I have a pair of both Ultimate Ears and Alclair customs. Both are great, but for the money I believe that Alclair is a great company. I am very happy with my sets from both.
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More IEM questions. But really...
- Thread starter Joe Nerve
- Start date
Do a google search - here is the first result for custom molded earpieces for your Westone UM Pro30s
https://eartune.com/products/eartun...1&utm_source=google&utm_medium=smart_campaign
You need to go to a local audiologist and get molds made and send them off and they create custom earpiece that fits your Pro30 housing. This is the best fit possible, of course.
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i really depended on the IEM threads (and members like @s0c9/others) who drilled in the seal thing --- such a simple concept --- but it's the make-or-break with IEMs.
IEMs that work correctly are a must for someone who plays as seriously as you do --- i wish you the best of luck with this, joe!
although joe's band might be flirting with goofy on-stage volumes: a proper seal will make that a non-issue! i know it may sound too-good-to-be-true, but the right seal does exactly that = you only hear what you want to hear, and you can't get that without IEMs. i still use the stink-eye when i work with wedges.
IME:
wedges = "i wish they weren't so damb loud...time for the stink-eye!"
properly sealed IEMs = i honestly don't care what they do --- i'm protected!
IME/IMO a great seal is a done deal. period. custom molds are probably better for comfort, for most people, for long hauls.
- Oct 7, 2000
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- Endorsing artist: Musicman basses
How much did people here pay for impressions? My band told me $75. I assumed that was for both. Just called audiologist near me and was told $75 each. Waitin on my my mates to get back to me, but thought I'd ask here in the meantime.
I prefer a flat even response with solid supporting bass, but not “heavy” bass.
I got 64Audio, model A6t and couldn’t be happier. Great company to work with and awesome support. I recommend getting impressions by one of their recommended audiologist’s, or at least bring their specific instructions for whoever’s doing the impressions. You need them done differently/deeper than hearing aid impressions, which is what most audiologists are used to making impressions for.
I also use the $60 KZ AS10 with five drivers as backups. They also sound ridiculously good for the price. Much better than the Westones you currently have. In my humble opinion and experience your mileage may vary but I’m sticking to it.
That's high, should be $50 - $65ish for both. Make sure he is just quoting you for the impressions, not a finished earpiece.
Looks like you can make your own molds for $11.00 https://www.amazon.com/Radians-Cust.../dp/B0006GWRJK/ref=psdc_3779871_t1_B002XULPSQ
If you are adventurous, maybe try making the whole custom earpiece at home.
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I see that they now do molds for KZ ZS10 pros (last time I looked they didnt). $150!
I have my impressions already, so...order placed, thanks.
Huh, mine was more like $50-$75. I'm in a lower cost-of-living area, though.
My first quote was $100 each. Then I got a quote for $50 each I accepted and when I was there he said just give him $70. Offer free Hearing test. Didnt try to up sell me, but at one point play they same tone and volume in my left ear I heard fine, then in my right ear (drummers side) I didnt hear at all, but said Im no tthat bad.
A good fitting pair of even cheap IEMs will be better than the most expensive ones that might not fit right.
That said, what control do you have over your own mix, assuming you have a dedicated AUX out for your mix?
When I run IEMs with a band, I rarely want the full "FOH" mix. I had some kick and snare (if ambient wasn't enough); a tiny bit of guitar; vox - with my backing vox a little bit higher in the mix than lead vox, and my bass. Basically, my bass and my vox more prominent in MY mix. And then I would start futzing with the overall volume in my ears.
Unless you have tech limitations at your mixer, I would try tweaking your own mix before blowing more money on new buds. Your Westones should be fine - as long as you're getting a good fit.
That said, what control do you have over your own mix, assuming you have a dedicated AUX out for your mix?
When I run IEMs with a band, I rarely want the full "FOH" mix. I had some kick and snare (if ambient wasn't enough); a tiny bit of guitar; vox - with my backing vox a little bit higher in the mix than lead vox, and my bass. Basically, my bass and my vox more prominent in MY mix. And then I would start futzing with the overall volume in my ears.
