IE 400 Pro Clear

I don't think it's that simple. As an example, I have the Mackie MP-460 and I had the Sennheiser IE 400 Pro until one of the shells on the IE 400 Pro came apart. Both of these are far inferior to me even compared to the Zero 2 despite being many times more expensive.

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).

Earbuds are only one part of the equation. You need to work out how the PA and your monitor feed are going to get the signal to your pack (wired or wireless). You'll ideally want to be able to control your own mix (via ipad, or something like a Behringer p16 if your mixer allows). I won't use IEMs unless I can adjust my own mix. If we run our own PA, no problem. If it's a sound company, sometimes they'll give us access to their wifi and console via app, other times not....if not, I'll just use a wedge. I've had engineers really mess up my mix before and with IEMs the mix is more important as you can't really hear anything on stage if the seal is good. Whatever headphone pack/amp I use I make sure it has a limiter. A limiter stops any loud spikes from getting to your ears. Headphones can be very dangerous in this regard so you need to be cautious. For example, if troubleshooting "why can't I hear anything" do not keep your volume up while things are being fiddled with...seen that happen to someone when suddenly they got blasted when a connection was fixed and the volume was cranked... I've tried a few over the years as a singer and keys player. I have some customs that I do not like for singing...bulky and they have an occlusion problem, that isn't supposed to happen but I guess they f'ed up something. I'd done the most gigs with Shure 215s, which are quite affordable. Done some with KZs, do not really like them as they are too harsh and trebly. I'm very aware that bass response and isolation are driven by seal, but no tips I've tried have helped their sound. New cable helped with the tangling but not the sound. Ymmv, a lot of people seem to like the KZs. It's possible I got a bad pair, the quality control on cheaper earbuds is probably not great so it can be hit or miss. I've also used Sennheiser ie 400 pros, which sound good but the build quality hasn't proved to be all that great.

the quality and sound you will get from a ie200 will be better than chifi. senn is known for that and almost everyone agrees on it. I have chifi sets now, but I do intend to buy a pair of ieX00 someday. They're good and will be good for sometime until they release something new