Where does this come from, and can I check it?

Singers once relied on floor speakers aimed up at them from the stage lip. The figure is taken from Sound on Sound, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.

Is this really a music fact?

Yes. It sits on the Music shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.

What else can I read about it?

The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.

Mondo Knows Facts

In-ear monitors replaced a wall of wedges

Singers once relied on floor speakers aimed up at them from the stage lip Floor wedges project a separate mix towards each performer, and a large stage can need dozens of them. In-ear monitors, adopted widely from the 1990s, put a sealed earpiece in each ear and cut the onstage volume dramatically. They also let a singer hear their own pitch clearly without a wedge blasting back into the room. It sits in Mondo's music collection, one of 200 facts that each trace back to the reference below.

Where this comes from

Sound on Sound

Facts that can change over time are reviewed and updated. If something here looks wrong, Mondo would rather know than be confidently incorrect.

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Technology trivia

More facts like this

Delay towers carry sound to the far fieldExtra speaker stacks are timed to arrive in step with the main stage Cardioid subwoofer arrays push bass forwardStacked subs fed with delay cancel low frequencies behind the stage The same stage microphone has been standard since 1966The Shure SM58 is a budget dynamic built to survive being dropped A live show needs two separate sound systemsThe audience hears the main system, while the band hears monitors pointed back at them Line arrays keep big crowds at even volumeCurving a stack of cabinets steers sound further without blasting the front rows Feedback is a loop that feeds itselfA microphone picks up a speaker, which feeds the same tone back louder

Tags: live-sound, monitors, touring

In-ear monitors replaced a wall of wedges: the short answers

Where does this come from, and can I check it?: Singers once relied on floor speakers aimed up at them from the stage lip. The figure is taken from Sound on Sound, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
Is this really a music fact?: Yes. It sits on the Music shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
What else can I read about it?: The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.