A Guide to IEMs: Part 1 (basics)

IEMs, also known as in ear monitors, are earpieces originally created for performing artistes for the purpose of monitoring their performances. You see them as the earpieces that your favourite singers wear when performing live. They were created in the 1980s as a replacement to conventional stages monitors (wedges) in order to reduce the noise exposure levels to performers (to hear themselves, these speakers are at levels above that of the crowd and often exceed 100 decibels)Basically they fall into 2 types, custom moulded and generic. Custom molded are those that are shaped to fit a specific person ears, and usually require a visit to the audiologist in order to create. They are more expensive than the generic types but they offer significant advantages like better comfort, greater isolation (up to over 30db). Companies that create such earpieces includes Ultimate Ears, FutureSonics, Livewires , Westone , Sensaphonics and FreQ. Originally created for professional usage, these have now a significant number of audiophile users whom are aware of the benefits of such earpieces

Generic pieces on the other hand are basically earpieces that will fit most users at the lowest costs whilst offering greater fidelity as compared to normal earphones. Originally for professional usage, these too have gained a wide following amongst audiophile users. At a lower cost than custom earpieces, these offer great bang for the buck and a sigificant upgrade from those throwaway earphones you get with your digital audio players. The great thing is that whilst their isolation is not much worse than customs (the best average at over 25-30db), they can be used by more than one person and as a result, is resellable. As a result, these are often bundled with in ear monitoring systems by Sennheiser, AKG, Audio-Technica , Shure and others.l These can also be fitted with custom earpieces that provides the best of both worlds in terms of versitility, comfort and sound quality. Companies that create such earpieces includes Shure, Sennheiser, Audio-Technica, Westone, Ultimate Ears, Crossroads, Sensorcom etc

Coming Soon: Part II - IEM drivers and which types suit me?