Accessories Self-contained in-ear monitor

[PigSquealer]

Reading this thread reminds me of going to the racetrack. Each competitor shows up with different equipment. Creative combinations to make machines work. Personal choices to the task at hand. Ease of use. Fat wallet or on the cheap doesn’t matter.
Tenths of a second between the winner and loser.
Just show up and play the game.

 

[Veggie Dave]

I think the solution is going to be buying some sort of FX unit/pedal aimed at singers. If you get something with reverb, you can dial in your personal preference so that it can be plugged straight into a PA when you gig while also having a Line Out to plug into a basic wired IEM box.

Or a little mixer with an AUX out.

Or, if you have a laptop/PC and an audio interface, use that. Headphones/ear pods from the interface for your IEMs. Interface input for the mic. Some form of DAW (like Reaper) to process the audio. You can even run any pre-recorded music you're playing to from the laptop this way, as well, and have the full IEM experience.

My set-up is basically the same as my first suggestion - just rack mounted and stereo. I can produce a direct feed to my IEMs and a feed to the PA if required - such as playing festivals where dialing in a monitor mix isn't going to happen. This is basically

______________________________________> Left Out > Mixer
mic > stereo FX unit (set to mono)
______________________________________> Right Out > IEM

The same set-up, set to stereo, means I can have two horns use the same gear (left input - tenor / right input - alto) and still have separate feeds to the mixer and then the IEMs are fed in the usual manner by the mixer.

 

[Vetinari]

lyrlody High Gain Mic Amp, Microphone Amplifier High Sensitivity ALC Control 1000 Times Gain Aluminium Shell Amplification Accessory Set Kit for Mobile Phone Recording : Amazon.co.uk: Musical Instruments & DJ

Buy lyrlody High Gain Mic Amp, Microphone Amplifier High Sensitivity ALC Control 1000 Times Gain Aluminium Shell Amplification Accessory Set Kit for Mobile Phone Recording. Free delivery and returns on eligible orders.

www.amazon.co.uk

 

[turf3]

I kinda want to keep it simple and small. Back in the day I had this little box with a mic jack and a headphone jack in it, plus a volume knob - powered by a 9v battery. A cheapo lavalier mic on a gooseneck with a clip to go on the bell.
Not great sound quality but at least I could hear what I was doing above the din.

I just shove ear plugs in and the conducted sound is plenty feedback. No electrons are harmed.

 

[Tonehole]

Interesting rabbit hole we have fallen down, learning and finding some interesting stuff.
Lig may have this already?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B004MQSV04/ref=sspa_dk_hqp_detail_aax_0?aref=hUktDDkfG6&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9ocXBfc2hhcmVk&th=1

 

[Zasterz]

Interesting rabbit hole we have fallen down, learning and finding some interesting stuff.
Lig may have this already?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B004MQSV04/ref=sspa_dk_hqp_detail_aax_0?aref=hUktDDkfG6&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9ocXBfc2hhcmVk&th=1

Nope. First, that’s not a mic preamp, it simply boosts a low-output mic going through another device by up to 25db. A normal mic will need anywhere between 40-70 db. That’s why everything you see that only passes line level through to the headphones can be so small (like the Fischer etc belt packs)- they don’t need any amplifier circuitry. Before heading down any “rabbitholes” I recommend becoming familiar with the more basic issue of mic vs line level:

Second, the Cloudlifter doesn’t
have a headphone jack nor any volume control. How would that even work?

It may seem like there have been tons of options presented in this thread, but as the majority have no mic preamp at all, they’re not going to do what OP wants. So far the only reasonable suggestions that I can see have been the Rolls units. (There was also an expensive thing that seemed like it would work but now I can’t find it.)

 

[Colin the Bear]

lyrlody High Gain Mic Amp, Microphone Amplifier High Sensitivity ALC Control 1000 Times Gain Aluminium Shell Amplification Accessory Set Kit for Mobile Phone Recording : Amazon.co.uk: Musical Instruments & DJ

Buy lyrlody High Gain Mic Amp, Microphone Amplifier High Sensitivity ALC Control 1000 Times Gain Aluminium Shell Amplification Accessory Set Kit for Mobile Phone Recording. Free delivery and returns on eligible orders.

www.amazon.co.uk

The reviews for this are interesting. Mostly pleased and works well, but a high percentage of faulty units returned or refunded. 🤔

 

[Vetinari]

Don't read those, without being very carefull, they are mostly rubbish, the reviews that is, half of them are reviews for a different product. in many cases

 

[Tonehole]

Mic drop!

TC Helicon Go Vocal can be used as a stand alone system with no external device connected, though it is not its primary design. It is powered by a 9V battery, it can provide power to your microphone and send that audio directly to the headphone jack for real-time monitoring without needing to be plugged into a phone or computer.

Because it is a single-channel mic preamp, you will typically hear in only one ear (usually the left) of your headphones unless you use a "mono-to-stereo" adapter for your headphones.

T.C. Electronic - Go Vocal High-Quality Microphone Preamp for Mobile Devices

T.C. Electronic - Go Vocal High-Quality Microphone Preamp for Mobile Devices

www.long-mcquade.com

 

[Colin the Bear]

Reasonable price $55 Canadian. Shipping might be a killer.

 

[valjeanmeister]

iRig Pre 2 mobile microphone interface for smartphones and DSLR cameras

iRig Pre mobile microphone interface for smartphones and DSLR cameras. For mobile audio and video creators, YouTubers, broadcasters, podcasters, musicians, and more.

www.ikmultimedia.com

 

[Zasterz]

Both the irig and the tc electronic mic pres are usb audio interfaces intended to be pugged into computers, mobile devices etc. I haven’t seen information about them being used standalone besides @Tonehole’s post. I’d verify before going down this route.

 

[valjeanmeister]

Is it so much of an inconvenience to plug it into a phone but only use the IEM feature if recording is not needed?

 

[Zasterz]

Is it so much of an inconvenience to plug it into a phone but only use the IEM feature if recording is not needed?

But in that case, why would you choose it over the standalone boxes that @Merryfisher and I linked? Once you add the phone, it’s no longer a little bit smaller, which would seem to have been the only advantage.

 

[valjeanmeister]

Fair point - have missed them, sorry!

 

[Tonehole]

Both the irig and the tc electronic mic pres are usb audio interfaces intended to be pugged into computers, mobile devices etc. I haven’t seen information about them being used standalone besides @Tonehole’s post. I’d verify before going down this route.

I spoke with a buddy at L&M in the electronics department that I rent gear from. I thought it might be easiest to ask those who know for a solution. He said it was capable of running without a signal.

I gave him a call and he says - iRig 2 functions the same as the TC but is a more expensive option. They sell it for $90.00CDN. We have 13% GST on top.

I asked for the cheapest option.

 

[Zasterz]

He said it was capable of running without a signal.

Can you clarify what you mean by this?

 

[Tonehole]

Some units require a signal from a phone to function, whatever to operate.

The Rode unit I posted earlier will only function when plugged into a phone or computer.
"As a class-compliant USB audio interface, it requires a "host" device—such as a smartphone, tablet, or computer—to initialize its hardware and manage the audio stream. Without this digital handshake from a host, the device remains inactive"

 

[PiccoloPirate]

Make a bell mounted smartphone bracket.
Plug in earphones.
If I wasn't shooting a 10 Meter Air Pistol competition today, I'd make one.
Submit your designs and win a
sticky bun. 🥳

 

[Vetinari]

​

I have found an android app (Sound Amplifier) that allows me to plug external wired mike and headphones into my phone and sound transfers straight through.