[Ukiah Bass]

Hi there - new member here. I'm looking for recommendations for good in-ear monitors to listen to my electric bass when I travel and chill out in the hotel room or in an airport waiting room. I use a fretless Steinberger bass with a Korg ToneWorks PX4B amplifier (quarter inch jack output). I've also been carrying full-size headphones to hear bass sound but would like to downsize to in-ear monitors for less bulk and weight.

I have a pair of $100 Sony ear buds but they are a bit boomy bass-wise. I hear that's a problem with many in-ear buds/monitors. I'm looking for a flatter, true bass tone.

I've been looking at the Atrio and others, but it seems like many posters here are using in-ears for listening to pop music on an iPod, which is a different application from my main goal. Advice from any of you bass players would be welcome. Thanks!

 

[pdennis]

Research the Etymotic ER-4P and ER-4S.

 

[hellopanda]

Ultimare Ears 10 pro.

 

[rabbitsfoot]

I would recommend the Shure E5 (older model but has a better cable-basically same sound) or the UE Triple Fi10 Pro. Both would sound great with your bass and do doulble duty as IEMs for stage use. I prefer the sound of the UE's but the Shure fits closer to the ear if things like this are important to you. The Westone UM2 would do well also and has the best cable of all three-braided and very supple-these are the cheapest by a small margin I think. Good luck.

 

[Nocturnal310]

what exactly does 'monitor' mean here ? does it mean studio monitor headphones?

 

[Ozric]

Westone UM2s because the bass response is warm yet tight, and the build quality (Made in USA!) and comfort is great. Love the cable, too. All at a price which won't break the bank.

 

[pdennis]

Here's a resource that you may or may not know about -- the Headroom frequency response graphs.

They have most of the aforementioned products available for viewing (though not Westone). It looks to me like the Ultimate Ears Triple.Fi 10 would be artificially warm -- lots of midbass. Not what I'd ideally want to use as a monitor (speaking as a bassist).

The flattest low ends I could find were the Etymotic and the Shure E4C. Chew on those graphs for a little while; if you find a product you're interested in, there are plenty of searchable threads discussing the merits of all these products.

 

[rabbitsfoot]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pdennis /img/forum/go_quote.gif Here's a resource that you may or may not know about -- the Headroom frequency response graphs. They have most of the aforementioned products available for viewing (though not Westone). It looks to me like the Ultimate Ears Triple.Fi 10 would be artificially warm -- lots of midbass. Not what I'd ideally want to use as a monitor (speaking as a bassist). The flattest low ends I could find were the Etymotic and the Shure E4C. Chew on those graphs for a little while; if you find a product you're interested in, there are plenty of searchable threads discussing the merits of all these products.

This is a good resource for reference. I do think you have to use listening along with the graphs to get a handle on what they're telling us. The graphs show the UE Triple Fi 10 pro has a slight 3.5-4.0-db increase from about 50hz to 300hz, this level of increase is percieved by the ear as the next loudness level from the original tone level-probably enough to notice a slight warmth in this range- as if standing next to the instrument rather than 20 feet away. The graph is very similar to the Shure E530 except the Shure has just a slight more increase in this area, about 5db. You notice the region of 2k-4k (2000-4000) has a significant reduction in response as our hearing is most senstive to frequencies in this area, especially with IEMs that are inside our ear canals. Manufactures must balance this range for a smooth midrange response. There's a reason why tornado sirens (and others) have a primary frequency centered at 3.5k-3500hz-WE HEAR IT LOUD AND CLEAR! I think the only way to judge what sounds good to you is for an evaluation of the different models that might be appropriate. Keep in mind if you might be using these as monitors for stage use they need to be rather robust and the multiple driver units generally handle more spl (sound pressure level). When monitoring live kick drum, bass, guitar and vocals, you're going to need low end and power handling capability.