IEM's for a Drummer (Suggestions Please)
Aug 14, 2007 at 8:46 PM Post #4 of 22
Quote:

Originally Posted by aethyal /img/forum/go_quote.gif
After a quick search those UM1's do look promising. The only downside I've found is most complaints are due to the fit of the foam piece. I've read a hand full of reviews / posts that say they find themselves fiddling with the foam to keep them in place. The Super.fi 3's seem similar with possibly a better fit. Any other suggestions?


Super Fi's can be a little finicky with fit, and they're not as discrete as UM1s. having said that (i own a pair of super fi 3's btw) you should be able to get a decent fit with one of the 4 silicon tips, and if not then the foamies are a sure bet, but i'd never call them invisibly comfortable. That may be true of all non-custom IEMs, or it might just depend on your ears.

They sound acceptable for the price imo, a little rolled off in the highs (seems to be a common theme with IEMs in general though) and the detachable cable could be a plus if you're hard on your headphones.

If you do get super fis, be sure to try them out in each ear, the default way to wear them makes them stick out quite a bit, if you change them over (called Flip Side or FS mod) they sweep back rather than forwards. Just be sure to get the cable the right way around when you swap drivers, there's a tiny notch to denote the correct fit.
 
Aug 14, 2007 at 10:32 PM Post #5 of 22
There's no IEM in my opinion that exists that will do what you need for $100.

I've been using IEM's on stage and in the studio for about 5 years now and I've been though 7 different sets by various manufactures. I've researched them in depth for the last few months as well so hopefully I know what I'm getting on about.

What you really need (like me) are custom Future Sonics Ears. It's the most natural sounding IEM there is and the custom molds give you great isolation and great comfort. Marty and co. are great to work with too. Bad news is their $750.

The UM-1's are probably the most comfortable universals but they don't sound very good to me. Future Sonics EM-3's, or FS-1's can be had for around that price and can sound great but aren't good at either comfort or isolation. Atrios sound great right out of the box and more natural to me than armature based IEM's but once again aren't that great at anything else. And their $130 minimum. They are maybe my favorite sounding IEM and since you can't get there from here I highly recommend getting a pair from RoadDogOnline on Ebay. You can often "make an offer" of $130 and they'll accept it.

I'd really suggest bitting the bullet and going with a set of Livewire Customs for $250 if your ready to commit to using IEM's a lot. Customs are the answer for your comfort and isolation priorities. It's really no contest actually. Everything else will probably just "get you by" but eventually if your like me your gonna wind up buying a custom set anyway so you might just save yourself the buy-listen-sell-buy-listen-sell trouble. They sound good to. My favorite armature based IEM that I've tried. They come in at or way below their competitors price but they're customs where the others aren't. I don't think it gets any better unless you drop $750-$1100 on Future Sonics or UE customs.


Here's my rundown of IEM's I've tried:

Future Sonics EM-3's- Amazing deep punchy bass. Smooth sound, rolled off recessed highs. Need a pretty aggresive high shelving EQ. Not very comfortable at all. Not built well. $100ish.

Future Sonics FS-1's- Better highs than the EM-3's but not great highs. Same great bass, more comfortable. Not build well. $100ish they replaced the EM-3's.

Future Sonics Atrios's- Best sounding universal I ever tried. Serious punchy bass, smooth natural sound with nice clear high end. Mids are kinda recessed. A little EQ and they sound really, really good. Not build well, bad isolation and only reasonably comfortable. $140

Westone UM-1's- Sound pretty mediocre. Couldn't get the punch or sparkle I wanted out of them. Real comfortable and build well. Decent isolation. $150? I sent them back for UM-2's.

Westone UM-2's- Sound pretty good. Very good thumpy bass. Not punchy like the Future Sonics though. Very strong forward midrange with mellow not-very-shinny high end. Had a sibilance problem that I absolutely coudln't handle from a $250 IEM. Very comfortable, built well, good isolation. Sold them.

Shure E-2's- Sound pretty good. Good mids, pretty good bass. Mellow high end that needs EQ. Very uncomfortable to me. Built well. $150ish these days. In a pinch I'd buy a pair for the road.

Etymotics E4-S- Amazing High end. Good mids. One of the best sounding IEM's around by far. Hyper detailed. I wouldn't call them natural though. Lots of fan boys here for sure. I can't really blame them. If I didn't need the punch I'd be one too. I could not get any punch out of these what so ever and that killed them for me. Pretty comfortable although the cables were pretty microphonic. I hear they might have fixed that. Built well. $250ish

Livewires T1's- Sound better then the UM-2's I had for the same price. Good smooth deep bass but not nearly as punchy as the dynamic driver Future Sonics. Very good mids and extended somewhat shinny high end. Not as shinny and hyper detailed as the Ety's though. Built really well and no contest on comfort and isolation since their customs. Look for my review. John and co. are really great to deal with. $250


IEM's are expensive but they're getting better all the time. Finding the one with the right trade off of features is the key. There's not one that will do it all until you get up in the $700's. Not for us musicians anyway. If you you can't find it then I'd suggest a set of those high isolation full size cans that are build into safety phones they use at firing ranges and such. But once again, they're over your budget.
 
Aug 14, 2007 at 10:44 PM Post #6 of 22
I had to buy large Shure black foam tips for my UM1. Once I did that, I had no problem with fit. They go in and stay in place. The only problem I've had is when the foam get saturated with sweat, the seal can break. I've had this problem with every IEM I've used with foam tips though, not just the UM1. Without foam tips, every IEM I've tried is either uncomfortable (muti-flange tips), or don't isolate very well (single flange tips). I've also had the same problem with sweat with single flange tips. I guess sweat drips into my ear canal and lubricates them too well for the tips.

I agree with Funk-O-Meter. You probably need to go with a custom.
 
Aug 14, 2007 at 11:02 PM Post #7 of 22
Quote:

Originally Posted by Funk-O-Meter /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Shure E-2's- Sound pretty good. Good mids, pretty good bass. Mellow high end that needs EQ. Very uncomfortable to me. Built well. $150ish these days. In a pinch I'd buy a pair for the road.


Shure E2C's can be found new for under $100, fyi. Amazon, for example...

If the price can go up and you want to consider custom molds, consider Shure E500's. These can be found for under $300 new. I don't know what the cost is to get custom molds made, but I would guess the total cost (phones + molds) would be $500.
 
Aug 14, 2007 at 11:16 PM Post #9 of 22
Quote:

Originally Posted by Arjisme /img/forum/go_quote.gif
f the price can go up and you want to consider custom molds, consider Shure E500's. These can be found for under $300 new.


Out of curiosity, where have you seen a new E500 for under 300.00?
 
Aug 14, 2007 at 11:53 PM Post #13 of 22
Quote:

Originally Posted by aethyal /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I will be using them primarily to play drums.


Are you talking about playing electronic / recorded drums through them? Or playing recorded music through them as 'backing music'?

If it's the second one (which I gather it is) you probably do want a reasonable amount of isolation so that you don't destroy your ears by cranking your music to drown out the drums... Just my $0.02
 
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