July 2023

In-Ear Monitoring Earphones

If you’re looking for an in-ear monitoring system but don’t know where to start, Yanda’s Music is here to help! We can provide all the tools you need to perform at the highest level. A word to the wise: Only use in ear monitors if you are comfortable enough with yourself to realize your musical inadequacies. They don’t lie!

Yandas carries a variety of different Shure in-ear and over-the-ear monitors. When a lower profile is needed for onstage performances, the Shure SE112, 215, 435, 535, or 846 earphones are reliable companions in any environment, but their differences can be confusing.

Difference in the Drivers

These earphones are set apart from each other primarily by their drivers, which are the components that are physically vibrating to create sound. The SE112 and 215 contain a single driver in each ear. The SE425’s contain two drivers in each, and the SE535’s contain three drivers in each ear tethered by a computer chip, also known as a crossover, that diverts appropriate frequencies to either the two micro-subwoofers or the tweeter. Finally, the SE846 contains four drivers including two woofers, a midrange driver, and a tweeter for a totally comprehensive sound profile.

It's important to determine how accurately you want your monitors to relay your sound to you. The frequency range of a given headset will determine how well it can receive the highest or lowest sounds perceivable by the human ear. The average human ear can hear a frequency range of 20hz to 20 kilohertz. The Shure SE112, their most affordable model, has a frequency range of 25hz to 17 kHz, meaning they don’t quite cover the entire hearable spectrum. With four drivers, the SE846 model boasts a frequency range of 15Hz to 20 kHz, meaning these earphones cover the entire audible spectrum with a little extra on the lowest frequencies.

Signal Sensitivity

One last thing to compare when choosing the right in-ear monitors is the sensitivity value. This is the value given to show how efficiently the monitors convert electrical signals into audible signals.

Essentially, a higher sensitivity value means that the headphones will use power input more efficiently. This chart would tell us that the Shure SE535’s will be able to generate louder output than the SE112’s if given the same amount of power input.