Gang-

I know there's several performing musicians among us, and I thought some of this may be of interest to you, and also others who love music loud and live....

First some background info....
We're in the process of starting a "church plant", (basically starting a new one in a new location, but getting major funding for the venture from the parent church)with 150+ members of our existing church forming the core group and several of the praise band members going too.
This will be targeted a bit more to the younger generations, (sub-40) I'll be one of the old fogies... so the music is pretty rocking.
Basic band is two singers, drummer, bass, two lead guitars, and a keyboard.

So far we have two excellent complete bands put together to do the music on alternating Sundays, and we've been buying sound equipment etc; we're meeting in a school gymnasium for the first couple years, and have to be very portable.

Anyway- at practice last night, I was given a Christmas present in August...a set of Ultimate Ears super-fi Pro in-ear monitors.

For our monitoring system, we have been donated (!) a stage monitoring system by Aviom. With this, each musician and vocalist has their own controller stand that's connected back to the mixing board, and can adjust the volume of 16 different incoming channels; it allows each one to custom tailor the sound, no more of the "more me" syndrome

I can not believe how good this setup sounds.

Now all this isn't cheap, but it's the way a lot of touring bands do it, and some of the mega-churches too. I never dreamed we'd do it.

Fortunately for us, a guy who owns a sound equipment company goes to our church, and another individual made a very large donation to help us buy all the equipment.

We are using a small practice facility, (imagine your dining room full of gear)where a normal bass amp and acoustic drums would drive the vocalist's mikes bonkers; (aside from doing severe hearing damage,) with this system, all the instruments (including drums)are miked direct into the mixing board, we can get the feel and volume level of a full stage with blaring amps and all, but without driving all the neighbors away...

In fact, if you sat in the room without the in-ears, all you'd hear is the singing and the drums, and maybe the acoustic guitar. Outside the building, you would hardly hear the drums...we've got an isolation unit made for them, for practice.

But to us, the players, it sounded fantastic.
It was like listening to a live CD, except it was us playing it.

Another big plus, my ears weren't ringing when I walked out of there, either. THese UE's have great sound isolation.

These in-ear monitors are essentially earbuds. They have a tweeter and a woofer of sorts, two ear holes (one for highs and one for lows) and the necessary form-fitting ear canal inserts.

If you're interested, check them out at Guitar Center, they're about 250 or so. Like I said, not cheap, but outstanding sound quality.

If you're a music lover and want to hear just how good your iPod can sound, try them out- they are astonishing.

Anyway- not trying to sell you guys something or brag about our setup, just letting you know this is something worth checking out. My ears are already thanking me for it .
Plus, our drummer isn't complaining about having to play an electronic set just so the rest of us can hear for the next week.

Here's a couple websites for more info:

Here's the unit at each musicians spot on the stage: Aviom personal monitor

Here's the earbuds....
Ultimate Ears

Let me know what you think, or other things that you've found useful on stage. In my book, this ranks right up there, as necessary as my bass guitar. Well, almost.

Later-
TonyY

That's cool. we're using the Aviom system at our church also, and you're right. I love it!! Ask your drummer if he would be interested in trying the Roland V Custom studio rig. I use them, and they're phenomenal!! 50 drum rig patches off the top that sound great(200 or 500 drum rigs), and you can mix and match and e.q. individual drums to make your own rig. The pads have a great response to them, and the sensitivity factor is unbelievable!! Sounds like a live rig. The PD 120 kick pad is incredible, and I use double pedals with it, and it sounds like I'm playing a real kick drum! This rig sounds great with the Aviom system, and you wouldn't need the sound shield. The rig's close to 6 grand, but worth every penny, and would be a worthwhile investment for your church.

Bruce-
Welcome to the board by the way....

At the parent church, we have two venues, one a more contemporary "cafe" style with a mostly guitar driven songlist, and seating for 200.
The other is the "big house", our sanctuary, seats 750 or so. I normally play 3 or 4 Sundays a month, three services a day in the big house.

We have an older set of Roland V's in the smaller one and a set of the newer Pro V's in the big house. Both have their own personal monitor systems.
We have about 6 drummers total, (3 fantastic ones)and all of them will gladly play them, but prefer acoustics.

