Drumeo earDRUMS Review
For the past few years, I’ve been searching for a solid pair of affordable in-ear monitors for drummers that both sound incredible and hold up over time. Drumeo’s new earDRUMS might make the cut in becoming my new favorite set of IEMs. So let’s check them out.
Overview of Drumeo’s new earDRUMS
Drumeo hit me up earlier this month and asked if I wanted to check out a pair of their brand-new in-ear monitors called earDRUMS. Of course, I happily obliged since I’ve been looking to upgrade.
So for transparency, Drumeo did send me a set of these free of charge, but that won’t change the authenticity of my review.
Why Should Drummers Use In Ears?
As drummers, we play some of the loudest instruments known to man. So we need to protect our hearing, no matter how boring or lame that sounds. You’ll appreciate it when you’re older.
Ear monitors allow us to hear the music we play along to clearly, and if you record yourself, it makes your kit sound incredible where you’ll want to play and practice even more!
Standard headphones aren’t designed for drumming. I know from experience, dude. When I was younger and didn’t have fancy isolation headphones, I resorted to slapping a set of construction ear muffs on top of my headphones to practice drums.
Isolation headphones like the GK Ultraphones are explicitly designed for drumming. The issue? They’re big and cumbersome and often lead to ear fatigue from them being clamped down on your head.
In-ear monitors aren’t reserved solely for professionals anymore. For example, most Instagram and YouTube drummers use in-ear monitors when recording videos.
They’re a perfect practice tool for drummers at any skill level. You can focus on the music, listening quietly while still playing the drums to your heart’s content.
Why I Was Ready for an Upgrade
For the past few years, I’ve been using four different IEM models:
- Shure SE215 ($99)
- Shure SE315 ($179)
- KZ ZS10 Pro ($49)
- ADV Model 2 ($29)
I’ve never been thrilled with these, mostly because I haven’t shelled out for custom molds yet.
The worst two of these are the ones from Shure, surprisingly. The ZS10 Pro sounds nice but lacks isolation, and the ADV Model 2 isolates great but lacks sound. The Shure’s also had decent isolation, and the cable was suitable for touring, but that was about it.
With Drumeo sending me their new earDRUMS, I hoped I would finally have the perfect set of affordable in-ear monitors. And that’s precisely what I received.
Protect your ears, play your favorite songs. That’s Drumeo’s slogan for their new earDRUMS. At $149, these monitors are priced perfectly for both beginners and professionals.
What’s in the box?
- earDRUMS
- Three ear tip options (foam, silicone, triple-layer silicone)
- Detachable cable
- 1/4″ adapter
- Cleaning brush
- Drumeo carrying case
EarDRUMS boast triple drivers, making them the most affordable set of IEMs of this caliber. As a result, Drumeo is poised to take first place in the race to every drummer’s ear canals.
In addition, they feature a full range of sound. You’ll feel your kick drum, and the cymbals will shine—smooth, shimmering, and never harsh. They have a deep, rich-sounding bass with a clear mid-range. There’s lots of low end without the bass getting muddy.
Regarding sound quality, these are a massive step-up from the KZ ZS10 Pros that everyone seems to rave about.
earDRUMS reduce the external volume of your surroundings up to -29dB, so worry no more about harming your hearing later in life.
When I test any headphones or in-ears, I like to play flatter music, like Steely Dan or yacht rock of the 70s. It’s balanced, isn’t overhyped, and provides a control sound for testing.
The in-ears are warm-sounding. The high-end is crisp but not harsh at all. And they’re not over-hyped either. It’s a flat frequency response but still has a great bass response.
When playing my drum kit, the foam inserts or triple-layer silicone ones were necessary. Unfortunately, at least for me, the single-layer tips don’t cut it. Too much of my kit bleeds into my ears when I use those.
Since I monitor my drums with microphones, I like to keep as much room sound out of my in-ears as possible. You may be in a different situation, and the single-layer silicone tips may be perfect for hearing your kit over music!
These in-ears isolate excellently. I can barely hear the external noise of my kit behind my microphones and the song I’m playing. It’s great that I can focus on what my microphones are doing and not worry about sound bleeding externally.
Using the single-layer silicone tip inserts will let more sound into your ears, negating the decibel reduction. You could potentially still be harming your ears, so be careful.
The triple-layer silicone inserts also do an incredible good job isolating. And they are more comfortable than the foam inserts. However, after wearing the foam inserts during a session, I get a bit of ear pain and want to take them out for a minute for relief.
I think the speaker’s diameter on the earDRUMS is a little wider than most of my other in-ears and doesn’t fit in my ear properly. So I have to somewhat force them in when using the foam tips.
Not many people give attention to the cable of a set of in-ears, but it does make a big difference. When drummers use in-ear monitors, we typically wear them behind us, not in front.
This technique keeps the cable away from our hands where they are actively moving and could hit the cable, knocking it out of our receivers. If you have a poor-quality cable, say it’s fragile, it won’t hold up for a tour.
The silver-plated detachable cable Drumeo includes is incredible. It’s Ultimate Ears custom-molded in-ear level quality. And to go with everything is a spectacular blue carrying case—better than any case I’ve used!
Wrapping Up
I did receive a set of earDRUMS from Drumeo, but I was genuinely impressed by the quality of these in-ears. No matter what they put their name on, it’s quality.
Whether we’re talking about their proven lesson system, practice pads, instructional books, and now in-ear monitors, Drumeo has raised the bar once again.
For more information or to grab your set of earDRUMS, visit: https://www.drumeo.com/drumshop/eardrums/
I experienced just the opposite. Although well made, the eardrums failed in the most important factor- sound quality! The bass was way to weak for a drummer. No bottom end. I tested them against a a $99 Sony extra bass and a heir audio 8 driver. Even the Sonys eclipsed the earDrumz.
I called drumeo and told them this story. They said they would not take them back. Beware. No guarantee !
I’m have a problem with this ears, I’m so upset.
I really loved my Drumeo EarDrums for several months of rehearsing and 1-2 gigs/month. However, the audio now cuts out intermittently. I’m not really sure how to diagnose whether it is the cable or the earpiece itself, but I’m hoping to find out how to order a new cable. When working, I think these in-ears are wonderful. I was previously using Shure SE425s, but the sound from those is suuuuper tinny. So long as they are working, the Drumeo IEMs are significantly better!
I was very happy with the Drumeo eardrums, however, after 12 to 15 uses, the audio started cutting out on the right side, intermittently. I have emailed Drumeo about the problem, but have not yet received a response. If anyone else has figured out a way to remedy this problem, please let me know. kerripace@yahoo.com.
How well would these work with Roland e-drums?
As a female with long hair the ear wires are hard to put on and keep in place.