If you want to have complete freedom on a live stage without being bound by cables, you need to get a wireless in-ear monitor system. Most bands that use in-ear monitors use these, as they make it possible to walk around a stage while still having your earphones connected.
In this review, we’re going to look at the Audio-Technica ATW-3255 In Ear Monitor System. It’s a solid option to consider, as it has great quality and build features.
We’ll look at all the specifics, and we’ll also discuss how beneficial a system like this is for drummers.
When you buy this package, you get a wireless receiver body pack, a set of ATH-E40 earphones, and a system transmitter.
The receiver body pack has an OLED screen and can run for up to seven hours on batteries. The batteries don’t come with the pack, though.
It also has an antenna that makes signals clearer to pick up. So, you can be quite far away from the transmitter, and you’ll still get great sounds coming through the earphones.
The ATH-E40 earphones are a popular pair of in-ear monitors from Audio-Technica. They’re a great addition to this overall set.
The system transmitter has a low-profile design, and it’s incredibly easy to use.
All these features work in conjunction to give you a seamless monitoring experience.
The sound quality you get with the ATW-3255 system is very impressive. You get very clear audio quality across all the frequencies, with the lows sounding booming and punchy, the mids sounding quite full, and the highs sounding clean and precise.
The ATH-E40 earphones that are included are a welcomed addition. Their overall quality is very similar to the Shure SE215s, so they’re great earphones for drummers to use.
The antenna on the wireless receiver pack helps a lot with the clarity of signals that come through. You can walk around a venue and still hear everything as clearly as you would on stage.
The wireless receiver, earphones, and transmitter unit are all built very well. The receiver is made up of a combination of metal and plastic, and it’s very elegantly designed. It seems to be very durable, giving you the assurance that it will last many years of extended use.
The receiver is also well-built, and it gives you more than enough sound editing options to dial in the sounds that you want. The part that attaches to your body is made from metal, so you never feel like it will break if you move around a lot.
The construction quality of the ETH-E40 headphones is standard for what you get from most entry-level in-ears that can still be used professionally.
The big downside is the mounting hardware that comes with the package. It’s not built well, and a lot of people who get this system complain about it.
The ATW-3255 system is built specifically for live performance settings, so the performance you get from it is amazing. Everything always works very smoothly, and it hardly ever has connection issues.
That’s a big relief when it comes to wireless gear, as it’s always riskier to use it in live settings. However, wearing in-ear monitors without being bound by a plugged-in cable makes you feel a lot freer when playing on a stage.
A system like this is vital for singers and musicians who move around on stage. It can be useful for drummers if they get up and walk around, but it’s not something that most drummers would see as a necessity.
The overall price of the ATW-3255 is decent. It’s not too expensive, but it’s not the most affordable in-ear monitor system either.
We like that it comes with a pair of earphones. Most other monitoring systems only come with receivers and a transmitter.
However, other systems also come with more than one receiver. So, this is more of a system for a single musician to consider getting.
If you want to get an in-ear monitoring system for a band, it may be worth looking at some other options that offer more.
We wouldn’t advise using something like this in the studio. You don’t need to move around when doing studio recordings, so it’s always more reliable to use cables for everything.
When you use wireless gear, it adds a bit of risk, and you can often get unwanted delays when you’re recording song parts.
If you do buy the ATW-3255, the included ATH-E40 earphones may be useful in studio settings, but that’s about it.
The ATW-3255 system is a brilliant option for live gigs. As we said earlier, it only comes with one receiver, so it’s most applicable for a single musician.
If you want to get this as a drummer, it will be most useful if you do one-man shows where you move around a lot. If you’re not a drummer, it’s the perfect option for a singer-songwriter who plays guitar and uses tracks.
Otherwise, you’ll need to purchase more receiver packs or get another monitor system that comes with more for the same price.
The Audio-Technica ATW-3255 is a solid option for live performances. Its biggest strength is its sound quality and clarity, and then you get a few other benefits like the excellent build quality and the inclusion of a pair of ATH-E40 earphones.
Anyone who buys this will be very happy with it. However, you should know that you may find a few better deals on monitoring systems that come with more in the package. Just make sure to look around to see what’s out there before pulling the plug on buying this.
Drum Teacher
Brett Clur has a Drum Performance Diploma from Trinity College London has been playing drums for over 20 years. He is passionate about advanced concepts and uses his years of experience to teach his students about them. While he is a full-time drum teacher, he is also working on growing a YouTube channel where shares his insights. You can see him playing there, or on Instagram where he posts daily videos.
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