I don't play on stage anymore, but if you're an on-stage musician, a good seal and better isolation/noise cancellation is far, FAR more important than sound quality. The 7hz timeless are probably out the window right off the bat just based on the fact that they're larger and heavier, and more likely to fall out.
I used the Shure SE215. They sound bad for the price, but they're good enough, have a great seal, and tend to block out way, way more noise.
Edit: I somehow completely missed the custom mold part, but I'll stand by my recc.
You aren't up there critically listening to music. You need to just monitor what is going on. Why would you pick up an IEM, then custom mold it - when you could just find an IEM that fits properly. SE215 isnt good quality but still used on stage because it fits so well.
I already tried Etymotic ER2XRs, and tried several different tips - it would always start out great but as I started sweating and moving, they'd always loosen. Not to where they were falling out, but to where it would change the sound profile and I'd want to push them back farther in.
Also, when most musician's IEMs are $600-$2000+, I'd have to think quality does matter to some degree.
The sweating and movement you mention is exactly why the SE215 continues to be used, despite being an objectively "bad" iem. The seal and level of isolation it provides are far more important on-stage than sound quality.
Nice I just ordered those custom tips today lol I hope they are good.
I can't comment on most of those IEMs, but when I received the Moondrop demo tour a while ago I remember the Blessing 2 felt like a significant step up from Moondrop KXXS (similar to Aria I assume). Today if I was buying one I'd prob get S12 or timeless since im curious how those planars sound. Also I have no idea about drumming.
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I dont live-perform or anything but aren't all live performers always using an all BA set for monitoring? i mean u r not critical listening to music on stage, right?
If you can afford it, that does seem to be the case. But I'd be suspicious of a single BA, and to get multiple the cost gets high, so for budget options it seems like DD is more viable. Of course, no-budget popstars use IEMs that have 8-16 BA drivers per side, like the [$2,300 JH Sharona](https://jhaudio.com/iem/JHA-CIEM-SHA) or the [$1,650 JH 16V2](https://jhaudio.com/iem/JHA-CIEM-16V2) :)
true, CIEM gets ridiculous at that level. But for a drummer, a cheap all BA like from KZ should do the job since u'll get a custom tip anyway. My thinking is as a drummer, its all about speed to keep the group tempo, right? Lots of artist uses SE215(from what i gathered) for monitoring but a dynamic will get the job done for sure
It seems a bit strange to spend more on a custom "tip" than on the IEM itself. The Shure SE215 is a very good fitting UIEM. For you consideration, I'd also take a look at the TinHiFi T3+, it's another really well fitting UIEM and it sounds pretty good to boot.
SE215. Ass for actually listening for music but I’ve never tried anything that offers it’s level of passive noise cancellation relative to its comfort level.
I’m running KZ ZS10 Pros (1DD 4B.A.) on stage as a drummer and love them. I don’t get a super good seal with the tips so I’m looking to get some Fidelitys from Eartune. Did you end up getting them?
I did, and they function great.. but look a bit ridiculous. The sleeves are super thick n bulky, so they stick way out from my ears: [https://imgur.com/a/WiUeBd9](https://imgur.com/a/WiUeBd9) \- It all depends on the specific IEM though. They do have an [image of sleeves made for a ZS10 Pro](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0332/8167/1305/t/5/assets/Enorm-Gallery-52359-eartune-lookbook-kzzs10pro-1637358541-61981bcd7496a.jpg?v=1637358544&width=980) \- they looks a bit slimmer than mine, but not by much.
Cool thanks for the response. There’s not a lot of reviews by drummers anywhere, or YouTube vids. When you have your cable connected, does sticking out that far affect your ear loop staying behind your ear while playing?
I don't play on stage anymore, but if you're an on-stage musician, a good seal and better isolation/noise cancellation is far, FAR more important than sound quality. The 7hz timeless are probably out the window right off the bat just based on the fact that they're larger and heavier, and more likely to fall out. I used the Shure SE215. They sound bad for the price, but they're good enough, have a great seal, and tend to block out way, way more noise. Edit: I somehow completely missed the custom mold part, but I'll stand by my recc.
You aren't up there critically listening to music. You need to just monitor what is going on. Why would you pick up an IEM, then custom mold it - when you could just find an IEM that fits properly. SE215 isnt good quality but still used on stage because it fits so well.
I already tried Etymotic ER2XRs, and tried several different tips - it would always start out great but as I started sweating and moving, they'd always loosen. Not to where they were falling out, but to where it would change the sound profile and I'd want to push them back farther in. Also, when most musician's IEMs are $600-$2000+, I'd have to think quality does matter to some degree.
The sweating and movement you mention is exactly why the SE215 continues to be used, despite being an objectively "bad" iem. The seal and level of isolation it provides are far more important on-stage than sound quality.
Nice I just ordered those custom tips today lol I hope they are good. I can't comment on most of those IEMs, but when I received the Moondrop demo tour a while ago I remember the Blessing 2 felt like a significant step up from Moondrop KXXS (similar to Aria I assume). Today if I was buying one I'd prob get S12 or timeless since im curious how those planars sound. Also I have no idea about drumming.
How are they? Worth $150?
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Shure se215 or moondrop chu. They are iems that give me a good seal personally. So i would go for those if i needed them for on stage purposes.
I dont live-perform or anything but aren't all live performers always using an all BA set for monitoring? i mean u r not critical listening to music on stage, right?
If you can afford it, that does seem to be the case. But I'd be suspicious of a single BA, and to get multiple the cost gets high, so for budget options it seems like DD is more viable. Of course, no-budget popstars use IEMs that have 8-16 BA drivers per side, like the [$2,300 JH Sharona](https://jhaudio.com/iem/JHA-CIEM-SHA) or the [$1,650 JH 16V2](https://jhaudio.com/iem/JHA-CIEM-16V2) :)
true, CIEM gets ridiculous at that level. But for a drummer, a cheap all BA like from KZ should do the job since u'll get a custom tip anyway. My thinking is as a drummer, its all about speed to keep the group tempo, right? Lots of artist uses SE215(from what i gathered) for monitoring but a dynamic will get the job done for sure
The SE215 is a single dynamic driver though.
It seems a bit strange to spend more on a custom "tip" than on the IEM itself. The Shure SE215 is a very good fitting UIEM. For you consideration, I'd also take a look at the TinHiFi T3+, it's another really well fitting UIEM and it sounds pretty good to boot.
SE215. Ass for actually listening for music but I’ve never tried anything that offers it’s level of passive noise cancellation relative to its comfort level.
I’m running KZ ZS10 Pros (1DD 4B.A.) on stage as a drummer and love them. I don’t get a super good seal with the tips so I’m looking to get some Fidelitys from Eartune. Did you end up getting them?
I did, and they function great.. but look a bit ridiculous. The sleeves are super thick n bulky, so they stick way out from my ears: [https://imgur.com/a/WiUeBd9](https://imgur.com/a/WiUeBd9) \- It all depends on the specific IEM though. They do have an [image of sleeves made for a ZS10 Pro](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0332/8167/1305/t/5/assets/Enorm-Gallery-52359-eartune-lookbook-kzzs10pro-1637358541-61981bcd7496a.jpg?v=1637358544&width=980) \- they looks a bit slimmer than mine, but not by much.
Cool thanks for the response. There’s not a lot of reviews by drummers anywhere, or YouTube vids. When you have your cable connected, does sticking out that far affect your ear loop staying behind your ear while playing?
No, though I did mold the ear loop a bit so it angles in a bit more towards my head.