Setting up your IEMs

[eleong]

I currently own a pair of IEMs and really enjoying the sound output from them. One problem I have right now is playing out with them. On a mixer without split cue, using the IEMs will cause a "phaser" effect while I listen to both the cue and master signal together. I saw some posts on other forums and articles saying that Laidback Luke fixed this problem by hooking up a mini mixer to the main mixer he uses, but I couldn't really get any specific info on what type of mixer would be the right one.

From a DJ Mag interview, Laidback Luke said,

"DJs ask me if I'm hooking up my iPod before I go on, it does look a bit like that but it's actually my in-ear monitoring set I use for DJing. It consists of a mini-mixer and custom-made in-ear phones. On the mini-mixer I pan the headphone signal all the way to the right and the booth to the left. This way I get two signals in one and create my ideal DJ monitoring environment within the in-ears! "It damps the outside sound by 20db, which means I can have the volume really low. It totally saves my ears and I can jump into the studio and master a track even when I come straight from a gig. No peeping ears afterwards."

So I thought hopefully I could get some answers here. Any ideas?

Thank you!

[mostapha]

Sounds like he's using a mixer to do split cue, which is weird...because he seems to always play on pioneer and they have split cue.

But basically, you run the headphone signal and the mixer's booth out to a small FOH mixer and pan them. It basically adds split cue to any mixer.

Personally, I don't like split cue with IEMs. I like having a control to blend b/t the cue and master signals....monitoring ~60% Cue while beat batching and preparing and 100% master while mixing.

I like his idea, though. I might have to look into that for the future. I'm sure googling for headphone mixers or personal monitoring systems would find appropriate hardware.

[Era 7]

i think it not like split cue but rather having the booth monitors only playing on the left side (like setting the balance on the mixer) and having the IEM in the right ear without the right side of booth monitors interfering.

[mostapha]

He doesn't use booth monitors.

[eleong]

but he did say that he pans the headphone signal to the right and the booth signal to the left. so in a way, he does use the booth signal? i just don't like the whole phasing effect when i have cue and the master together while i mix the tracks in.

any idea which hardware would do the trick? i tried google but i'm still not sure if the right ones came up.

[eleong]

would this work?

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/829296-REG/Rolls_MX36_MX36_Cam_Mix_2_Channel_Microphone.html

[mostapha]

I'm not sure what you mean by phasing issue……there really shouldn't be a phasing issue at all. There's a volume issue in that the new track sound a lot louder since it's going into your headphones from 2 sources.

And, no, that won't work. It has 2 mono mic inputs…so you can't get a stereo signal out of it and it'll distort like mad since HP and Line levels are at about 0dBV and Mic inputs are made for around -50dBV.

I'm honestly not sure what he's using…most of the personal monitor systems I've seen are both complete overkill for what he's doing and expensive…like over a grand expensive.

[eleong]

Well I'm using a Traktor S4 right now. I have the headphone cue set in the middle, so half cue and half master. Whenever I have channel 1 or 2 cued up and mix it in (so it's now playing on the master as well), I can hear phasing going on. I guess it's because one track is playing on 2 different signals? not too sure if I explained it right.

[mostapha]

There kind of can't be a phasing issue doing it like that. IDK, I've never noticed it when I used Traktor internally, and if it is there, that's the kind of thing that should have been fixed in an Alpha release…not several years after people think of something as "pro".

Perhaps you're using the wrong word to describe what you're hearing?

[eleong]

Yeah I probably described it wrong, but oh well i guess i'll just have to make do with it for now. thanks for your input mos!