in-ear monitors vs wedges - your opinion needed...

[Tonegeek]

Another topic about hearing loss got me thinking about monitors. Since i am in the market for a monitor system for my band I would like opinions on whether to go with in ear monitors. I have always used floor wedges and/or sidefills so it seems like it would be a big change to go in-ear. I would especially like to know if in-ear monitors are less hazardous to your hearing than wedges (I suspect they are). I play guitar and don't want to lose the experience of hearing the nuances of my amp.
thanks

[benoit]

It's hard to go wrong with inears unless you really can't stand 'em. They allow you to cut the stage volume dramatically, which makes feedback much less likely and makes things much easier on both the front of house and monitor engineers. Plus you've got pretty good isolation if there IS a lot of stage noise so you mostly just here what the monitor engineer feeds you, probably a lot more clearly than from any sort of wedge setup.

The one thing I would caution you on: make SURE your in-ear system has a limiter between the monitor feed and your earphones, or any sudden surge/pop/spike could send a horrible head-splitting "brain-dart" through your skull before you know what hit you.

It's definitely better for your ears in the long run, although some quality ear plugs/filters can make the conventional monitor system thing work for you.

[krash]

as long as you are willing to learn and adapt, in-ears are absolutely the way to go in every possible respect.

unfortunately i find many many musicians and especially singers are unwilling to adapt.

the biggest advantage of IEM is that you can run much lower monitor volumes since your monitor does not have to compete for sound level with the ambient sound (drum kit, loud amps). so you can turn it way down. you will save your hearing as long as you don't mind turning it down.

[Chicken Head Red]

The idea of a live performance is to get the best possible sound to our audience right? Eliminating 90 + DB of monitor bouncing off the back of the stage and mixing with the FOH invariably out of phase goes a long way toward that goal. Is IEM less damaging to your hearing? well, thats up to YOU. That little belt pack has a volume control. Use it wisely and yes brickwall limiting is a MUST! The biggest and most valid complaint I hear about IEM is the feeling of being shut off from th room. The answer, one or more room mics fed to your ears only. (Also useful for eavesdropping on the room when you go out for fresh air) As you may have gathered I despise wedges. They usually sound awful contribute to ear fatigue on stage
and wreck FOH sound. When I can I typically ask for mine to be turned off