The Many Benefits of In-Ear Monitors

While a set of high quality monitors is a tried and true solution for hearing your band’s mix onstage, there are numerous reasons why changing it up with a wireless in-ear monitoring system can make your live performance even better.

With traditional monitors, every band member will hear the mix differently based on their onstage position. The discrepancies are especially pronounced on larger stages and if the placement of the monitors is few and far between. In-ear monitors allow for more mobility onstage, since each band member won’t have to constantly scramble to get into a stage position where they can hear themselves clearly. You can go ahead and go the left, right, or even out in the crowd, and the mix will be the same.

Also, different band members require different monitor mixes. For instance, the bassist may want a loud vocal mix and lots of kick drum and not much else, while the guitar player standing next to him may want minimal vocals and more of the snare. Using in-ear monitors lets each band member fine tune their mix so that it has everything they want and nothing that they don’t. This is especially useful if you’re a vocalist- with a traditional monitoring system, it can be difficult for vocalists to project their voices loud enough to be heard in the mix, especially when factoring in loud drums or a cranked guitar. With in-ear monitors, vocalists can hear themselves clearly and won’t have to stress out their voices by singing more loudly than they’re used to.

Perhaps the most important benefit of in-ear monitors is health related- they reduce exposure to the loudness of the band mix and keep the volume at an acceptable level. They also eliminate the possibility of feedback, which occurs when a microphone is placed too closely in front of a speaker- this is very common on smaller stages. Those squeaks and squelches can really take a toll on your hearing!

Carvin Audio’s EM900 in-ear wireless monitoring system allows for high-fidelity, crystal clear monitoring that the whole band will love. With a frequency response of 30Hz to 15khz, everything from the kick drum from the highest guitar and vocal notes will be faithfully reproduced in the mix. To cut down on unpleasant peaks and spikes in the signal, the EM900 is equipped with a built-in limiter. It also uses PLL (Phase Lock Loop) technology to lock in the wireless channel eliminating static and reducing drop outs, keeping the mix clean. With intuitive controls, aluminum construction, and easy-to-read LCD displays, the EM900 makes the transition to in-ear monitoring easier than ever.

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