[TimHeerebout]

Hi there,
 
been reading a bunch and now I want to ask a more specific question. I'm a guitarist both in clubs and church. I have experience with Shure E2's and E5's and for the past 6 months or so I've been using Westone UM2's. The Westone's are a vast improvement over either Shure model.
 
I am now using a Fractal AxeFx direct to FOH and at home and I plan on using the IEM's for tuning patches and live monitoring. I also sing a bit but I'd rate that as of secondary importance when choosing earbuds. I prefer something with a smooth top end and true midrange and bottom end. This way I can avoid ear fatigue and unwanted high end frequencies, which my ear does not do well with, and also be confident that I'm sending a great signal to FOH.
 
So if ~$400 was my maximum, which earbuds would you recommend? I've done some looking into Livewires Duals and Trips, Alien, 1964's, JH5's and UE4's. 
 
Many thanks for your input!

 

[DaBomb77766]

Honestly, it's really hard for people to help you with customs since not many people have them, and of the people who do, almost none have more than one - and of the few that have multiple customs, I doubt many, if any would have all the ones you've listed.
 
There is a thread dedicated to customs though, last time I checked, so you look look for that and read through there...

 

[TimHeerebout]

Quote:

Honestly, it's really hard for people to help you with customs since not many people have them, and of the people who do, almost none have more than one - and of the few that have multiple customs, I doubt many, if any would have all the ones you've listed.
 
There is a thread dedicated to customs though, last time I checked, so you look look for that and read through there...

Yeah I know this is true. I guess perhaps another way to ask this would be if, for a guitarist, Trips would improve performance dramatically. If not, I think I'll just get the Livewires duals unless someone makes a convincing case for why one of the other duals is significantly better...

 

[DaBomb77766]

Well, more drivers does not = better.  It's all about how the drivers that are there are used.  You can have dual drivers that sound better than triple drivers, and indeed single driver IEMs that sound better than multi-drivers. (FA BA-SS, if you want a ridiculously overpriced example)
 
Have you checked out Kozee?  They make budget customs too.  There's also the option of getting a good universal reshelled, too.

 

[Spyro]

Quote:

A solid vote for the JH5s. You will not be disappointed in my view. I would not trade mine for more drivers. As DaBomb says, it's not about the number of drivers, it's about the end result.

X2.  Can't go wrong.  Possibly the best value in high end audio.
 
 

 

[islubio]

there's also the 1964T

 

[average_joe]

And if you want to go silicone at that price you can check out the Minerva and Spiral Ear custom IEMs.  I am not sure the sound signature of the Kozee customs would fit guitar playing as they have a fun and colored presentation, at least the X3.