Simple and EASY In-Ear Monitor System for CHEAP!

In-Ear Monitors (IEMs) have often been thought of as some lofty and unachievable goal for a lot of musicians. Let's change that. Learn how to get started for as little as $400!
Thanks for watching!
▬ Table of Contents ▬
0:00 - Intro
0:21 - Why use In-Ear Monitors?
0:53 - What IS an IEM?
1:23 - How much do IEMs REALLY cost?
1:59 - Wireless Gear Alternative
2:25 - Budget Mixing Board
3:19 - Budget Headphone amplifier
4:45 - Cost Breakdown and Total
5:09 - Wrap-Up
▬ Check Out My Band ▬
While you're here take a minute to check out my band both here on youtube and on follow on spotify!
www.youtube.com/@solarus7123/...
open.spotify.com/artist/1uyqm...
Below are links to gear that I've actually personally used and know work. I will not put links to items I have not tested personally. By all means try out some others but if I have not used it myself, you wont find a link to it here.
▬ In-Ear Monitors ▬
KZ EDX - www.ebay.com/itm/114471350869...
Tin Hi-Fi T3 Plus - www.linsoul.com/products/tinh...
▬ Headphone Amplifier ▬
Mackie HM-4 - www.amazon.ca/s?k=mackie+hm-4...
▬ Mixers ▬
Behringer Xenyx 1202fx - reverb.com/p/behringer-1202fx...
▬ Cables ▬
30ft 3.5mm male to 3.5mm female Extension Cable - www.amazon.ca/s?k=30+ft+headp...

[@TransgenderAncientHistory]

Great stuff my friend!

[@paultemitope6449]

This was Certainly Helpful. Thank you and thumbs up

[@ImTroyFromCanada]

Glad you got something from it! Thanks for taking a look.

[@lucasmcarthur4941]

Great of you to pull back the curtain on this stuff dude. So many people have gone many many years in bands without realizing how accessible this option is (myself included).

[@ImTroyFromCanada]

Playing music doesn't have to be expensive, unless you're a drummer!

[@JReelVisuals]

Great vid man! Informative, to the point and entertaining! I know Solarus does this all the time - playing MIDI while being on time with the entire band. Can you make a video on that? My band has some MIDI stuff that would be great to hear while we are practicing and obviously even better for a live show

[@ImTroyFromCanada]

Is it actually midi, or just an MP3 of the rendered midi instruments? If it's an MP3, that's a pretty simple thing to add to the mix. Just play it from a phone into the mixer!

[@posljiposto97]

¹¹¹1¹

[@garrettflower3009]

Love the backing track!

[@ImTroyFromCanada]

Thanks! I made it myself! Lol

[@BTL400]

Good information and actually I'm planning on adding a mixing board for future gigs. One difference, though, is that I do have a wireless system which is using a FM radio transmitter and my phone to pick up the signal. I've using the transmitter thing with my multi effects pedal but by adding a mixing board I can have some sort of band monitoring.

[@ImTroyFromCanada]

Very nice! IEMs are a great way to level up your live performances. Add in one of those headphones amps and your whole band can piggyback off your IEM rig. I never thought of using an FM transmitter and radio app. I do kinda worry about latency from the app but if it works for you that's rad as hell!

[@guille_toledo76]

The best video. But ! We like to go wireless from the headphones amplifier. Is it possible to use those stereo outputs with some kind of cheap in ears wifi system?

[@ImTroyFromCanada]

Yep, absolutely. This video is intended for those who do not already own a wireless system and want to get started. But you can use wireless instead of a cable if you wish.

[@stevenbethke864]

Whats UP! I have purchased the exact headphone amp, and some in ear monitors. I have the Harbinger LVL14 mixer for our powered speakers. The monitor output from my mixer is MONO. So we are only hearing sound out of one ear of the IEM. IS there a easy way to fix this? I am using Stereo Cables I believe. Thanks for any info

[@ImTroyFromCanada]

Hmmm, I have never run into this problem. I suggest you DONT use the mono out and use a Y cable. TS mono + TS mono to TRS stereo. These cables frequently come with RCA plugs on them so you can plug something like a phone into your old home stereo receiver. Maybe adapt one of those cables with RCA to 1/4" adapters, and use the 1/4" outs on your mixer for stereo. Hope that makes sense.

