IEM for stage use (musician)

[Knellsky]

Hello

Im looking at fearless audio and was wondering what would be the best choice for a musician

Im new to this chifi thing
What other brands should I pay attention to?
Budget is roughly $500

 

[buke9]

Haven’t heard them myself but ChiFi has some really good offerings at a nice price. Are you going for custom molds or universal?

 

[Knellsky]

Haven’t heard them myself but ChiFi has some really good offerings at a nice price. Are you going for custom molds or universal?

Universal

 

[buke9]

Well if you are going universal then I would start inexpensive before going full bore on the Fearless. The KZ ZSX are something I really like for music maybe not so much as a monitor pair but for under €40 not a bad try so why not give them a try other than €500 for another chifi iem. Just a thought.

 

[baskingshark]

Hello

Im looking at fearless audio and was wondering what would be the best choice for a musician

Im new to this chifi thing
What other brands should I pay attention to?
Budget is roughly $500

I use the Audiosense T800 on a weekly basis for stage monitoring (I play piano in a band). 8 Knowles BA, $298 USD, U shaped tuning. I've been using it for 6 months and am super happy with its performance. I have more expensive stage monitors eg from Westone and other western brands but I still find the T800 better in technicalities and isolation. Very bang for buck.

Pros:
1) Isolation about 30 dB - extremely good for hearing protection - I'm placed next to a full set acoustic drums and subwoofer amp so I can play music at the lowest possible volume but still get details.
2) Great clarity, details, imaging, instrument separation. As above, it beats some Western brands that are more expensive.
3) Great subbass extension/quantity for an all BA set, even sounds like a DD bass due to its vented subwoofer and tuning.
4) Also good for general music listening, excels at most genres.
5) Super sturdy build, almost like a semi custom mould.
6) Wide soundstage.

Cons:
1) Slightly bright - so not for treble sensitive, this treble can be tamed with eartip change, knowles filters (See Audiosense forums) or cable change. It's not an issue during live monitoring as one can EQ certain frequencies. I feel there's gonna be a tradeoff in getting details for a slightly brighter sound signature.
2) Shell is on the larger side (no doubt since it contains 8 drivers each side) - it's still ergonomic and comfortable for me though, but I'm not sure if folks with smaller ears will have issues, though I can wear it for hours comfortably.
3) U shaped, so not ideally the best for stage monitoring (as a neutral gear would be preferred) - but the mids are not that recessed, and details still shine through. Anyway as per point 1, it's not an issue if you can EQ during your live monitoring session.

Do read more about it if you are interested, or you can PM me.

All the best in your search!

 

[PaganDL]

Hello

Im looking at fearless audio and was wondering what would be the best choice for a musician

Im new to this chifi thing
What other brands should I pay attention to?
Budget is roughly $500

Hi @Knelisky,

For your needs & budget, in no particular order, I suggest you consider the following :

TheCustomArt Fibae Black (Universal)
iBasso IT 01s
Audio Technica E70
Sony IER M7
AAW A3H
Mackie MP 240

Just my 2 cents, I have the Fearless S6Pro, subjectively & personally, I wouldn't use it for stage work as the Highs can be a little emphasised without proper ear tip selection.

Feel free to ask more when you need.

Hope you have a great day !

 

[Knellsky]

I use the Audiosense T800 on a weekly basis for stage monitoring (I play piano in a band). 8 Knowles BA, $298 USD, U shaped tuning. I've been using it for 6 months and am super happy with its performance. I have more expensive stage monitors eg from Westone and other western brands but I still find the T800 better in technicalities and isolation. Very bang for buck.

Pros:
1) Isolation about 30 dB - extremely good for hearing protection - I'm placed next to a full set acoustic drums and subwoofer amp so I can play music at the lowest possible volume but still get details.
2) Great clarity, details, imaging, instrument separation. As above, it beats some Western brands that are more expensive.
3) Great subbass extension/quantity for an all BA set, even sounds like a DD bass due to its vented subwoofer and tuning.
4) Also good for general music listening, excels at most genres.
5) Super sturdy build, almost like a semi custom mould.
6) Wide soundstage.

Cons:
1) Slightly bright - so not for treble sensitive, this treble can be tamed with eartip change, knowles filters (See Audiosense forums) or cable change. It's not an issue during live monitoring as one can EQ certain frequencies. I feel there's gonna be a tradeoff in getting details for a slightly brighter sound signature.
2) Shell is on the larger side (no doubt since it contains 8 drivers each side) - it's still ergonomic and comfortable for me though, but I'm not sure if folks with smaller ears will have issues, though I can wear it for hours comfortably.
3) U shaped, so not ideally the best for stage monitoring (as a neutral gear would be preferred) - but the mids are not that recessed, and details still shine through. Anyway as per point 1, it's not an issue if you can EQ during your live monitoring session.

