[TheMusicMan]

In-ear monitors are awesome. As a Live Sound Engineer, every in-ear monitor I get to mix makes it that much easier to control levels on the stage. Achieving a solid loud FOH mix while keeping the monitor mix consistent for the musicians is a challenge made simple with in-ears.

Admittedly, with in-ears you HAVE to have a console with that many more AUX outs, but it's a pain worth dealing with, IMO. I hate working a show where the musicians demand a mix so LOUD that the Mains can't hardly cover up the stage volume.

There's nothing more frustrating than trying to make a good mix for a band, and having to crank it through the roof simply to balance. Hearing loss is a huge issue at the levels some of these groups demand. Here's an interesting notion:
I worked a show on the Faith Hill/Tim McGraw tour a couple years back, loading in and loading out the road crew. They flew 4 stacks of JBL line-arrays, approx. 25 ft tall by 6 ft. wide. Those babies moved some air. In the arena we were in, you could feel a pulse of air waft past you in the tunnels outside of the main concourse with every beat of the drum. It was insane, but when you were in the arena, it was not insanely loud.

But when I go to a club to mix some metal band, they crank it so loud on a pair of EV 15" subs and matching full-range boxes that I feel like I can't sit still for 30 seconds without losing my hearing. Why the huge jones for volume at the expense of quality?

Seems to me, in-ear monitors solve this problem by keeping the sources close to the musicians so they can turn it up and focus on their music. That leaves me to work on the main mix and get it sounding sweet. Sound like the way to work to you guys?