[@blissfulcup-9199]

Thank you so much for your information. which is work when I plugged in mixer board phones but it's volume very small and only one ear monitor has sound. Anyone know why happened? Thanks

[@ImTroyFromCanada]

Hey there. Seems like English isn't your first language. I can't properly understand what exactly is going on but I recommend you check a few things. 1. You need to use a stereo (TRS/tip, ring, sleeve) extension cable to plug in your headphones. Using a mono cable won't work properly. The same is true for connecting an iphone/iPod. These all need stereo cables. 2. Make sure your cables are all working properly. You may have a broken cable causing problems. 3. Make sure you are plugging your cables into the proper inputs and outputs, and if you dont know, be sure to read the manual to know how to properly use the equipment you've purchased. Hope that helps.

[@chaosfoz666]

I personally would like a video showing the connections for a standard band. Something like a 4 piece. How do I get drums into this? I think this will involve mics or splitter cables. Is bass different since it's DI'd a lot of the time?

[@ImTroyFromCanada]

These are all great questions. Splitters can get really expensive, cables get very expensive too. This video was purely meant to show an absolute minimum viable solution. This is gonna sound condescending, but anything you want to hear, you connect to the mixing board. Need kick? Mic the kick and connect it to the mixer. Ran out of channels? Get a mixer with more channels. Bass DI is no different really. Mixers have input gain for each channel just hook up the bass and turn up (or down) the channel's input gain the se as you would for any instrument or mic source. Now the big thing I didn't cover in this video is what to do when you want to connect to front of house for live use and all that. Again, that's not what this video is for. I only talk about the minimum viable solution, because beyond the bare minimum, things get very expensive, very fast, and it sucks making a video for beginners that says "Okay so you're gonna need $2000". All that being said, perhaps it's worth doing a video where I show how all these parts fit together and how to connect them properly. I assumed that it would be boring and a waste of time to show plugging in cables because it's rather simple, but for someone just starting out, that may be quite useful. Thank you for your questions!

[@deanwragg7152]

I have “fx send” output on my mixer, could I not plug this headphone amp into that? That way I can adjust the mix everyone hears using the fx send knob on each channel on my mixer?

[@ImTroyFromCanada]

Try it and find out. I can't speak for every permutation of every piece of gear, number of outputs, number of band members, evil sorcerers, and hatsune miku cosplayers. If you've got an idea, give it a whirl. Worst case it just doesn't work.

[@pts619]

So the signal from my microphone needs to go to both the P.A. and my IEM system therefore the signal from the mic (XLR - balanced) needs to be split, amplified and then sent out again to the P.A. via a XLR balanced line. How is this incorporated in your setup?

[@ImTroyFromCanada]

Very astute. Yes, you would need to split your mic to send it to the PA. I used a simple passive splitter box, before eventually upgrading to a rack mounted splitter for the whole band.

[@marlon8639]

Will it work if i plug it on to a aux/monitor instead of the headphone?

[@ImTroyFromCanada]

Can you be a little more specific? What are you trying to connect to the aux/monitor output?

[@DustyFixes]

Enjoyed the video. I sent you an email with a few questions.

[@kyleethekelt]

Nice and informative. You may wish to treat your recording area, however. It sounds as if you're speaking from a laundry.

[@ImTroyFromCanada]

That's not super far from the truth haha. Next one ought to end up better.

[@Tsietsithelele]

Humans of the internet 🤔

[@ImTroyFromCanada]

Yes. Humans of the internet.

[@JishnuLoL]

post videos!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@ImTroyFromCanada]

Working on a new script as we speak, homie!

[@aemon16]

Next time do demonstration. To much talk.

[@ImTroyFromCanada]

Hey homie, appreciate your feedback. I didn't think it was necessary to waste everyone's time showing how to plug in cables. I give the people watching enough credit to be able to hook it up without step by step instructions.