Number 7 from the list below is perhaps our top reason. Substitute "congregation" for "audience."
We do not serve ourselves, but God and others. If we put the needs of others above our own, we want them to have a distraction-free time of worship. We should continually improve, and make every effort to grow in every aspect of our craft. We learn new songs to help the church worship in different times and seasons. We should learn new tools and technologies as well.
Imagine that your mix is like a shoebox diorama, where you want to hold a number of things, but also see everything. Only so much can fit, without things seeming to disappear, or worse - fall out. You need enough things for the scene to make sense. However, too many pieces creates chaos. If you have pieces in front of other pieces, something is going unseen. Each piece present should have a purpose.
What pieces are needed for the scene to work? What instruments and voices do you need in your mix so you may best perform the song?
Balance - Need enough in your mix to know where you are, but not so much that the mix is mud.
Not always intuitive. If you can't hear yourself, don't start by turning yourself up. Find what is competing, and turn that down.
Source: Shure - 10 Reasons Why In-Ear Monitors are better Than WedgesThe expression "garbage in, garbage out" applies here. If you're using wedges and can't hear yourself unless you turn up loud enough to damage your ears and interfere with the house mix, then nobody wins. Alternatively, in-ear personal monitors deliver consistently clear sound to you onstage, regardless of your venue's limitations. When you can adjust your performance to reflect what you hear, it's a better experience both for you and the audience. Your confidence as a performer will get a big boost too.
When using wedges, monitor engineers often end up in the middle of a volume war between the amplified and the unamplified. Singers, acoustic guitarists, and keyboardists can't hear themselves over amplified electric guitarists and bassists, let alone over the drums. So, they ask, "Can you turn me up?"
"Maybe," is the best the engineer can offer due to the limitations of power amplifier size, power handling of the speakers, and potential acoustic gain. If the room has bad acoustics, then peace is even less likely. With an in-ear personal monitor system, you'll get studio-quality sound in a live-sound context. You can choose what you hear, and your engineers aren't stuck waving the white flag.
You know the sound of feedback: that intense buzzing whine that sends your hands to your ears. But what causes it?
Feedback happens when amplified sound from a loudspeaker is picked up by a microphone and re-amplified. This often occurs on crowded stages where microphones and monitor loudspeakers are too close together. When your whole band asks the engineer to turn up their mics, feedback is inevitable. In-ear personal monitor systems make this scenario moot. They seal the "loudspeakers" in your ears, breaking the feedback loop.
Chronic exposure to the high sound pressure levels of wedges can damage your ears permanently. Earplugs can help, but even the best plugs alter frequency response enough to muffle the audio. In-ear monitors both protect your ears from outside noise while simultaneously delivering only the sounds you need to hear. With the controls in your hands, you can adjust the volume to a safe level. It's by far the healthier option.
The most powerful singer is no match for an amplified guitar turned way up, or even a drum kit as-is. When singers can't hear themselves over the stage mix—which often happens with wedge monitors—they push their voices too hard, damaging vocal chords and shortening singing careers. In-ear personal monitors allow you to hear yourself clearly when you sing, and you won't have to scream over guitar amps and wedges. In addition to your own vocals, you can include in your mix as much or as little of the other instruments as you want.
A distinct advantage of most in-ear monitor systems over wedges is the ability to listen in stereo. Our ears are made for stereo listening, so a stereo mix is more like a natural listening environment. When you're able to listen to a natural-sounding mix, you're more likely to listen at a lower volume. This means healthier ears over the long term.
Wedges are directional at high frequencies, but they become omnidirectional at low frequencies. Why that's bad: when wedges are turned up, low-frequency bleed from the backs of the units can muddy the house mix and make vocals unintelligible to the audience, especially in smaller venues. When you use in-ear monitors, the front-of-house engineer can concentrate on delivering the best possible audience mix without having to factor in bleed from the stage mix.
If you play an amplified instrument or drums, then you're no stranger to schlepping gear. Amps weigh around 55 pounds each. Wedges weigh about 45 pounds each. The more of those you have, the larger the vehicle you need, and the more you're spending on gas. A complete in-ear monitor system fits in a briefcase, with no extra schlepping, vehicle space, or gas required. Plus, getting rid of wedges and speaker cables gives your stage a cleaner, more professional look, which matters if your gigs are weddings, worship services, and corporate events with different aesthetic standards than the average night club.
When you use wedge monitors, you're limited to a sweet spot onstage where the mix sounds as good as it gets. Move a little to the right or left, and things go downhill. Why? Because loudspeakers are directional. Using in-ear monitors, on the other hand, is like using headphones: the sound goes where you go. So, if you want to play to the crowd on either side of the stage, you hear the same mix wherever you go.
Perhaps the most empowering part of in-ear monitoring is having direct control over what you hear. You'll still rely on the monitor engineer for fine adjustments, but you can adjust the volume using the knob on your bodypack, and you can choose different mixes yourself.
If you use a stereo mix, you'll hear the same thing in both ears, but you can pan left and right to hear more or less in either ear. If you use a system with MixMode®, you'll hear a summed mix in both ears. From there, you can use the bodypack controls to adjust the balance of the sound sources. For example, you might want vocals and guitar in the left ear, and drums and bass in the right.
Considering going the in-ear route for live sound monitoring, there are some concerns that should be addressed, first of which is safety.
Use both headphones. Using one-ear only can cause hearing damage.
Sound operators in the booth as well as all musicians need to understand the impact of adjusting gain/ trim after sound check. If anyone can't keep from adjusting their volume after sound check, they are putting everyone else at risk of life-long, irreversible hearing damage.
To prevent this, often IEM systems have dedicated hard limiting, use their own monitor mixer, and split to FOH. Depending how much functionality is already in the FOH board, this can be unnecessary. Rather, it can be solved with education, and systematic soundchecks prior to every rehearsal and event.
Keeping wedges, or at least two monitors, positioned like stage fills can act as a fallback, should anyone have issues with their in-ears.
Before buying any wireless product, someone with some radio knowledge should check for competing frequencies in the area.
| Headphone Amps | Behringer MicroMON MA400 Ultra-Compact Monitor Headphone Amplifier | $30 each | |
|---|---|---|---|
| In-Ear Headphones | MEE M6 Single dynamic driver, like Shure SE215 |
$15 each | |
| Wireless for Vocals | Phenyx Pro UHF Stereo Wireless Monitor System | $230 | |
| Additional Receivers? | Phenyx Pro PTM-10 Stereo Wireless in Ear Monitor System Bodypack Receiver | $90 |
Sennheiser EW IEM G4 Wireless In-Ear Monitoring System is currently one of the best solutions out there, however comes at a price. Better to only cry once??
One of these may fit the bill...
For anyone in a static position, going hardwired can be a perfect solution. Pros: Signal quality will always be better. Never need to worry about batteries dying in your receiver.
Behringer MicroMON MA400 Ultra-Compact Monitor Headphone AmplifierThis is going to be expensive. Each individual will need to see an audiologist to obtain impressions to create custom molds for their ears. Plenty of options to choose from... Ultamate Ears, InEarz, 64 Audio, Alclair, and Westone (via Sweetwater) to name a few!
A good set of earbuds can get the job done. Even with custom molded IEMs, having a pair of these on hand would make for a good backup. There are a number of budget-friendly options that now offer hybrid headphones with both Dynamic and Balanced Armature drivers.
MEE M6 1DD Most affordable option, but single dynamic driver.
CCZ or KZ 1DD & 1BA
KZ ZSR in-Ear Headphones 1DD & 2BA More expensive, but probably the best sounding in this price range.
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