Cheap vs Expensive In-Ear Monitors - Part 1 of 3

Part 1 of a 3 part video where I compare a wide assortment of in-ear monitors. Not only will we look at frequency response, transfer function and phase, I also chat about cable types, connectors and setup so that you can listen to the differences between the various units.

In this video I test Ultimate Ears UE18+, Sennheiser IE4, Shure SE215, and Future Sonics MG6PRO, product links below.

Huge thank you to J.T. O’Neal and Riarosa for the music!

Band : Riarosa
Song: Better Than Nothing
Produced by: J.T. O’Neal
Mixed by : Brian Edwards
Mastered: Voyager Mastering

Test Software:

Measurement Mics:

In Ear Monitors Tested:

00:00 Intro
01:00 Ultimate Ears UE18+ description
02:05 In-ear cables
03:20 UE18+ pink noise test and setup description
07:08 In-ear frequency responses types
08:00 Listening test UE18+
09:30 Reference setup
10:18 Sennheiser IE-4 description and test
11:45 Sennheiser IE-4 listening and compare to UE18+
13:08 Shure SE215 description and test
14:15 Shure SE215 listening and compare to UE18+
15:45 Future Sonics MG6pro description and test
16:55 Future Sonics MG6pro listening and compare to UE18+

If you like this and other videos I do, please join this channel to get access to more videos, early access to videos as well as to be able to join my weekly zoom chats:

Also check out:

[TheSirse]

Probably the most useful pro-audio related channel on all of the internet

[xnoreq]

Hey Dave, our ears have natural resonances. There's the ear canal resonance at roughly 2 kHz. This helps boost intelligibility of speech. Note that in-ears that sit deep in the ear will result in a shorter ear canal, which will change this resonance. So these in-ears need to recreate the natural peak themselves to sound more natural.
There's a second natural resonance because of the pinna at roughly 6 kHz, which is weaker however. (This is strongly simplified because the pinna is more like a set of directional filters.) Note how in-ears _completely_ bypass this part of the ear.
Both together can easily result in 15 dB of gain at the ear drum vs. diffuse field. (In measurements of this you can see a smooth peak centered somewhere between 2 and 3 kHz. Note how this has similarities with the equal loudness contours.)

There's also the measurement side. Depending on how you couple the in-ears to the measurement microphone, you may get resonances at different frequencies than you'll get in your ears.

[richmck]

When I saw your video post, I said to myself I want what you are on because that face could paint a thousand audiophiles images.
Presentation is everything!

[sylvainnavarro]

Where has this video been all my life?
Thank you, Dave, for a very interesting series on in-ear monitors. Besides all the invaluable technical information, it is neat to be able to compare the sound signatures of various models.
Fantastic job 😊

[johnmorrison]

Judging by the title alone it's like you've perused my metadata, can't thank you enough for the content.

[djtecthreat]

This series is a real ear-opener.

Thanks Dave

[DoNotLikeThis]

I'm in a search for in-ears monitors. This video came at the right time. I appreciate it! 😊👍

[tobiasharrison]

Outstanding work -Thru as always. I love your videos. Midas vs Behringer was super informative as well.

[RickK]

Super awesome video Dave. First time I think anything like this has been done. Being able to hear the different tunings and quality of each in ear is really something else. Excellent demonstration/project. Thanks for sharing this incredible information with all of us.


P.s.
You're a living legend!!

[pressorv]

I never liked that most IEM seem to be playing the how many drivers can I fit in ear game. Reminds me of my father's furniture radio with 8 way speakers. Sounded nice but artificial, pull up the phase/response curves and woah. No thanks. Great work as always Dave

[ReneAlexisPenalozaMunoz]

I'm watching/listening your video wearing a pair of UE-11. Very interesting test. I had Future Sonics in the past but they lost completely the low end over time and nowadays I wear them just as ear protection plugs. hahaha. I sent the video link to two sound tech friends of mine so they can also enjoy your analysis, Cheers.

[simonmellberg]

Would love to see 64 Audio in this lineup. But great video as always! Greetings from Sweden.

[Auldhelm]

I have two sets of in-ears - the more expensive ones do sound different in the way this test shows in my experience

[ThunderBassistJay]

Amazing sound quality from those in-ear systems. I never used them, but as a bass player I can imagine how having the drummer a bit louder, would help keeping time. Also, bad acoustics from the venue will be muted. I remember hearing my bass and the drums bouncing in antiphase from a concrete wall. Timing became guesswork. 😮 On to the next video! 👍

[tonydimaio]

I just found your videos thank you for doing this type of video you saved me a lot of money. It's go big or go home.

[jimmac]

I'm looking forward to parts 2 and 3

[Hamachingo]

I got Shure 215. Was convinced they were defective, such an awful sound, had better free buds in airplanes and museums. Digging out the frequency response graph and just putting the inverse in on the graphic EQ worked out well. You still would not use them for listening to music or podcasts, but along with the bass from a PA system, they work for monitoring and stay put in my ears.

[lukep]

Dave, your Mighty Headphone Quest from years back was a great help in me choosing my Shure srh840's. Any chance of another Headphone quest?

[Pwntious]

Dude, thank you so much for sharing the knowledge.

[SenfSenferson]

I recommend the CCA C12 !
They are Chinese and affordable, but well built and sound great! Compared to the SE215 costing 100$, you'd think you're listening to +200$ In Ears, while only spending 40$