I just played a gig on the weekend.. you know what I realized? I have 140$ Suhr in ears which are essentially flat and I like them that way. When you are playing music, you just really want to hear yourself and the band. You aren't listening to enjoy yourself. I would say, if you can get your own mix to get what you want to hear in your ear, that's the most important thing. Most sound boards for shows that most of us play are going to be average sound wise so it isn't like you need great stuff to listen to mediocre club mixes. I just pop one side of my in ear out so I still get a bit of protection from my cymbals but enjoy the sound in the room out of the speakers as well.