Contour XO in-ear monitors combine the efforts of two pro audio industry award-winning innovators: JH Audio and L‑Acoustics. If you want the perfect reference IEM for the L‑Acoustics sonic signature on stage, at the mixing desk, in studio, or on the move, Contour XO is the answer.
These newly designed universal in-ear monitors bring you intimately inside the music thanks to 10 balanced armature drivers with 3-way crossover in a quad low, dual mid, and quad high configuration. Furthermore, Contour XO puts you in control of the low end with bass adjustment of up to 15 dB above flat response.
Whether performing, mixing, or just listening, you will hear accurate, distortion-free reproduction with JH Audio Soundrive™ technology built to handle extreme dynamics to deliver the intense emotional impact of live music. Further enhanced by Freqphase™, Contour XO ensures precision timing across the frequency spectrum, fulfilling the sound source coherency requirements of L‑Acoustics Wavefront Sculpture Technology (WST).
This special limited edition handcrafted series is now available to ship worldwide.
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Contour-XO – Spec SheetJerry Harvey and Christian Heil can both lay claim to pioneering technologies that would change the pro audio industry forever.
Harvey, an accomplished monitor engineer, first developed a custom in-ear monitor (IEM) for drummer Alex Van Halen in the 90s. As the band toured, word traveled and Harvey would devote his career to defining the state of the art for multi-driver in-ear monitoring. From the Grammys to the VMAs to the Superbowl halftime show to major tours, Harvey’s innovations can be seen in the ears of artists including Aerosmith, Lady Gaga, Guns N’ Roses, Miley Cyrus, Drake, Katy Perry, Justin Bieber, Camilia Cabello and many more.
Heil, the founder of L‑Acoustics, is credited with inventing the line source array, the loudspeaker technology that serves the live events industry to this day, and the benchmark for artists in more than half of the top grossing festivals and at the biggest music festivals around the world.
Contour XO is born of the meeting of these two pro audio industry icons. Harvey and Heil have combined the forces of their R&D teams to co-engineer the renowned L‑Acoustics sonic signature in a premium IEM that continues to elevate the standard for in-ear monitoring.
Christian Heil and Jerry Harvey
L-Acoustics Creations
L-Acoustics Creations
Christian Heil, Founder and President of L‑Acoustics (left) and Jerry Harvey, Founder and President of JH Audio (right)
Contour XO is best recommended In-Ear Monitors for Spatial Audio Mixing by L-Acoustics
L-Acoustics Creations
United States
Contour XO is the best IEM for Audio Mixing Engineers and Artists with its 10 Balanced Armature Drivers and L-Acoustics' Sonic Signature that provide an unmatched concert-like experience.
The success of L-ISA Immersive Hyperreal Sound technology and spatialized mixing tools has led L-Acoustics to seek ways to further streamline the production process. Contour XO is the latest addition to the L-ISA creator toolkit and a natural complement to L-ISA Studio, a groundbreaking software suite which enables spatial audio mixing with just a laptop and headphones.
With Contour XO, use L‑ISA Studio anywhere and monitor your immersive mix on headphones (binaural with headtracking) or speaker systems up to 7.1.4 configurations. Visit the link below to learn more and receive a free 1-month trial, no credit card information required.
Chris Rabold
L-Acoustics Creations
L-Acoustics Creations
Chris Rabold, Front of house engineer
What has always drawn me to L-Acoustics is its musicality: solid sub, punchy low end, thick but detailed low mids, balanced midrange, aggressive yet controlled high mids and, most impressively, smooth and realistic high end. Too many systems nowadays go for unnatural, overhyped high frequencies. Not L-Acoustics. Simply put, it sounds like music.
Front of house engineer
Ramon Morales
L-Acoustics Creations
L-Acoustics Creations
Ramon Morales, Front of House and monitor engineer
L-Acoustics has provided us with many great tools to enhance what we do. Having the same characteristics in an IEM is a game changer! With Contour XO, the collaboration between L-Acoustics and JH Audio may be the turning point – the next generation of IEMs.