A pro (Jim Brock) that we bring in once a month or so as his schedule allows jokingly calls them the Sesame Street set.
He's kidding around of course, but even he would prefer a "real" set, given a choice.

Most of our drummers don't really like the feel (or mainly the lack of it) and playability.
For example, it's difficult to get the nuances of the fifty or so different sounds you can get from an acoustic snare, out of the Roland snare... You can do it, by programming etc, but it just doesn't naturally react to the sticks and technique of most drummers.

They do say the cymbals on the Pro are a major improvement over the old versions, but still are miles away from responding like a set of real Paistes or Zildjans. It's still hitting rubber.

We've had several years experience with the Rolands. Honestly, they aren't built all that well compared to equivalent acoustic sets like Drum Workshops, they don't allow you the nuances of a "real" set, and we've been plagued with reliability issues from the constant use. Admittedly, we're rough on them, they have to be moved on and off the stage probably 4 times a week, and each drummer is different in how they like the setup, so the adjustable things like cymbal stands are wearing out.

The main reason we even bought them is the rooms we're in are very "live" and regular drums are nearly impossible to control the volume on in that setting.
Of course it helps if the drummers are talented and capable of a variety of dynamics, rather than just banging it out hard all the time...so, they allow us to cover for the less accomplished drummers and manage the volume levels for consistency.

All that to say, yeah- we've got them, we use them, but if we had to do it over again we'd build an isolation unit and mike a normal set.
And, since that's basically what we have the opportunity to do with this church plant, we're buying a good set of acoustics and isolation shields, and high quality mikes etc. Our drummers are estatic to get away from the electronic sets.

Gotta go...
Tonyy

My new band is going to be using IEM's. Unfortunately of the 4 setups we're planning to utilize, 3 of them will be Nady PEM500's or PEM's. Not the best or even near it but not the cheapest either but affordable. $269 for a PEM500 transmitter and 1 receiver. I already own a receiver and will be buying a complete set. The guitarist is going to buy another complete set. The keyboardist will only need to buy a receiver. The lead singer already owns a Shure PSM200 set and the cheaper Nady PEM set. This will be my first venture into the IEM scheme! I'll only be asking for a vocal mix. I don't like instruments in my wedges and most like will not like them in my monitors!

On another note, if Nady would upgrade those cheap earbuds to something decent it'd be nice!

Tony...those Super-Fi Pros are nice. I'm a big fan of IEM's but for portable, on the go music listening as I am not a musician. It's been a hobby of mine for several years and I've bought, traded and sold several pairs. I'm currently alternating between the Etymotic Research ER-6i's and the Shure E4's. Very different sounds but I love them both. Now I'm considering a pair of the Etymotic ER-4P's. It is truly astonishing how an IEM upgrade can enhance the music listening experience instead of using crappy stock earbuds, however a proper fit and seal is key.

Trust me, like all the others, I'll take an acoustic rig any day. I just dig what can be done with the 'tronics and playing surfaces and adjusting to what you've got to work with. I'll tell you something funny. Sometimes when I have to play on a big stage with full p.a. gear, I'll use two Roland td-7 kick pads with an Alesis DM5 brain set on a reggae kick drum patch, a PDP snare, and cymbals. That's it. I love it when I'm asked by the sound crew "Where's the rest of your drums?" "That's all you're workin' with?

DW-
Good for you- even if the overall quality isn't as high, it's still better for your ears, and you'll love the clarity. I think it's already made us a tighter band, just by being able to clearly hear the nuances of each other's playing.

I'd probably never have bought anything like this stuff on my own, but I will certainly enjoy using it!

Steve, yeah- I had bought a set of Shure E2's a while back; the sound is great, and I love using them when mowing, I can hear Dream Theater and save my ears at the same time !
But, they are just more like really really good earbuds. These IEM super-fi's are just a world apart. The bass response is incredible.

I may never use headphones again.

Unless of course I lose these, which is a big issue for me...I'll have to pay to replace them! Ouch.
You're also right about the seal and fit. I've found the foam to work best on my Shures, but it wears out pretty fast. I plan to buy a box of the super fi's foam inserts and keep them handy.
But, the foam allows more of a custom fit, at least with my ears, as it expands to fill the gaps.

