Sennheiser - IE 400 Pro Clear

So, if you really want perfect sound, say goodbye to all those shitboxes. Especially at the price of $250. I mean, JBL just has headphones with a display on the case. Who needs that? 😂. And I don't even want to get started on Apple's iPods. They're just cheap quality. Do yourself a favor and use the money to buy some solid IEMs. I used to only have AirPods and JBL headphones in the past: Bluetooth and wired. Then I looked into the topic a bit more and compared everything. Then I came across the magic word "IEM" (in-ear monitoring). After further thorough research, I landed on Sennheiser's IE 400 Pro and luckily snagged them for $300 (worth every dollar). And hallelujah, these things will really knock your socks off. Powerful sub-bass, a powerful punch, clear mids, and precise highs, something I've never experienced before with in-ear headphones. Despite the age of the in-ears, I can still absolutely recommend them in 2025. And especially for $300

I've had the Sennheiser IE400 Pro, they were ok, till they fell apart one day. Glued them back, then 6months later one of the buds gave up all together, so pretty shite for the money spent. Went to the KZ ZS10pro and cheap as chips. Sound? well meh.. mixed. I've had a couple of gigs where I've gone... oh could maybe get away with this.. other gigs I've yeanked them out by 2nd song. IEMS are hard to get used to for crusty old grumps like me. Hard to love... So go cheap on the KZ's first... try different mixes, different gigs. Heck try a bunch of KZ's they are cheap to just try out.

I tried KZ10s and didn't like them at all. That said, many do, so I think its very possible that I got a "bad" pair. With cheap stuff, you figure that quality control isn't going to be all that great. Mine work, but they sound harsh and bright, almost (not quite) overdriven. Very fatiguing. I tried a different cable, both to see if it would improve the sound quality and to reduce the horrible tangling, but it made no difference in the sound. I used SE215s for maybe 150-200 shows. I thought they sounded fine. Granted, I play keys and sing and don't need super clarity when it comes to bass. I now use Sennheiser ie 400 pros, which use a different tech so "single driver" may be a bit misleading...they sound better, but should as they are more expensive. I had a 3-driver set of customs made and hated them. Big, bulky and uncomfortable. I have a hard time singing with them in. And the worst part, they didn't really sound better than the 215s. That was before I went with the Sennheisers. I love the fact that the Senns are small and light, no physical fatigue on my ear. Our bassist uses something with 12 drivers a side, I think he said they cost 1800....I'd hope they set up my gear and drive me to the show for that much money! :)

I'd be surprised if the transmitter/receiver would make a huge difference--then again, I run mine wired so I'm just guessing. I used Shure 215s as my earbuds for a couple hundred gigs--they were fine. I see these often put down, as they are single driver and relatively cheap, but I had no complaints. I play keys and sing and while I don't need super clear bass (which may require more drivers), I do appreciate clarity. The fit of your earbuds makes a big difference in quality and how much isolation you get. I've had to try different types and sizes of tips until I was happy with them. I tried a custom IEM pair, didn't like them unfortunately. Bulky and singing with them was terrible. Tried 5 driver KZs, didn't like them (too harsh and bright). Now I use Sennheiser IE 400 pros, they are single driver but it's some kind of different tech from traditional. Sounds great, small and light. I use the largest size comply foam tips that fit on them. Another thing that improved my monitor mix was being able to go stereo. That way I can pan guitar more to one side, keys more to the other, and have vocals in the center (these are all mid-range channels that tend to obscure each other).