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Inexpensive IEM systems

Geri O

Geri O

Supporting Member
Sep 6, 2013
11,194
27,338
68
Florence, MS
#1
Hi, guys. For IEMs, I’m all Sennheiser G3 systems in my rental rigs and my personal IEM, but I am now in a cover band who wants to go wireless IEMs. I may have to duck out from time to time, so my systems won’t always be around. They’ll need 4 units and can’t really afford the G4/PSM1000 budget. The drummer owns a Carvin IEM system that he seems to like well enough. Is there a consensus on this unit? Are there other decent choices in this price range of IEM systems?

Thanx.
 
#3
Carvin's are OK for the price point.. used their system for about a year. I remember having issues with the battery packs and batts getting stuck in the tubes... but..
The big thing is to make sure that whatever they get you run it by the FCC database to make sure that the frequency "band" you buy from the vendor isn't being stepped on by local TV stations, and has MORE than one channel!
Here's a cheap solution for a band,
Galaxy Audio Any Spot AS-950-4 Band Pack System - P2 Band
or they could go with individual units
Galaxy Audio AS-950 In-Ear Monitor System, 518-542 MHz

I'd check reviews on any brand/model before diving in!
 
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#4
Actually, perusing through the Carvin, Galaxy, Mipro and the Shure PSM300 and reading reviews, I'm tempted to recommend searching for used Sennheiser G3 units. I've had good luck buying used G2 units several years ago and lately, a couple of G3 units.

I'm gonna borrow this drummer's Carvin unit and see how it does at the house with regard to signal strength, audio quality and general build. I'm not encouraged by the reports (including Steve's report) of battery life and build quality.

As with all thing optometrist-related, we'll see....:D
 
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#5
I've tried quite a few of the budget systems and opted with the Audio 2000 system the build quality isn't the most durable and it's pretty sparse on features but it sounds good, has stable signal, decent amount of channels, and is true stereo. I owned a shure psm 300 system and ended up letting it go because the audio 2000 sounded better and only cost me $170 new compared to the $699 for the shure. There are other systems in similar price range with better build quality but they either sound awful or are unstable having constant drop out or interference issues.I eventually want to get a sennheiser g4 setup but I think this will be fine and plenty suitable until then.
 
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#6
I've used the Carvin EM900 system for several years now and no functional problems with it whatsoever. The "ears" on the battery pack that lock it into the bottom of the transmitter pack can have a tendency to break after several years of hard use causing it to want to fall out but a piece of Scoth tape to help support the battery pack fixed that.
 
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#8
In my band, the lead guitar and me are on the Shure PSM-300 while the rest is on the much cheaper thomann t.bone IEM200 stuff. The build quality is okay, you get replacement parts and the sound works well, too.
The biggest difference I felt between those two is the scan feature. The Shure (and many others in that price bracket) will scan the room and use the best possible frequency. With the cheaper stuff, you need to set the frequency on the sender, then you need to set it on the receiver and then you need to test if it got better or worse and repeat until you're satisfied.
 
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#9
Great responses here and very helpful.

Well, it would seem that way, except now, this big debate has erupted between sone of the members. This seems to always happen with bands that suddenly want to get into using IEMs. It’s a great idea, then the Luddite in some members rears its head and a debate ensues. So just like I did with my country artist’s band a couple of years ago, I back out of the discussion, withdraw any support of the idea, tell the band members they are on their own, and just use my IEMs with no further comment or participation in the discussion. That crap has gotten really old with me and it’s not an important enough battle for me to engage in. At 62, there’s way more important things to deal with.
 
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#10
Are they running around the stage? Most bars have small stages these days. If everyone is hanging out in their spots, just get a few of these and call it a day. Super reliable. Super cheap. And they sound great. Wanna go stereo? They make one for about $40-$50.

Invalid Link Removed

Only go wireless if you need to. Are their instruments wireless?
 
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#11
two fingers said:
Are they running around the stage? Most bars have small stages these days. If everyone is hanging out in their spots, just get a few of these and call it a day. Super reliable. Super cheap. And they sound great. Wanna go stereo? They make one for about $40-$50.

Invalid Link Removed

Only go wireless if you need to. Are their instruments wireless?
Click to expand...
The wired solution is a good one. For drums and keys especially.
 
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#12
Geri O said:
Hi, guys. For IEMs, I’m all Sennheiser G3 systems in my rental rigs and my personal IEM, but I am now in a cover band who wants to go wireless IEMs. I may have to duck out from time to time, so my systems won’t always be around. They’ll need 4 units and can’t really afford the G4/PSM1000 budget. The drummer owns a Carvin IEM system that he seems to like well enough. Is there a consensus on this unit? Are there other decent choices in this price range of IEM systems?

Thanx.
Click to expand...

We had a Carvin in my last band. It was terrible.
 
#13
Geri O said:
Actually, perusing through the Carvin, Galaxy, Mipro and the Shure PSM300 and reading reviews, I'm tempted to recommend searching for used Sennheiser G3 units. I've had good luck buying used G2 units several years ago and lately, a couple of G3 units.

I'm gonna borrow this drummer's Carvin unit and see how it does at the house with regard to signal strength, audio quality and general build. I'm not encouraged by the reports (including Steve's report) of battery life and build quality.

As with all thing optometrist-related, we'll see....:D
Click to expand...

Yes I n=just sold two G2 systems about 2 weeks ago. They still work fine.
 
#14
Hoping to resurrect this thread...

I've been using venue-provided Sennheiser G3's for years. 5 transmitters and 10 receivers, all bought used, and the only repairs have been one pack and a few belt clips. COVID aside, a ton of people have used them an average of two to three times a week.

