[Red Planet]

s0c9,

Thank you for the info.
To answer some of your questions coherently hopefully:

I would like to find something economical to actually have a full wireless system too but from what I'm seeing so far that may be a bit of a stretch at my budget also same concerning custom molded (out of my price range). If the Shure I mentioned is a mono system thats prolly not a good idea either and if the SE215 are not ideal then that whole thing might just be a waste of money ($300.00). So maybe the best bet would be to get a better pair of IE's for now and use with Aviom then concentrate later on a wireless system.

So the question is then maybe is there a pair of ears out there for $200.00-$300.00 that will actually get the job done with confidence? I need to hear the kick pummel. I really wish I could afford some good ambient ears so I can hear the mix and the stage but those are super expensive. I'm right next to the drummer but when my ears are in and the mix turns to mush I'm swimming in too deep of water.

Would either of these get the job done?

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These are single driver but the specs look really good and they claim they are as good as multi (and they are cheaper).

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[tbirdsp]

Just got my first in-ear setup - haven't even used it at a gig yet (next Friday). My experience so far:
I too have heard good things about the Carvin system, but I went with the Shure PSM200 - mostly because our drummer and guitarist use them with good results. The drummer uses the included SE215 single driver buds. I knew the guitarist had upgraded the buds but I didn't know which until recently (more below). On the mono-stereo issue - I'm sure stereo is great, but your sound guy will have to use TWO auxes for each person who runs stereo IEM's - I don't know many engineers around here that would/could do that.
I set up a small mixer and ran MP3, vocal mic, and bass into it to play with my setup. The Shure SE215's sounded pretty good (better than I expected) but I still thought they were lacking. I have worn foam earplugs for years for noise reduction (20 years working on acft in the USAF and many years of motorcycle riding) - so I am comfortable with foam plugs and can get a good seal. For that reason I didn't bother with custom molds and got a pair of Westone UM Pro 30 triple driver universal buds. Street price is $399 but I got a discount from Musician's Friend. I found out later these are the same ones our guitarist upgraded to. I A-B'd the UM 30 back to back with the SE215 - the difference in sound quality is remarkable! The Westone's have much better bass response and everything is much clearer and defined.
That said - as I mentioned our drummer is using the SE215 and he is happy - I don't think he's ever tried any better ones though. I think even they would be a HUGE upgrade over any $30 phones. Personally I would try to get the price down ($250 maybe?) on that used Shure setup and upgrade the buds later when you can.

 

[s0c9]

s0c9,
Would either of these get the job done?
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To be honest, I haven't tried either, so my opinion would be speculative at best. I did own UM-1's at one time and they were VERY GOOD for single drivers... I've read good things about both the UM20.. See here for more http://www.earphonesolutions.com/

Based on your reply, I'd spend the $$ on the best ears your budget allows.. even if they are not customs. Most vendors will take universals and re-mold them to customs for around $200 (varies by vendor), so you can remold yours or go with a new set when budget allows. You can also buy a wireless set up (minus ears) later on when needed. Choices, choices. sigh!

Double or triple drivers will give you more LOW end and better spatial references even if your input signal is MONO. Stereo spread will make that even better if you can pan 2 guitars left and right. I don't.. but YMMV.

The big thing will all these buds is that they NEED TO FIT.. THEY NEED TO SEAL!! If they don't.. NO BASS! The material (and size) used on universals tips can determine how that works. If the seal breaks every time you move your head or open your mouth to sing, NO GOOD!! You might want to try Comply tips.. They squash and expand to fit your ear canal.

But.. no matter how much you spend.. if the seal isn't there, you will be unhappy. Determine you canal size.. do the research... make the right choice.

 

[Geri O]

There's a few sets of the Westone UM Pro 30s at my church for use by players that don't want to buy IEMs.

I used them a few times while I waited on my 1964 Quads to come in. They sound REALLY good and had plenty of low end for me. You'll need to experiment with the various ear tips to get a good seal, but I can with the yellow foamies.

I got my 1964s and of course, they are awesome, although they are, believe it or not, a bit too bassy, but rolling off some overall lows makes them sound great. However, a few months down the road, I broke the 1/8" connector on the cable. So I ordered 3 of them this time (!!) and I went back to the UM 30s while I waited on my cables. I gotta say, the UM 30s compared very well to my 1964s. I highly recommend them as a generic set of IEMs. Yes, I say get the best you can afford and go with custom-molded IEMs if and when you can. But there's absolutely nothing wrong with the UM30s long-term. Just make the effort to find a generic mold that seals well.

 

[walterw]

i've been quite happy with the set of westome UM3-Xs i got a few years ago; just universal fit, but nice and balanced true 3-way drivers (as opposed to some "triple drivers" which are actually dual bass and single treble). they were in the low $300s as i recall.

+1 to getting better buds first and looking into the wireless part of it as the budget permits.

 

[Geri O]

Walter, is that the correct name of the Westones I'm talking about? I always have trouble remembering the proper name (The tech guy at church has begun to worry about me because I've asked him 3 times about that. Hey, I'm old...)

 

[tbirdsp]

I believe UM3-X was the older designation for the UM Pro 30...

 

[walterw]

yeah, i think westone changed the models so now i'm not so sure what's what; they used to have a line that was sold for consumer listening ("W10" through "W30" or something like that) then the UM3-X was sold specifically for IEM use.