LD Systems MEI 1000 g2 and Shure SE Series

  • Hi there,


    i used the search function but was not able to find anything about this topic.


    My Band is on the edge of switching to in ear monitoring. I haven't really used in ear before apart from one situation were i wanted to test it but gave it up because it was uncomfortable due to the cables got held down by the guitar strap on my back and were pulling the monitors out of my ears.
    Nevertheless i know about the pros of in ear monitoring and try to stay open with this topic. When thousands of guitarists are happy with it i think i will get used to it as well (?)


    As the equipment geek that i am, i started searching for an adequate wireless unit and some in ear monitors to start out into the world of in ear monitoring.
    Budget-wise i do not have a specific amount of money that i want to spend on it. Of course i want to stay as low as possible but i do not want to live with bad sound and constant hum in my ears.


    Until now, the LD Systems MEI 1000 g2 got my attention (https://www.thomann.de/de/ld_s…rslt_mei+1000+g2_315469_0)
    It seems to be the best 'bang for the buck' in that price range.


    Does anyone have experience with this wireless system?
    Can i get good results with it for the next few years?
    Or will i have to go with a price range like the Sennheiser EW300 IEM to have a quality that i don't have to care about anymore?



    The other part is the in ear monitors.
    I am interested in the Shure SE-Series.
    Mainly the SE215 or SE315. I think the SE425 would be the maximum i would pay for it, if this would give me a much better result.
    In the long run i might get custom fitted in ear monitors at some point, if i know that i will use in ear monitoring for the next years.


    What do you think about the SE Series?
    What about the sound? What about the fit in the ear?



    About me and my band:
    We are a hobby coverband ("Top 40" you could say) that has approx. 5-15 gigs per year at company celebrations, city festivals and private partys.
    We are not doing this as full-time job, we are not even getting much money out of it. But we are putting quite some effort in it to have it as professional as it gets.
    We have our own sound- and light-technicians and are carrying around quite some stuff when we gig (usually we also supply our PA etc at festivals or partys for other acts)


    What i'm trying to say is, i am not a professional musician but i am nevertheless used to have high quality gear to use (like the Kemper :D )



    I would be glad if you could let me know about your experiences/thoughts/opinions on that matter :)


    Regards,
    LH

  • Hei LH


    The drummer of one of my bands uses this system. It does what it is supposed to do, an since he got good phones he also hears us with it :)


    There are two downsides that I can tell from: Sometimes the left/mono In did no get any Input signal anymore but right did. After a few hours left worked again. Happened two or three times since. We never figured out what the point was about it. And when the batteries of the receiver go out it starts making screming noise in the earphones. So you almost immediately have to stop playing cause you almost can't take that.


    For the Earphones: I first had some older shure phones for professionals. Those where perfect for a start, but the where not so comfortable. Now I use the Sennheiser SE215 and they wear and sound really nice, very clear, no peaks in frequency and no too bass heavy. Damping from the outer noise is so perfect. I never testet the more pricier models because the SE215 are all I need, but I not touring by now (~5 gigs a year) so I can't tell about reliability for that.


    I hope to have helped a bit..

  • I use the LD Systems MEI 1000 without any problems. The other guitarist in my band has the Shure PSM200 and there is no discernible difference. The advantage of the LD is that it is full stereo, or multi mono, whereas the Shure is only mono. I might borrow a friends Sennheiser to see how good it is now, but the price is way higher:-)


    As a guitarist I ended up going with the SE215 in ears, as the frequencies I want to hear are mainly mid-range. You can hear that the 425s have better range with music when I tried them, but in a stage situation I am really not that worried.


    Getting used to the cable down your back and being comfortable with the ear buds was my biggest challenge. Persist with it though, because it will payoff in the end. These clips helped with the cable.


    http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Head…13798?hash=item256dcc9446

    Karl


    Kemper Rack OS 9.0.5 - Mac OS X 12.6.7

  • Thank you for help!
    I also heard about these noises when the battery goes down. Very strange...


