Professionals sing Sennheiser IEM’s praises
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Monitor engineer Niccolò Antonietti used the IE 400 PRO for the first time during Capital FM's Jingle Bell Ball last December.
“I was mixing for Jax Jones and guest artist at the time,” he recalls. “Whilst doing soundcheck with my IEMs, I had a chance to compare them to the Sennheiser IE 400 PRO. What really surprised me was how good the frequency response on the Sennheiser IEMs was compared to my go-to pair of custom in-ears. I tried to crank the volume up to see how far I could go. Even at a high volume they still responded well with no distortion whatsoever. That’s pretty impressive for a pair of generic IEMs!”
The following month, Antonietti was at rehearsals for the last show of Jamiroquai’s 2019/20 tour at the Winter Tantora Festival in Al-Ula Saudi Arabia, when one of the backing vocalists had her IEMs out for repair. “I immediately handed her my IE 400s,” he says. “At first, I was expecting to spend time changing a few things in her mix as, usually, when you move from moulded IEMs to generics you lose a certain level of clarity and definition of low and high frequencies. However, after doing the soundcheck, she was very happy with the sound and fit, and we made just a few tiny changes to adapt her mix to the new IEMs.”
Another serious user of in-ears is Paul Visser, vocalist and guitarist of London-based rock trio Black Orchid Empire. The band is anticipating the release of their new album in June, which was recorded at The Recording Studio in London.
“I'm blown away by the Sennheiser IE 500 PRO IEMs,” he reports. “I've used countless universal and custom monitors in the past and these have some of the best bass response, HF detail and natural comfort I've ever encountered. I used them with Black Orchid Empire when we were on tour supporting Skunk Anansie. They performed perfectly every night, including a sold-out show at Brixton Academy. These things are fantastic.”
Liam Kearley, drummer for progressive rock band Black Peaks has used IE 500s on numerous gigs and cannot wait to use them again once the Covid-19 storm is over.
“The Sennheiser IE 500 PROs are a very clear sounding balanced in ear monitor for me,” says Kearley. “Using them live with my band Black Peaks for the first time was a true revelation. The clarity and response I had from them whilst playing was incredible. I look forward to really pushing their limits when we get back on that stage!”
On the contrary, Andy Robinson, monitor engineer for Celeste and other artists, only managed to use his IE 500s on one gig before the Covid-19 situation worsened. This has forced him to use his in-ears for a much more modest task for the time being.
“I’ve only ever managed to use the IE 500s alongside the FOH engineer for the artist I was working with at the Brits,” says Robinson. “We were both impressed. They’re very nicely packaged and the case that comes with them has a great insert in the middle for keeping the cable tidy and safe in storage. The cable has a nice flexibility to it but doesn’t feel delicate. For generics, the isolation is amazing and they’re really comfortable. The sound is pretty balanced as well.”
(Jim Evans)