Anyway....gotta go
Tonyy

Here's something to put on the Christmas list. The first triple driver IEM.

Shure just started filling orders for these last month. They are suppose to be heavenly......

Price will probably come down to $350'ish in about 6 months or so.

http://www.headphone.com/products/headphones/head-set/shure-e500.php

Thanks guys. It's a blast chattin' with yous. I have a pair of custom fitted earplugs that I can't find 'em right now, but when I transferred to Navy Band Jacksonville in '96, they were making these special plugs for Air Force pilots and musicians, and eventually started making them I think for all branches of military bands. basically they keep your ears from damage of high db's, but have lots of clarity, and makes low frequencies clear, and doesn't muffle your eardrums. At the time, I asked the procurement officer how much did they cost per pair, and he told me 1500 dollars!! Wow! I hope I can find these things soon.

Bruce-
they're 1500 bucks because they are military spec Like those 1000 dollar hammers and toilet seats....

Seriously, that sounds like a great set, hope you find them. I've become acutely aware of how much hearing damage I've had over the years, and these things will help preserve what I have left.

Steve- Wow. 350 for earbuds... But I bet they'll be worth it. I also bet audiophiles will line up for them.
I can't imagine how they get three speakers in there....must be some form of nano-technology.

Who knows, maybe next will be implantable wireless speakers that they just insert with a needle under the skin near the ears' nerve centers. Hmmmm....Bond, James Bond....

I've been using Shure PSM400's w/E2 earbuds for about 5 years now. I've been talking with a local audiologist about upgrading the earpieces to dual-driver Westone ES2 with custom molds, reason being the E2s (and E3's I used to use) are ridiculously unfcomfortable and often fall out. The Westones have been getting rave reviews and they're actually cheaper than Shure.

Just sold my Shure E4's and picked these Etymotic ER-4P's.

http://www.discountheadphones.com/er4.html

They say the detail and clarity of the Etymotics is the best in class. I'm hearing things on recording I never heard before. Some people think they are bass shy but they are enough for me. I've kind of weaned myself off the big and boomy bass. It has a tendency to cloud out and veil the highs.

I dig low end, but not too much. Enough to round everything off and make it full.

well, thought I'd toss out some opinions on these guys now that I've had the chance to use them in performance.
Mostly impressed with the Aviom system, but the in-ears are great.
Quick setup background, we have mikes on all the drums, drum shields, two guitarists with tube amps with mikes on them and isolation boxes over the amps to prevent stage wash, two vocalists, a keyboard guy (Yamaha Motif), and me. No other amps or monitor speakers.
Wow. I am a control freak anyway but there's nothing quite like being able to turn down one vocalist, turn up the snare, turn up the hi-hat, turn down the toms, turn up the kick, turn down the second lead player, adjust for the keys patch volume differences on the fly, turn up the bass, etc....just press a button and turn the knob. Save all that for next time, easy. Total control of what I want to hear. It was like playing along to a CD with headphones on.

OK, so it's my first time using a system like this. I can now understand why so many professionals do it this way.
Obviously the Aviom is the biggest part of it, and having a board that'll let you use it.
Here's what I had on stage; my Bass Pod with foot switch, two regular guitar cords, and a direct box. That's it. No amp, no monitor speakers, nothing else other than the ear buds and the Avion system.
The only drawback is, I'm tethered to that Aviom with a fifteen foot cord and the cord to my Pod, so it's hard to take one in-ear out and walk around to the Mackie sub and tower, and see how I sound in the house.
I plan to get an extension for the next time, so I can do that more easily.

Don't really know how well it worked in the house, (from most comments it sounded great) but on the stage, it was like a dream.

I will be playing at the main church this Sunday, and I almost dread going back to the electronic drums and all the monitor issues I've lived with for a long time....it's like after you've tasted real handcranked and churned homemade ice cream, (peach, preferably) the store brand tastes plain.

One thing about these SuperFi in-ears, tho...they are extremely efficent, so when you go from headphones to these, the volume needs to be cut WAY down or you'll blow out your grey matter....huge difference.

