At some point in their career, musicians realize that they need better gear to improve the overall quality of their performance. An important element in taking the audio quality to the next level is an in-ear monitoring system.
The new XS Wireless IEM system is a complete starter set for personal monitoring from Sennheiser, designed to set a new standard for simple, flexible, and reliable wireless in-ear monitoring. The system enables users to quickly establish an easy-to-manage wireless connection in the professional UHF range.
“No matter what your musical genre, whether you are rehearsing or performing live, XSW IEM will level up your sound and give you total freedom of movement,” says Bertram Zimmermann, product manager at Sennheiser. “Being able to hear yourself with clarity is a pre-requisite for a great performance. The XS Wireless IEM will give you consistency, reliability, and quality audio, and will let you focus on playing and singing your best.”
“Once musicians have tried out wireless in-ears, they will not want to go back to wedges,” says Zimmermann. “The difference in sound is just too obvious. Hearing yourself well through floor monitors, side fills, or even the PA can be a real struggle. The sound changes constantly, especially when you move around, and is also very different from venue to venue. Trying to hear yourself better by increasing the monitor volume makes things worse, even to the point of causing hearing damage. Also, the overall sound for the audience will deteriorate substantially.”
All this can take a performer away from a good rehearsal or a great show as they can neither hear themselves properly nor how they blend in with the other musicians. In-ear monitoring eliminates these problems: the XS Wireless IEM system gives musicians a consistent, reliable sound that is independent of the location and their position on stage. The detail and transparency they hear helps them finetune and improve their performance. And any risk of feedback is greatly reduced.
Regardless of tech experience, Sennheiser states that the new XS Wireless IEM systems are easy and fast to set up. Since the systems use the UHF band, aligned and pre-calculated frequency presets get musicians started with ease. If desired, transmission frequencies can also be selected manually.
Backlit displays on both the receiver bodypack and the rack-mount transmitter help to clearly see settings even in poor lighting conditions. In addition, the system offers a limiter to protect user’s hearing and a high-frequency boost to increase detail and intelligibility.
For their monitor sound, users can opt for a mono mix (one mix, and the pan control adjusts the volume for the left and right ear) or a stereo mix. The latter provides two options: With Focus mode switched off, the pan control will change the left/right volume; with Focus mode switched on, it will determine which of the two input signals will be heard louder, creating a personal mono mix tailored to the musician’s needs.
The new XS Wireless IEM systems include a stereo bodypack receiver complete with IE 4 in-ears and batteries and a stereo transmitter with antenna, rack-mount kit and a power supply with various country adapters. An infrared sensor helps to easily sync multiple bodypack receivers to one transmitter.
When starting out, using one transmitter and any number of bodypack receivers is a very cost-effective way to monitor a band’s sound. At a later point in their career, they may want to create more individual mixes, and can do so by simply adding an additional IEM transmitter.
The Sennheiser XS Wireless IEM systems retail at $699 USD (MSRP), and additional receivers and transmitters at $399 USD (MSRP) each. The systems are available in five UHF frequency ranges which are aligned with the XSW family of wireless microphones and instrument transmitters.
www.sennheiser.com
