In our last Choosing the Right Gear Post we took a look at some criteria for deciding which In-Ear Monitors to purchase. In this post I’ve listed several brands of in-ear monitors that I’ve had personal experience with and a few thoughts on each. I’ve arranged them from favorite to least favorite in each category. Let us know what type of In-ears you love by leaving a comment below!
Universal-Fit, Single Driver
Westone UM1 – $109 – great fit, not as durable, great for personal use – 2 year warranty
Shure SCL3 (formerly e3)- $109-$149 – durable, stick out of ears a little, great for outfitting an entire worship team
M-Audio IE-10 – $99 single – I don’t like the fit of these (bigger diameter) but some of our musicians prefer the fit, have had multiple cable failures.
Shure SCL2 – $99 – big, bulky, mediocre sound quality, big ear canal – these are the least favorite I’ve tried.
Universal Fit, Dual Driver
Shure SCL5 (formerly e5)- $399 – the choice of many professionals and one of the best dual-drivers out there!
Westone UM2 – $299 – great fit, not quite as durable – great sound!
M-Audio IE-20 – $199 – cheapest dual driver I’ve found
Custom-Fit, Single-Driver
Westone ES-1 – about $375 – the only custom single driver I’ve found
Custom-Fit, Dual Driver
Livewires Original – $249 – great fit and sound
Fidelity Duals – $259 – same manufacturer as Livewires – upgraded storage case!
Westone ES-2 – about $650 – great custom-fit monitors
Custom-Fit, Triple Driver
Livewires Trips – $349 – these were not available when I bought my Livewires or I would have bought them!
Fidelity Triples – $379 – same manufacturer as Livewires – upgraded storage case!
Westone ES-3 – about $800 – top of the line custom-fit monitors!
Manufacturer’s Websites
What We Use
Jake:
I have used Livewires Originals for about a year and half now. They have been my favorite in-ear monitors I’ve used so far. They are a great value! The upgrade in moving to custom-fit monitors is definitely worth the added cost. Prior to the Livewires, I used Westone UM-2′s for about 2 years. Our worship team uses Westone UM-1′s, Shure SCL3′s and M-Audio IE-10′s. Most of our musicians prefer the Shures or Westones so in the near-future I will be phasing out the M-Audio’s – they also use a different size ear foam so it will be nice to have all our musicians using the same size!
Will:
I’ve used Westone Um-2′s for the past 3 years and absolutely love them. They fit my ear perfect so I really see no need for Custom Fit Ears. They give me a really well balanced sound which is great for playing on stage as well as just listening to music. I’ve got alot of friends that swear by Custom Fit Ultimate Ears but we purposely didn’t comment on Ultimate Ears because Jake and I don’t have alot of experience with them. I have used their universal fit before and can say I didn’t like the fit very much at all.
Whatever Brand and model in-ears you choose is ultimately up to you. Talk to as many people as you can and if you have friends that have universal fit monitors try them out and see what you think.
What In-Ears do you swear by? What In-Ears have you tried? Which ones did you like and which ones did you hate? Let us know by leaving a comment below!
About the Authors: Jake is a Worship Leader based out of Georgia. Make sure to check out his personal blog here and follow him on twitter @jakesumner. Will is a Guitarist and Worship Leader based out of North Carolina. He spends a majority of his time running Loops in Worship. You can find him on twitter @willdoggett and view his personal site here.
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