Unless you have tech limitations at your mixer, I would try tweaking your own mix before blowing more money on new buds. Your Westones should be fine - as long as you're getting a good fit.
I’ve been using customs for a while. I would suggest 64 Audio A6T or A4T…. I also suggest the UE Custom 11pro (quad driver with a dedicated sub driver)….
they will both give you what you want but the 64 Audio ones sound a little sweeter in my opinion.
they will both give you what you want but the 64 Audio ones sound a little sweeter in my opinion.
Sounds like you need to get rid of the wedges to me and have the rest of the band's mix down in your mix you should always try cutting volume rather than boosting if you can help it. For custom I wouldn't expect more isolation honestly I have both and the noise reduction isn't a drastic improvement on the customs honestly the seal is better and more consistent and the bass response has abit more impact as a result. Driver count helps improve the clarity and instrument separation in a mix of the iem's provided they are tuned properly but starts having diminishing returns after you get up to 2 drivers per frequency type you are only really gaining more headroom before clipping at least in my experience. The more drivers you add can cause them to be abit harder to drive to full volume on some cheaper equipment depending on ohms rating and other factors so just be aware when shopping. This is a another thing to consider I prefer qdc or mmcx connections for the cables as I have had 2 pin cables break off on me in my customs twice now so I'm debating on if I even want to pay to have them repaired this time around.
Thats insane my impressions where $20 a pair
Are you using IEM's for live performance or has this been rehearsals only so far? Wondering why everything is so loud? Are you in a small/confined space like a garage when rehearsing? We use the XR18 mixer and a couple of our guys use IEMs at all our gigs. They have discovered that it is hard to hear during our rehearsals because it is loud in the rehearsal space, but they have no problems when we play out live and none of them have custom/expensive IEMs. You could also EQ out some of your lows and then you will hear your notes and reduce ear fatigue with all the lo end (this is the easy fix).
I would never pay for custom IEMs again, to me they are not that awesome, and my $40 in ears with sponge tips block out more sound than the custom molds did, and do great on the rare occasion I use them. If you change to a "sponge-type" tip/ear-piece with your current ones (assuming they are more of a rubber) it will eliminate almost all outside sound. You can buy sponge tips for super cheap on Amazon.
Side note, the guys at a church I used to go to compared in-ears like it was a contest, but of course none of them could play that great and would have been better served investing the money in lessons
. IMHO, a band should not be playing that loud for rehearsals.
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s0c9
Supporting Member
at $75 ear you're getting ripped off!
Most IEM vendors have a list of approved audiologists from which to obtain impressions... Not required that you use them, but at least they know what they are getting from the audiologists
They shouldn't be more than $75 a pair.. I paid $50 for BOTH of mine (left and right ears) - each time I had impressions made!
Also.. make sure they use a bite block or your customs will NOT seal properly!
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I went to Dr. Julie Glick at Musicians Hearing Solutions, then in Manhattan. She had me listen to the same music using 1 driver, then 2 all the way to 8 drivers per ear so that I could pick what I needed. She and MHS have since moved to Los Angeles, but their website gives a contact for a NYC referral. The IEMs were made by Jerry Harvey Audio. They were not cheap, but I've used them for 10 years and feel that it was money well spent.
Thanks, though this is the stuff that throws me. The comply tips absolutely fill my ear canal. They go in deep, and they're not budging. My bandmates however are telling me that with customs, ill get a more genuine seal - and the sound will be closer to my ear drums. They swear it will make all the difference in the world - and then there are those like yourself who say the right buds will do the trick.
Makes it tough. Will I be throwing $1000 out the window? If buds can do the same why is it rare that any big pros use them? Is it really an individual thing? Are there tips that will give me more isolation than the tips mentioned in the OP? Will my head ever stop spinning?
For activities you have this week, could you wear noise reduction ear muffs over your current IEM? Would it fit, or help? The look they give is interesting.. ;-)
I just bought this set last week. They sound really good so far.
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