That said, I'm a wuss about monitor quality. If I had a compressor pedal that sounded as bad as the Sennheiser packs, I'd kick it to the curb. Frequency response is OK, but certainly not audiophile quality.

Also, we've had persistent, intermittent noise artifacts due to interference. Rarely a show-stopper, but always an annoying distraction.

I'm starting to get invitations to play out again now that COVID restrictions are lifting, and I need to get my own set. I'll be using it on stage, so range isn't a big issue.

I rented the Shure PSM300 this weekend, and had mixed feelings. Sound quality is OK, but not as good as the Sennheiser, especially signal to noise. I had to get the gain-staging just right to keep it down to a liveable level, and at a lot of the places I play, I can't count on FOH to get the aux sends right during a short soundcheck.

In comparison to the headphone out on my MOTU audio interface, it sounded like crap, particularly in the lower register with my 5-string.

I've grown spoiled by digital instrument wireless like the Shure GLXD, Line 6, etc. I want that "almost a cable" sound quality for my IEM's as well.

A grand is my upper limit, so the real pro UHF stuff is out.

Xvive looks interesting, but no stereo, and 2.4GHz is very crowded these days.

My search has led me to the MiPro's new digital offerings- the Mi-909 (UHF), or the MI-58 (5.8GHz wi-fi). Apparently, a lot of rental places are using the MI-909's, as well as the older analog 808's.

The MI-58 sounds particularly interesting- twice the channels compared to 2.4GHz wi-fi, less competition for those frequencies, and the audio response is supposedly very close close to 20-20K.
 
#15
steve_rolfeca said:
Hoping to resurrect this thread...

I've been using venue-provided Sennheiser G3's for years. 5 transmitters and 10 receivers, all bought used, and the only repairs have been one pack and a few belt clips. COVID aside, a ton of people have used them an average of two to three times a week.

That said, I'm a wuss about monitor quality. If I had a compressor pedal that sounded as bad as the Sennheiser packs, I'd kick it to the curb. Frequency response is OK, but certainly not audiophile quality.

Also, we've had persistent, intermittent noise artifacts due to interference. Rarely a show-stopper, but always an annoying distraction.

I'm starting to get invitations to play out again now that COVID restrictions are lifting, and I need to get my own set. I'll be using it on stage, so range isn't a big issue.

I rented the Shure PSM300 this weekend, and had mixed feelings. Sound quality is OK, but not as good as the Sennheiser, especially signal to noise. I had to get the gain-staging just right to keep it down to a liveable level, and at a lot of the places I play, I can't count on FOH to get the aux sends right during a short soundcheck.

In comparison to the headphone out on my MOTU audio interface, it sounded like crap, particularly in the lower register with my 5-string.

I've grown spoiled by digital instrument wireless like the Shure GLXD, Line 6, etc. I want that "almost a cable" sound quality for my IEM's as well.

A grand is my upper limit, so the real pro UHF stuff is out.

Xvive looks interesting, but no stereo, and 2.4GHz is very crowded these days.

My search has led me to the MiPro's new digital offerings- the Mi-909 (UHF), or the MI-58 (5.8GHz wi-fi). Apparently, a lot of rental places are using the MI-909's, as well as the older analog 808's.

The MI-58 sounds particularly interesting- twice the channels compared to 2.4GHz wi-fi, less competition for those frequencies, and the audio response is supposedly very close close to 20-20K.
Click to expand...
I'm interested in this system but my concern is there so no way to use a antenna combiner and power the units I'm wanting to avoid using four additional half wave whip antennas if I can help it as my band need four iem units and im trying to clean up our rack we currently are using four line 6 wireless units that run in the 2.4 ghz with a antenna combiner and im running our x32 rack with 5ghz wanting to avoid dropouts as much as possible. I'm still looking at the sennheiser g4 system but I wish it wasn't so spendy. If budget was no concern I'd go with the Lectrosonics duet systems in a heart beat but that's big boy money
 
#16
I talked to the MiPro dealer, and he recommended the MI-58 for up to 3 users, and the MI-909 for larger groups.

That would make the 58 good enough for a 5-piece, assuming that keys and drums go wired.

I‘m with you on cost. Lectrosonic Duet (or Shure PSM1000) would be great, but way out of my budget.

I wouldn’t go for G4. The most significant advantage to them over the G3, is range. I don’t hear enough improvement in audio quality to make them worth the money.
 
#18
Keep in mind that unlike the PSM and G3/G4 receivers, the Mipro 909R does NOT have a built-in limiter.
It’s the only thing that knocked them off my list in preference to the G3 I now own.
Tbh...that floored me from a system whose specs are otherwise stellar.
 
#20
s0c9 said:
Keep in mind that unlike the PSM and G3/G4 receivers, the Mipro 909R does NOT have a built-in limiter.
It’s the only thing that knocked them off my list in preference to the G3 I now own.
Tbh...that floored me from a system whose specs are otherwise stellar.
Click to expand...

That's one of the reasons I went with the G4 setup.

EdO. said:
So what else is left, at least in the under say $700 price range?
Click to expand...

For the Rx/Tx, or for the actual IEM buds? I'm going to go out on a ledge and say that working musicians aren't *totally* worried about having absolute amazing audiophile quality coming from their IEMs. Sure they want good quality audio, but you're probably more likely to find PSM1k's or the sennheiser's on tour. At least, that's the majority of which I've seen on rig rundowns in the past. More so because they want consistency, and being able to adjust the frequency on the road using Wireless Workbench.

If your budget really is >700, you might find yourself picking up something cheaper that will get you by for a while. Eventually, you might end up looking for something that's gonna give you a better range, lower noise floor, less drop outs, better frequency options, etc.

For reference, here's that video I was talking about:
 
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