By Russ Long
Though no one realized it at the time, the face of live music was forever changed nearly three decades ago when Jerry Harvey, Van Halen’s monitor engineer, created a pair of custom in-ear monitors for drummer Alex Van Halen. In that moment, Ultimate Ears (UE) was born. Since then, the company has manufactured more than 100,000 in-ear monitors (IEMs). While there are dozens of companies in the market, UE remains at the top, no doubt in part because of its continued investment in new technology.
Historically, creating a pair of custom-fit IEMs would begin with an audiologist using a mould to create an impression of the musician’s ear canal, then using that impression to create the IEM’s custom fit. A few years ago, UE developed a computerized scanning process that allows bypassing the mould process, which many people consider very uncomfortable. While the scanning process is faster and more accurate, it still requires a trained professional to carry it out.
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