Gotta go...
TonyY

The in-ears have been a blessing. What's been nice is that I can take the plugs with a cable adapter and have monitors in my ears striaght in the board, or from another monitor! But yes, it is really nice when you can have your own mix of what you need in your ears, and it's soundin' off really good out front. The in-ear monitor system is "all that and a bag of chips"!

i use a UE super fi pro for my iPod, its great well balanced sound.

their new triple driver model looks tempting but its
a bit much for my wallet at this time.

You got that right; they do look interesting, but the ones I have now were nearly 250 bucks, that's more than enough for me.
Glad to hear you're using the UE's for the iPod, I love using mine with my mp3 player and computer stereo also....they sound fantastic. One thing to note, tho, you have to experiment with the diiferent ear plug configurations. With one form, if I smiled, it came loose from my ear. With another shape, it remained intact but moved just enough to break the seal and lose the bass. I really like the foams, but they need to be replaced far more often.

I was at a rehearsal at church last night, and, and realized how much the v-drum set sounded coming through the in-ears. Man, sounds like a live drum rig! It's nice when you can take a 'tronic rig and play dynamics when the in-ears sound sweet and clear!

Hey Tony, have gotten a case of upgrade-itis yet on those Super-Fi Pro's? heh..heh..heh....

http://www.earphonesolutions.com/uleanewtrxtr.html?gclid=COus5cy-uIgCFQJPQgodeWS1hg

These would make a nice Christmas present to yourself.

holy cow- those look great.
Amazing that it's a triple driver...

No, since I'm not the one paying for these unless I lose them, no desire to get new ones. Yet

Noticed this, in the specs on that website, and it explains why I thought these in-ears were EXTREMELY efficient...they about blew my ears out at first, I highly recommend turning the volume DOWN on the mp3 player before plugging these guys in. Anyway;

Shure E2 105dB/mW
UE SuperFi 5 Pro 119dB/mW

That's over 10% more efficient, which is definitely noticable!

Later- Thanks Steve, for the link, very cool.
But not yet....

TY

Hey guys. One thing I've come to notice 'bout the in-ears; I happen to sweat a lot, so, the ear plugs get really wet, and sometimes the plugs will short, which means that I have to order three more pkgs of plugs to keep in stock. The good thing is that it's minor, and the church will order them for me, which is cool.

Bruce- so far that's not been a problem for me at all, although drummers have a LOT more to do physically than I do, so I can see your point. I'd think the in-ear manufacturers would have sweat on their list of things to contain or be impervious to....not sure what you mean by the plugs shorting out, do you mean the entire in-ear shorts out, or the little attenuator adapter?
Maybe you should consider taping the plugs...

Biggest issue I've had with mine are they do get dislodged from time to time, either from sweat or just movement of facial muscles, like when you smile, it changes the shape of the ear canal. Using the foam ear piece seems to cure it, but they don't last more than a week for me, before they get too grody.

good thing you're not having to pay for it all the time...

Later
TY

Fortunately, our inner ears don't sweat. A headband will take care of sweat coming down from your head if you are working out but that may not look all that "cool" up onstage.

Hey Tony. It's the foam earplugs that will get soaked from sweat and sometimes will not work, and I'd have to change them out after several months or sooner pending on the pair that I'm using at the time. I have dreadlocks halfway down my back, and keep in a ponytail when playing. even if I were to use a headband, I'd still soak them out 'cause I sweat a lot. That's why I'm glad the church will get them for me.

Well...I bit the bullet.

I sold my Shure E4's and Etymotic ER-4P's to help fund a pair of Ultimate Ears Triple Fi Pro 10's!

Oh my Lord....these things sound absolutely unfricken incredible. Music nirvana, no doubt.