    I used to use a LD Systems MEI 1000 G system but switched to a Sennheiser EW 300 IEM G3. I know it's pricey but it really sounds so much better.


    Ingolf, could you explain the difference in sound?

  • Thank you for help!
    I also heard about these noises when the battery goes down. Very strange...



    Ingolf, could you explain the difference in sound?


    The LD Systems really coloured the sound in an unpleasant way.
    This became most obvious when I had the chance to A/B it to the Sennheiser.

  • Both are very important.
    Given the number of live shows I'd spend some money on the IEMs and go wired if the stage is not too big and/or if you usually go wired with your guitar.
    Take a look at the Fischer Amps Ambient series, they look promising with the option to chose the level of isolation. This could be interesting for you since the would be your first experience with IEMs.


    For the wireless, I'm using a pretty cheap Db EME One and it sounds very close to the KPA headphone output, besides the fact that it is mono, while the KPA is stereo. The only downside is the range, it aint' reliable beyond 8 meters.
    I see that on Germany you can find some very cheap Sennheiser EW300 G2. I saw one selling for €330.
    Just be careful to the frequency and check they are stil legal and not interfere with digital TV.
    The quality of sound should be the same as G3, the main differences should be the eq presets and the auto-scan of free frequencies.

  • Thank you!


    Another question:
    How do you all manage the cable of the headphones?
    When i used it once, it was quite uncomfortable that the cable was held down by the guitar strap so that i was now able to look down or far left/right without the cable pulling the ear buds out of my ears.
    When giving enough slack before putting the strap on, it created loose loops of cable that looked kinda ridiculous :D


    So, what is the best way that you figured out on this matter? ?(


    Thank you in advance!

  • Plaster (band aid) at the base of the neck, leaving enough leeway for the cables to not go taut when moving your head from side to side is the common workaround amongst musos I've toured with.

  • I've had my LD100 MEI for 2 1/2 years, using it at gigs and (due to the bass player owning the PA and not being able to understand how to sort out the mix!) at band practices every week for a year. I do use custom moulded IEMs but I've never had any issues, there is an occasional fuzzy/squelchy noise but that's quite rare and doesn't effect my performance. I've seen this mentioned about every system that uses this technology and is the reason professional bands use high powered paddle antennae on stage. I'm also lead vocalist, so my guitar isn't the loudest thing in the mix so I'm not sure if that makes a difference.


    Not intending to be disrespectful, I do remember Ingolf speaking highly of his LD 1000 until he got the Sennheiser. There's no LD system on here but this makes a great listen/read :


    http://churchtecharts.org/home…ss-iem-shootout-pt-1.html


  • Well, usually I wrap them around my necklace, even if sambrox suggestion is good too imho.

  • One word of caution about guitarists using the MEI 100. That system has a built in 6db boost at 10khz that cannot be turned off and my distorted sounds were thin with this. On the MEI1000 you can set this to off.

    Karl


    Kemper Rack OS 9.0.5 - Mac OS X 12.6.7

  • I own both the 425 and the 215. I bought the latter only for listening to music because the form fits my ears very well.
    For guitar I must say that I wish that I would have bought the 215 in the first place.
    The extra Low-End you get isn't worth the money IMHO.
    If you only sing or play guitar spend your money elswhere. The 215 are fantastic.

  • We used a Shure PSM 200 first in our band, but switched to the LD System MEI 1000 after one year. We really like the benefit of a stereo image. It worked very well. We still use the Shure 215 Earplugs, because they fit very well and in my opinion they are really good in this price range.


    At the moment i think about InEar StageDiver SD-4. Its a german company and compared to the tech specs they are in a good price range.


    Anyone tried a digital wireless InEar, like Lectrosonics, till now? Would like to hear some opinions about it.


    That one is on my list at the moment, because of the limited frequency of the LD System MEI 1000, which is 60-16000 Hz. Oh god, there is so much on my list.... =O:whistling: