# IEMs - In Ear Monitors



## Ciel_Rouge (May 16, 2008)

Since a lot of us also listen on mobile devices such as iPods, I was wondering what you think about the IEMs - those in-ear earphones that go into the ear canal. I tried them once and was strongly put off by both the sound quality and comfort levels. However, I apparently happened to pick a particularly bad device and a few monts later I am actually considering buying a decent set of IEMs. Of course there are forums for this subject, but one can seldom find opinions from classical music listeners. So - do you listen to the classical using IEMs? What brands/models do you prefer?


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## nickgray (Sep 28, 2008)

I have these









Etymotic ER-6i, one of the best (if not the best) in its price range which is around 80-100 dollars. They come with (at least when I bought it, 2 years ago or so) with 3 foam eartips and 3 cone-like silicone (rubber?) eartips, so one of those six gotta fit. They do feel sort of weird at the beginning, but you'll get used to them pretty quickly. The sound damping is extremely good, btw, with music turned on at an average level you'll probably won't hear anything besides the music (well, maybe if a truck passes near you you'll hear some low frequencies, but that's it, pretty much). IEMs are the only reasonable way to listen to classical music in the noisy environment, so you should really-really-really consider buying a pair.

Also, there's a forum that deals with all sorts of headphones, including the iems, you should check it first, before you buy anything.
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/


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## Ciel_Rouge (May 16, 2008)

Hi nickgray, yes I know the head-fi forum but most of its users listen to other genres so I was hoping for an opinion of a classical listener. I suppose the comfort issue I had previously had more to do with poor quality eartips. But I was also concerned with the sound quality - it was very poor, with highly unnatural base, weak middle range and almost non-existent trebles. However, I read there are IEMs that sound as good as the best earbuds or even as good as the best headphones. These would be quite expensive though, so I am looking for something that would offer me great quality and high comfort at an acceptable price. Thanks for the Etymotic tip, I am also looking forward to more answers from owners of other brands such as Sony, Koss or Sennheiser.


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## Guest (Mar 27, 2009)

I have canal type phones that came with my Creative player and find them to be excellent, but you have to be careful not to have the volume too high, they cut out 90% of ambient noise and give good reproduction


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## hdk132 (Mar 18, 2009)

nickgray said:


> Etymotic ER-6i, one of the best (if not the best) in its price range which is around 80-100 dollars. They come with (at least when I bought it, 2 years ago or so) with 3 foam eartips and 3 cone-like silicone (rubber?) eartips, so one of those six gotta fit.


My dad has those and I find them uncomfortable (he likes them though). They go very far into the canal. I have shure ones and I like them except they don't stay in my ear very well, I think due to the fact that the rubber tips are quite large and the foam ones are...foam. I bought these when only etymotic and shure were making IEMs, and these days there are more IEMs than regular earbuds (in my experiance). All earphone companies make IEMs, and the rubber tips are much smaller than the ones I have. I have never tried smaller rubber tips, so I'd advise you to find someone you know with them and try them out.

As far as the sound quality and ambient noise, IEMs do a great job and give you a great listening experiance. If you are in a car or airplane you will be able to listen much, much quieter than with normal earbuds. Don't drive with them


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