IEMs with Transparent/ambient mode

jaytmon

So I came across these IEMs called ASI 3DMe Active via a Pete Thorn vid, (was a bit of a promo I think), the TL;DR bit is they are IEMs that have mics on the outside to allow a controllable amount of ambient noise through. They are also $799 but look pretty awesome. 
This got me wondering whether anyone had tried using more mainstream earphones with this technology, either as an IEM solution or as an alternative to filtered earplugs. Probably a case of having too much time to conceive an overly complicated solution to a simple problem but I am curious nevertheless!

FarleyUK

Can't speak to those ones, but I just purchased a set of Shure se846 IEMs, and they come with a bazillion* ear bud options - some which allow ambient noise through, some allow loads, and others allow none.

*Approximate estimation.

robinbowes

I believe @Danny1969 has thoughts on this - he makes a wired IEM device with an external mic for ambient noise, I seem to recall (apologies if I'm misremembering).

Danny1969

Yes I've made several IEM products with ambient mics, normally stereo. I've also made an inline module that goes between your IEM's and your aux mix which has stereo ambient mics in it and runs from a small battery. 

It's an easy enough thing to do, basically 2 x electret mics with a small bias voltage feeding into a dual opamp for mic gain then a stereo headphone amp. 
My latest pedal, The Quantum Mechanic which is an inverse boost with added randomness has the ambient mics and headphone amp built into it and designed to take my own IEM combiner cable or whatever lashup the customer normally uses. So many guitarist are using IEM's locally now in my circle it seemed an obvious thing to make. Adding the mics, mic amp and headphone amp to the pedal added about a tenner so that's going in whether people need it or not. 

robinbowes

@Danny1969 Do you have links to those products?

R.

jaytmon

@Danny1969 cool, though easy enough is a relative term! I scrolled back through some of your posts to discover what you’d created. 

I’ve recently gone down the Kemper route, using a powered cab onstage as a monitor, XLR to FoH. Rest of band use wedges. I wondered about using an output (headphones/monitor) on the Kemper to feed IEMs and then instead of an aux send from the desk, just dialling in ambient mic sound. One of the products you created does this separately it seems but then the input from modeller mutes the ambient mics….apologies if I’m being a bit dumb but could the aux in be used as input from Kemper, keeping ambient mics active? And would the quality of the sound from ambient mics be good enough to hear the rest of the band do you think? 

Danny1969

I don't think you could just use ambient mics on their own  ... they are great for adding just a touch of ambience to an otherwise dead dry IEM mix but on their own they are too roomy sounding. 

One cheap way is to get a cheap little mixing desk with just 1 or 2 mic channels and 1 or 2 stereos. Plug the Kemper headphones output into one stereo channel, plug the PA' aux into one channel and a boundry mic into one channel. Then you will control of the aux send from the PA with some of your band mates mixed in it, your Kemper volume and some ambient volume from the boundry mic. 
A little Alto desk for around £40 will do this fine and is only about the size of a Klon pedal 

jaytmon

I suspected it may lack the necessary quality on its own. 

Thanks man, that suggested solution makes sense - having control of the monitor mix from the desk is something I’d want to have. I’ll definitely look in to it, save me lugging around a 400W Laney cab! Appreciate you taking time to share your insights/experience/expertise. 

Stratavarious

You are better off mixing a bit of ‘ambient’ into your monitor mix.  Your ‘local’ ambiance might not be what you need on a silent stage or be dominated by an amp, when you want to hear the room and crowd.