Do read more about it if you are interested, or you can PM me.

All the best in your search!

How is the T800 in volume? I have had a few IEM's that are very low in volume and I dont want that

 

[baskingshark]

How is the T800 in volume? I have had a few IEM's that are very low in volume and I dont want that

What do u mean by low volume? The T800 is very low impedance (9.2 ohms), so it's quite easy to hit high volumes with lower powered sources.

When playing on stage do u plug your IEMs into a mixer or directly into your instrument? Are you able to get EQ on the fly?

 

[Knellsky]

What do u mean by low volume? The T800 is very low impedance (9.2 ohms), so it's quite easy to hit high volumes with lower powered sources.

When playing on stage do u plug your IEMs into a mixer or directly into your instrument? Are you able to get EQ on the fly?

Im using sennheiser G4 system.
Why im asking is because my current set of IEM's (audiofly AF180) cant push out enough volume to my ears without overloading the G4 system.
What value should I look after low or high impedance? Is it that value that determines the amount of volume the IEM can produce?
I have tried KZ ZST, KZ KZ10 pro and KZ As16 and they all produce roughly 25% more volume than audiofly

 

[baskingshark]

Im using sennheiser G4 system.
Why im asking is because my current set of IEM's (audiofly AF180) cant push out enough volume to my ears without overloading the G4 system.
What value should I look after low or high impedance? Is it that value that determines the amount of volume the IEM can produce?
I have tried KZ ZST, KZ KZ10 pro and KZ As16 and they all produce roughly 25% more volume than audiofly

U should look at sensitivity as the primary determinant of how loud the earphone can go (be careful cause some IEMs use sensitivity units in dB/mW while others use dB/V so u have to convert it - use google or something). Impedance affects to some extent but not as much as sensitivity. A poor seal/poor isolation will also affect loudness (especially bass frequencies to some extent).

I've no experience with the G5 system or the Audiofly AF180, but I've used KZ ZS10 Pro and KZ ZS10 (non pro) for stage monitoring before, the former is not too bad in clarity and details. I find the latter is difficult to fit and has overly recessed mids/midbass bleed, so it isn't the best stage monitor per se, but I could run those on about 40 - 50% volume knob on a few different stage monitor mixing systems. Their isolation was about 15 dB, not the best but adequate enough for hearing protection/stage monitoring. Comparitively, the Audiosense T800 can go about 30% volume for me on the same systems, as it has superb isolation (30 dB), so I don't need to jack up the volume to overcome outside noise.

I've used Westone W30 and Westone 3 for stage monitoring too, they are quite good for monitoring purposes but more expensive than the T800 and don't really bring as good isolation/technicalities as the T800. Volume for these 2 were about 40% on similar systems for me.

 

[Knellsky]

U should look at sensitivity as the primary determinant of how loud the earphone can go (be careful cause some IEMs use sensitivity units in dB/mW while others use dB/V so u have to convert it - use google or something). Impedance affects to some extent but not as much as sensitivity. A poor seal/poor isolation will also affect loudness (especially bass frequencies to some extent).

I've no experience with the G5 system or the Audiofly AF180, but I've used KZ ZS10 Pro and KZ ZS10 (non pro) for stage monitoring before, the former is not too bad in clarity and details. I find the latter is difficult to fit and has overly recessed mids/midbass bleed, so it isn't the best stage monitor per se, but I could run those on about 40 - 50% volume knob on a few different stage monitor mixing systems. Their isolation was about 15 dB, not the best but adequate enough for hearing protection/stage monitoring. Comparitively, the Audiosense T800 can go about 30% volume for me on the same systems, as it has superb isolation (30 dB), so I don't need to jack up the volume to overcome outside noise.

I've used Westone W30 and Westone 3 for stage monitoring too, they are quite good for monitoring purposes but more expensive than the T800 and don't really bring as good isolation/technicalities as the T800. Volume for these 2 were about 40% on similar systems for me.

Ok
So am I looking for a high or low value in sensitivity?

 

[baskingshark]

Ok
So am I looking for a high or low value in sensitivity?

Sensitivity is how loud the earphones will be for a given level from a particular source. So a highly sensitive earphone can be louder than a lower sensitive one at the same volume matched source.

You can read this helpful link for more details, it helped me out in the past: https://www.shure.com/en-GB/support/find-an-answer/understanding-earphone-headphone-specifications

 

[davidcotton]

Westone um pro range? Designed for musicians.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

Shure, Etymotic, Westone all have good isolation. Shures are supposed to be designed for stage use. I have a few pairs and I don't think they're that great but I don't seem to get along with IEMs so maybe it's me.