INTERVIEW
IN-EAR MONITORS: THREE DECADES ON With hearing health never far from the thoughts of artists and crew alike and the technology within the in-ear monitor market continuing to grow to meet the increasing demand, some of the key market players discuss their innovations and share valuable advice for users.
Words: Stew Hume Photos: 64 Audio, Cosmic Ears, JH Audio and Sensaphonics
When I started at TPi, I remember one of the first questions I would ask a monitor engineer was: ‘What are you using for the artist’s onstage sound?’ Back then, many productions opted for one of three options – wedges and side fills; in-ear monitors (IEMs); or, what was often the most popular option, a hybrid of the two. With the ever-growing sophistication of IEMs, not to mention a lot of guitarists and bassists opting for digital amp options, completely quiet stages – bar the drummer – have become the norm, with all on-stage sound being delivered through IEMs. While the increasing use of IEMs has been ‘music to the ears’ of show designers who now have a larger canvas to work on, the advancement of the technology has seen many more benefits than just a cleaner stage design. TPi was keen to speak to some of the pioneers of the IEM world to hear about the latest developments as well as why everyone working within the industry should really be taking hearing health more seriously. We started our conversation with Jerry Harvey, the founder of both Ultimate Ears and
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later JH Audio. With decades of experience as an audio engineer, Harvey spoke about how he stepped into the manufacturing space. “When we started Ultimate Ears back in ’95, we didn’t know the technology would take off,” he recalled. “However, slowly they started to be accepted, first by drummers then singers. Almost three decades later, it’s clear they are not going away.” It’s a thought that was echoed by Filipp Sklyarov, Marketing Manager for 64 Audio. “Back in 2010, IEMs seemed to be reserved for a minority of musicians whereas now it’s a prerequisite for a live performance,” he explained. “While the bar for sonic quality continues to be raised by fellow manufacturers as well as 64 Audio, there is also an unprecedented availability of low-cost options. While this makes it more difficult than ever to compete with those lower price points, we welcome the challenge and hope to see more musicians being well served in the IEM space.” This widening of the market has benefitted 64 Audio when it comes to product development. “Our customer base is split
between pro-audio and high-end audio and we can use the diverse feedback of those two types of customers to improve our products and processes.” INNOVATION Despite IEMs relatively short history, there’s been a huge amount of innovation in the world of IEMs since their early days. Harvey spoke of some of JH Audio’s greatest achievements. “JH Audio is perhaps best known for its passive crossover IEMs, and we’ve recently made a breakthrough with our new Pearl Processor,” stated Harvey. “Created in collaboration with Audiotonix, Pearl is a tri-amp micro speaker processor that makes for a perfectly tuned IEM. It provides the ultimate frequency response for audio signatures with a click of the mouse.” The system is available exclusively with JH Audio’s new Ruby IEMs. “With Pearl, we have once again pushed the technology into the future, and we think we will now see passive earpieces fall by the wayside.” According to Harvey, there is now far less apprehension towards IEMs among artists.