Cheap wireless IEM system

RocknRollDave

I nearly pulled the trigger on the Lekarto set, but the reviews on Amazon were pretty damning.

Keefy

Longtallronnie said:

Looks like I could get the Lekato and a set of kZ ZS10s for the same as the Sub Zero set from the link in the OP. 

The only advantage of the Sub Zero I see is that it has 20 channels which could be handy. 

Or maybe get the Sub Zero, make do with the included earphones for now and upgrade them later…

I have just relegated my ZS10s to spares status and bought some considerably spendier Shures - the ZS were fine for bass but made my guitar sound thin and fizzy.

Longtallronnie

RocknRollDave said:

I nearly pulled the trigger on the Lekarto set, but the reviews on Amazon were pretty damning.

Yeah I did see some poor reviews which has put me off slightly. I’m leaning more towards these I think. 

https://www.gear4music.com/PA-DJ-and-Lighting/SubZero-Voxlink-Portable-Wireless-In-Ear-Monitor-System/424C?origin=product-ads&gclid=CjwKCAjwzo2mBhAUEiwAf7wjkrfgUaV0mGef6t3fM9YdZGra-cSLtem5N4oX0_WuXVSqc1_1K0a_PRoCSZgQAvD_BwE

Then maybe look at upgrading the ears later. 

Longtallronnie

Ended up ordering a similar unit to the lekato from Temu for £7 lol. 

Also ordered a set of CCA CA12s which look very similar to the ZS10s that are quite popular. 

Will report on how I get on when they arrive. 

shufflebeat

Longtallronnie said:

…but infancy trying the in-ear route this time. 

Much better wait til you’re an adult.

maltingsaudio

My take is cable iEMs everytime, so much less hassle,better quality and cheaper. I also have a big beef about rechargeable systems, batteries are so much more reliable than rechargeable units and, in the world of gig, far more practical. You get to a gig forgot to charge your gear your stuffed, soundcheck at 4 show at nine ,forget to turn both receiver and transmitter off your stuffed. Rant over

Longtallronnie

maltingsaudio said:

My take is cable iEMs everytime, so much less hassle,better quality and cheaper. I also have a big beef about rechargeable systems, batteries are so much more reliable than rechargeable units and, in the world of gig, far more practical. You get to a gig forgot to charge your gear your stuffed, soundcheck at 4 show at nine ,forget to turn both receiver and transmitter off your stuffed. Rant over

I would agree if it was a more of a critical piece of kit or if I was in a proper touring band etc but I’m just a twat with an acoustic in the corner of a pub so it’s not that big a deal.

shufflebeat

maltingsaudio said:

My take is cable iEMs everytime, so much less hassle,better quality and cheaper. I also have a big beef about rechargeable systems, batteries are so much more reliable than rechargeable units…

Valid points.

There is a general acceptance of wireless kit though that goes beyond fascination with the novelty and I think the tech is mature enough to be useful and reliable, once the human factor has been stabilised.

I put a reminder on my phone that points me towards a list of things that need charging the night before a gig and all the rechargeables are kept in the same bag. On the rare occasion that I’ve not been able to do this the guitar and IEM systems can refill while I’m setting up and that has been plenty to keep me going to a break.

rich75

I definitely take on board the point about a wired connection being inherently more reliable and giving better sound quality. 

Having said that my band has had a really good experience so far (across our last 7 gigs all at different venues) with the Xvive U4 system. Not everyone in the band has a receiver yet so we use a mixture of the U4 and wired Behringer P2's. The sound quality is very good and fairly indistinguishable between the two systems. Both are much, much better than the cheaper own-brand wireless IEM system we had been using previously. 

We had some issues with wireless systems clashing the first time we used it (our other guitarist has an Xvive U2 and the singer has a Shure wireless mic) but we switched the U4 to a different channel and it has been rock solid ever since. We all use modellers and we've now reached the point where we're happy to gig without any backline or monitor speakers on stage.

Hopefully I haven't jinxed it by saying that!   

RocknRollDave

Our bassist also uses the Xvive U4 and loves it.

Edit: the only thing stopping me getting one myself is lack of funds.

Longtallronnie

They turned up at the weekend but haven’t had much time to test them yet. 

The transmitter/receiver is tiny and very light. Definitely wouldn’t hold up to rigorous use but should be ok for the odd acoustic gig I do. 

Not sure about the IEMs yet, not used to in ears as I normally use buds for general listening. They always feel too big! 

Whistler

Ear buds usually come with 3 sizes of the silicone bits. Try a size smaller than you usually use; this will good for acclimatising to IEMs as the seal will be not quite complete and you can hear a little bit more ambient sound.

Longtallronnie

Yeah I’ve got the smallest tips fitted, think I just need to get used to them. I’ve only tried them to listen to a couple of songs so far and they sound decent enough for that. Will hopefully get some time this week to try them as monitors. 

Longtallronnie

Had a bit more time to play with them. Getting used to the fit of the IEMs, they’re obviously more rigid than my usual ear plugs so took some getting used to. 

The wireless part works very well, the two units synced straight away and so far haven’t suffered any drop outs or interference. They do feel really cheap and definitely wouldn’t want to rely on them if they were a critical piece of gear. There is some distortion if of levels are set too high but this was easy to set so everything was clear. 

The IEMs themselves sound excellent for the money and more than adequate for my needs. 

However, having not used IEMs before, it’s quite an odd experience and I don’t think I’ll be using them at my next gig. Maybe if I can get a regular run of bookings and get match fit, I’ll try introducing them later on but for the next gig I’ll probably use the aux in of my katana mini to ast as a small powered monitor. 

Keefy

Using IEMs is weird at first but, with a decent setup, after a while you appreciate being able to hear everything clearly.

Longtallronnie

Yeah I’m sure but I haven’t had a gig for a while so I already have a pile of stuff to get anxious about without adding to it lol.