I was contemplating between the Shure E500 and these. Both are new products and triple driver IEM's but from everything I have read, the E500's are better for Rock/Hip Hop and the Triple Fi's are better for acoustic and jazz. Here is the link describing the Triple Fi's.

http://www.earphonesolutions.com/uleanewtrxtr.html?gclid=COus5cy-uIgCFQJPQgodeWS1hg

My wife wants to check me into a mental institution for paying $400 for a pair of IEM's but to me they are worth every penny. Music is my hobby. Some guys are photography buffs and can spend thousands on lenses, some guys are hunting buffs and buy a wide selection of guns (depending what you are hunting I guess?) and some guys buy boats etc, etc, etc... Heck, some guys are musicians and spend thousands on different bass guitars (My wife would be like...why do you need more than one?) I love to play golf but other than that I really don't have any other expensive hobbies. I am very anal about the sound quality of the music I listen to and I am always striving for the ultimate listening experience and I think I have found it with these.

"My wife wants to check me into a mental institution for paying $400 for a pair of IEM's. I am always striving for the ultimate listening experience and I think I have found it with these."

IN MY OPINION, YOUR WIFE IS MARRIED TO A VERY WISE MAN!

I'm going to definitely check these Ultimate Ears Triple Fi Pro 10's per your recommendation. I use my ipod like crazy when I travel and I really want a great pair of in ear phones. And my wife will want to commit me too...

Man Law! Man Law!

Ken, the folks at www.earphonesolutions.com are really good. I have done a lot of business with them. There is a no questions asked 30 day return policy so if for some reason you can't get the right sound or fit, you can switch to something else...like the E500 or the new Westone 3 is also suppose to be terrific.

Ken, you'll love them- I have the UE super-fi 5's, that's what we use for in-ear monitors, and I tell ya....they sound terrific with my portable player, and they are just excellent sound reproducers on stage. Tight bass and kick, very responsive.
They'll spoil you from this point on, tho, you may never go back to headphones again!

Steve, good for you- exert that manly control there... ....I'd do the same thing, if I had the spare bucks; I'm still justifying my last guitar, maybe it'd give her something else to harp on, eh?

Another great thing about the in-ears is the noise attenuation- the UE's block out like 25dB worth, I use them when mowing the yard, to help save what little hearing I have left...

One other thing, Ken, is start out with the volume low, they are super efficient, you won't need much volume at all to get them pumping.

Later
TY

Yea, it's astonishing what a big and expansive sound using these things out of a little Nano and without an additional amp. Soundstage equal to headphones. Gotta love technology. We've come along way since the Sony Cassette Walkman.

Thanks Steve and Tony for the additional info - Now I can't wait!

Do you think that for my primary use - the ipod - that the super.fi 5 pro would be the best choice? And do you think that some of the quality of the Triple.fi 10 pro might be lost with the ipod?

Hiya Ken-
I don't know, but I'd think the higher end in-ears would sound best on a full fidelity file, be it wave or "analog", but they'd make a higher quality mp3 sound great too.....but to be honest, for my money, the 5's are simply outstanding, and they're on the recommended list for the iPod.
UE website home
I'd say go there, and check the specs for each one.
Best test would be your own ears on your own music, I'd say- it's possible you can find a store that'd let you do a side by side comparison, or .....

you could be REALLY insane and order them both, test them, and send back the pair you don't want. (Or give them to your wife as a gift She'll love them too, if she's into portable music.)

I'm fortunate to be in the position of having these bought for me, as replacements for on-stage monitors/bass amp. Works great, actually, but I do miss the amp moving some air behind me....We're using the Aviom system, you need to check that out too, you'd LOVE it.
I actually have been leaving one earbud slightly loose in one ear, so that I can hear the ambient sounds, of the audience and of the PA system and subs; that reconnects me to everything, as these earbuds can make you feel really isolated, they do such a good job of noise reduction.

Anyway, I sit in envy of Steve, I know he's got the best possible in-ears available, and I'm sure he's diggin it. Lucky dooooggggg, SH......

Hey, why not try the ol' corporate sponsor thing, they get to say you use them, and you get a set for free? Worth a shot, dude....

Ken, I have not heard the Super-Fi's. The Triple Fi's are my first Ultimate Ears Products. But obviously Tony is a big fan of the Super-Fi.

Oddly, even though they are both Ultimate Ears products, most of the reviews on the Triple Fi's describe them as sounding MUCH different than that Super-Fi's (and supposedly in a whole nother class).