Front of House and monitor engineer
Arica Rust
L-Acoustics Creations
L-Acoustics Creations
Arica Rust, System Engineer
My goal as a systems engineer is to create a blank canvas for the mix engineer to paint on so that every day the painting sounds the same. I’ve always felt that L-Acoustics products have the sonic transparency and fidelity to streamline this procedure because they start the optimization process on the mechanical level.
System Engineer
Wayne “Rabbit” Sargeant
L-Acoustics Creations
L-Acoustics Creations
Wayne “Rabbit” Sargeant, Studio and live mixing engineer
At this year’s BRIT Awards at London’s O2 Arena, I was mixing front of house for UK artist Stormzy. I was so impressed with the audio quality and dynamic range, especially the low-end extension. The clarity and phase coherency was like mixing in the studio, yet the front of house mix position was way back in the room. The bass was intense all the way to the cheap seats, in a word: colossal!
Studio and live mixing engineer
Jack Nellis
L-Acoustics Creations
L-Acoustics Creations
Jack Nellis, Studio and live mix engineer for Elevation Worship
From a professional end-user perspective, I think the Contour XO are going to be perfect for live mixing reference as well as portable mixing rigs, especially if you are used to mixing an L-Acoustics system. In addition, I think musicians and vocalists who want an idea of how the room is sounding in their ears will find this new product very appealing.
Studio and live mix engineer for Elevation Worship
Darcy Khan
L-Acoustics Creations
L-Acoustics Creations
Darcy Khan, Front of House engineer for Outkast, Kanye West, Logic and Drake
As the FOH engineer for Outkast on an extensive world tour I had the chance to test all the top PA systems and was totally blown away by the L-Acoustics K1 system. In 2017 as FOH for Logic I had the opportunity to build my all-time favorite PA: L-Acoustics K1 over K2, with my favorite sub the KS28, with 2 Kara on top. I got everything I was looking for out of that PA. It was pristine and crystal clear for my application of 128 dB, in-your-face hip hop! I can’t wait to hear the next generation of audio from L-Acoustics.
Front of House engineer for Outkast, Kanye West, Logic and Drake
Kim Do Seok
L-Acoustics Creations
L-Acoustics Creations
Kim Do Seok, Mixing engineer of K-pop
I cannot forget the moment that I listened to L-Acoustics technology for the first time in 1997. The L-Acoustics system was and remains incomparable and was the game-changer in the Korean pro audio industry. The sound of L-Acoustics is the reference for live shows. Contour XO is exciting news for audio lovers and especially fans of live music. I believe the IEMs will bring that huge live sound, and the feeling that comes with it, into the home.
Mixing engineer of K-pop
Arno Voortman
L-Acoustics Creations
L-Acoustics Creations
Arno Voortman, System engineer and sound designer
When working on one of our EDM festival sound designs for a client, you show the best and most optimized solution with a detailed view of the project. It is our job to provide a PA that will meet this solution with a similar sonic footprint throughout the whole family tree as well as provide the client and most of all audience with an exciting sonic experience. For those reasons L‑Acoustics has been the system of choice
System engineer and sound designer
Lance Reynolds
L-Acoustics Creations
L-Acoustics Creations
Lance Reynolds, Front of House engineer alt-J
There’s something immeasurable about L-Acoustics speakers. When I mix on a K1 or K2 system it somehow puts me “inside” the music. Sonic details emerge, music blends together easily, and my mixes seem to have more depth and dimension. It becomes a sonic experience that no other technology can deliver.
Front of House engineer alt-J
James Rudder
L-Acoustics Creations
L-Acoustics Creations
James Rudder, Studio and live mixing engineer
The end of a tour always comes, and while relaxing in the comfort of home, I had always pondered being able to have that L-Acoustics sound on the couch. With the recent development of the Contour XO IEMs, we have the opportunity to take that L-Acoustics sonic signature anywhere. I also look forward to having the option of using Contour XO when it’s time to get back on the road.
Studio and live mixing engineer
We are excited to announce that some of pro audio’s most seasoned and sought-after engineering talent have agreed to join us as expert end users for the introduction of Contour XO.