I will try to post you some direct comparions later but if you go to www.head-fi.org and go to the "Headphones" section, there is a search function. You can type in just about any headphone/IEM you want and it will pull up all related posts. Most of the guys on this website are real diehard audiophiles so the information is very good. But obviously, everyone's tastes are different so you need to read as many posts as possible and gauge your own opinion.

Here is a detailed review from the forum.

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=232883

You will see a lot of guys are homeboys of certain brands (Etymotic, for sure)so there can be much banter back and forth. It really depends on what you like. Big full sound? Big bass? Laid back? Balanced and flat? Lighter bass but fast and accurate?

But I'll say this. 95% of IEM's in general have a very low impedance which mean they don't require any outside/extra amplification to gain most benefit (even though some guys will say they benefit better from amps). The Super-Fi's and the Triple Fi's are (I believe) the same impedance so you will get same output of sound from both. But if you can swing it ($$) Trip Fi's should sound better. While Super-Fi's may sound great, once you get used to them you will always be wondering what that next step will sound like. Just take the plunge now and save the hassle later . While it may be hard to believe, playing my Triple Fi's out of either a Nano or a 200watt larger mini-system I honestly cannot tell a sound difference so yes, you should get full benefit even if used mainly with an Ipod. I really think you will be blown away.

Also, for about $180, I highly recommend the Shure E4's. VERY detailed, tight and accurate. Pretty good soundstage and bass. Not one area stands out, they just seem to do everything very well. Great for jazz and acoustic.

I love the in-ears. I'm using them at church, but I'm hoping that some of the sound companies here in Jax start using them more often, and I use them for my computer and CD player from time to time.

SH-
Interesting forum there....and some definite opinions! I've not thought about it, but I had a somewhat similar experience on the super-fi 5's (Pros, by the way) in that they seem to sound better after being used for a while. I don't know how many hours, but I can understand them having a burn-in period of sorts. One guy said 30 hours, I don't know.....all I know is, they sound great, better than when new.
If money was no object, I could be an audiophile kinda gear head. For now, not gonna be able to change these out unless they fail, and I sure as heck hope they don't.

I still miss the ambient sounds when playing live though... We're trying to figure out how to hang a mike in the back of the room that would have a feed on our Aviom monitors, so we could mix in the room a bit more. And the thunk from the bass and kick sounds great in the in-ears, but I'm not feeling it on stage. (It's in the subs, but I'm not close enough to them to feel it well.)
I miss my amp, to be honest, but miking up a bass amp is a tough thing to do well. Our lead player uses a Bogner amp, wonderful sounding guitar amp, with an isolation box and a mike inside so that stage volume is very controlled; sounds fantastic. But if I do that with a bass amp, it muffles it too much; bass moves a ton of air, so it needs to breathe. I may push harder for it, the drummer we had this Sunday was really wanting my amp, so he could feel it as much as hear it.

Anyway- sorry for the ramble there....

My use of the SP5Pro in-ears is primarily for the stage monitoring and the iPod/mp3 listening is just a bonus I get out of it.

One other thing, the fit is so crucial to the sound- you have to try out several different ear forms. I finally settled on the clear rubber ones, they seem to hold the unit in place better and move around less than anything other than the foams. I like the foams, but they're ready for the trash can in about two weeks, with my ears.
Only down side to the rubber ones is they get uncomfortable after an hour or so.
Good thing we do 30 minute sets

Ken, I'd say go for the big guns, dude- as much as you travel, it'd be worth it to have the best available. I still think you may be in a position to get a better deal on them as a musician, and if that's the case, then go all out.

Time to get out of here....

Thanks again for all the great info - I think I will go for the best - the Pro 10's. I'll let you all know once I've got 'em and post my review. Can't wait!

As a matter of fact, I'm taking my in-ears with me to use for the Springin' the Blues Fest this evening. They really come in good for me with large stages. Ken, you'll love 'em!

Ken-
GO for it.....even if your wife says you're insane

Seriously, since this is your job and passion, why not, dude.... you can write them off as a business expense, as equipment required to do your job. You'll find they'll become that vital to you, I bet!

Let us know how it goes...

Keep in mind that the universal fit Ultimate Ears IEM's are somewhat larger than other brands and tend to stick out of your ears a bit. Some people are turned off by that because they think it looks goofy. (Personally, I think a blue tooth phone ear piece look far goofier) But The Triple Fi's are just a pinch larger than the Super-Fi's. Having said that I still find them very comfortable. But if you require a much lower profile in the ear the E500 may be a better bet.

I mentioned I was coming off Etymotic ER-4's and Shure E4's which are tight and detailed with razer sharp highs so it took me several days to get use to these TFP's. I don't think the TFP's are quite as crisp and detailed but they offer so much more in terms of soundstage/imaging and bass. I was just listening to PMG's Half Life of Absolution from The Road To You live cd and in the long pulsating middle between Pat and Lyles's solos, Paul Wertico is plenty busy. There are some nice high hats in the far right channel but the TFP's soundstaging is so wide that I also hear a reverberation of the high hat back into the left channel. I have heard this song on IEM's probably a hundred times and never noticed that with any other IEM. Really neat stuff. Sorry to get so carried away here with my rambling.

Yes, Ken, please report back and let us know what you think. Good luck.

Well, okay to call me a whacko but I sent my Triple Fi Pros back in exchange for the Shure E530 (E500), Shure's version of the triple driver IEM.

I kept struggling with the fit in my left ear. The seal seemed okay but no matter what tip I used it just never felt secure and I kept having to feel the need to push it in every few minutes. It became annoying after a while. I'm sure everyone wouldn't necessarily have this problem but these IEM's are even a little bit larger than the Super-Fi Pro's which some people have problems getting a good fit. The Shures are much better ergonomically and I have always loved the Shure sound signature of the forward midrange...the most beautiful midrange in the business which is so important with horns and deep acoustics.

The Shure E530 also has this funky "Push To Hear" (PTH) adapter which is probably a godsend for musicians but I would probably never use it. More on the Shure E530.
http://www.earphonesolutions.com/shseeasasshe.html

Ken, not sure if you took the plunge yet on the Triple Fi's but I should have these E530's Monday or Tuesday and will be sure to post a comparative review next week.

I haven't moved forward yet with the triple Fis or the Pro 10s - I'm waiting for my next extended travel. I'm glad I waited a bit and look forward to hearing your report on the E530s. The fit is really important to me too - I am constantly fiddling with the inexpensive ones I have now.

Steve- sorry to hear that, but I can understand it...the sound is one thing, but the fit has to be good.
To be honest, with these super-fi's I have, I couldn't find a comfortable fit with the supplied varriety of ear forms, aside from the larger foams. I ended up using the largest set of clear rubber forms from my Shure E2's; they aren't the most comfortable, but I get the best seal with those. I love the foams, it's just that I'd be replacing them all the time with the way my ears are. So, those old Shures came in handy
But, even with that, I doubt I've ever had these UE's on for more than an hour or two max at a time. Maybe that's just me, I don't wear headphones for more than that either, without at least taking them off for a five or ten break.

In my case, using them on stage, it's much less about comfort than about good sound. I've been cheating a bit lately, using a complete seal on the right ear and removing the ear form altogether on the left, so that I can hear some ambient sound....gives me back that connection to the folks in the room.

Anyway- hopefully you'll "settle in" to the new ones. Shure makes great products, so from that side of it, I know they'll be great. Let us know.

Ken, glad to see you're waiting for the right time, but I'd say be auditioning some of these to see for yourself- like Steve has done, you can send them back if you decide within the window of time they give you. Plus, the UE's (and I guess others) will make you a custom molded ear form to use....not sure how much more those are, tho.
Use your musicians' discount, dude

Hey Tony. I do the same thing when playing. I keep the right plug in my ear, and leave the left out for ambience. With some groups I perform with like tonight at Sawgrass Marriott, they point a Mackie Monitor on a stand towards me that sits 2 feet away from me, and that's fine 'cause the band plays with dynamics, so that works.

Bruce-
yeah, nothing wrong with monitors if they are good ones and well mixed. I'm also glad to see I'm not the only one who cheats like that....I need to hear some ambient just to be sure I'm still in the house; too many bad experiences there

The main thing I love about our setup with the in-ears is 1)the sound attenuation (save what hearing I have left...)and 2)the Aviom's ability to adjust everyone's volume, channel, stereo and pan (on stereo instruments.) We've got the drums very well miked. (all separate mikes: kick, snare, hi hat, floor tom, then one mike for the two smaller toms, then two overheads for the cymbals.) All that goes into four spots on the Aviom, so I can increase the kick, turn down the snare, pan the cymbals hard left and right, etc etc.
This Sunday we had two electric guitars, one acoustic, (with two channels, one pick up and one mike), three vocals, my bass, the drums, and the keys.
One of the guitar players runs very hot most of the time, so I keep him low in the mix, the other guy's varies so much that I have to adjust him on the fly. The keys are sort of like that too, depending on what patches he's using.
So, in my "headspace" I can basically arrange the players around me with my bass dead center and a hair louder than the rest, to be sure I'm playing it cleanly and with good articulation. Then, I can bring the whole volume level down just a touch, makes it much more comfortable.

Unfortunately, we'd NEVER be able to do that with our old monitor setup....seems that once it was set, we were stuck with it, since the sound guys usually had to run video and lights too, so I could never get their attention after the initial setup.

Oh well....
Back to work.

Tony

I like to keep one plug in the right ear 'cause the acoustic piano is to my left, and the guitarist plays acoustic also. everything else including drums are run through DI. I guess I look at this in a similar light to runnin' two kick mics to get presence, depth, and punch.

Not sure how much I will help you but here goes....

Received yesterday and after about 3 hours use, here are my thoughts but I am needing to do the comparison to TFP from memory of about a week ago, not side by side.

I just love the thick Shure cables. They’re SO thick they don’t really tangle at all and it just adds a robustness to the whole package. The TFP’s cord seemed rather squirrelly to me, not a big deal though. Upon inserting the E530’s with the new medium foamies it was an instant perfect fit within seconds…very nice. The short and sweet of it I would call the E530 an E4 with a small subwoofer. Like having that terrific car stereo with (4) or (6) good speakers and adding a single 8” subwoofer in the trunk to really fill out the overall sound. That’s almost it. I don’t notice a larger soundstage than E4 but it might be. Not shure I could justify over 2 ½ times the cost for this improvement over the E4 but it is what it is. I think this product should be around $300 but as we move up the sound improvement chain the law of diminishing returns increases and “bang for your buck” becomes less of an issue. We just gotta have the best.

With regards to more specific comparisions to TFP, while they do sound different from one another, it’s really a toss up as far as saying one is better than the other (soundwise). Some have said the TFP’s sound boring (but not necessarily in an insulting way), that they are so laid back. I would say that the TFP’s sound to me like they still have a slightly larger soundstage and a more open, airier sound. This may be what some refer to as boring whereas the E530 sounds more up front and the drums just seem to slam a little harder. Dave Weckl sounds fantastic on these. But while the bass doesn’t slam as hard on the TFP’s I notice a hint more texture, particularly on some Victor Wooten passages. I’d love to hear them side by side again. As said before Shure owns the midrange, period. On the highs, I think they are very similar in detail but the approach is a little different. Again the TFP’s sound a little airier and distant (but very detailed) and the Shures a little more up front and crisp with slightly shorter decay. At loud volumes for extended listening periods, the Shures might become a little (and I mean only a little) fatiguing compared to TFP’s. I think overall the E530 has a more balanced sound across all three frequencies. These are both EXCELLENT IEM”s and the differences I describe are subtle. Some people may plug both of these into their ears and say they sound the same. As said before, I don’t think you can go wrong with either. They offer a BIG, BOLD and DETAILED sound straight out of an Ipod. Pretty much everyone would be blown away by the dynamic sound of either of these. If the fit wasn’t an issue, I would have been completely happy to stick with the TFP’s but the Shures are a much easier fit and I really dig those cables. So, Ken, if fit is really an issue with you, I'd have to give the nod to the Shures. Or get both and send one back.

That's a good observation. We're using the Aviom system and Westone ear sets at church.