[joshuamercer]

I realize that Fidelity and Livewire split some time ago but they both still have a pretty great lineup if you can stomach the Frankenstein's Monster swivel coaxial bolt on the side. 
 
Personally, as a church worship leader the budget customs are more in my pricerange and as such it's hard to find a company that doesn't gear their sub-$400 custom towards the audiophile.  I need a stage monitor first and foremost, personal listening comes secondary. 
 
Do any of you folks have personal opinions on the budget customs in the above range that aren't years old?  I would like to gauge the quality of their workmanship after their inital Head-fi inspired rush...

 

[benjistein]

Check out this recent-ish thread on an extremely similar subject. Sometimes search is useful.

 

[joshuamercer]

That was actually why i started a new post.  His request was for above $400 IEMs.  I can't spend that much coupled with trips to the audiologist, and i've yet to hear musicians successfully get their customs perfect in one shot.  If i could afford $400 monitors i would already have AC2's or JH5's. 

 

[project86]

The original LiveWires sound quite good, and their triple driver models even better. But the company was getting EXTREMELY bad at customer service. As in, not shipping things that were ordered, not answering the phone, not returning emails.... 
 
They have since changed some things around and I believe they contract to another well respected company to handle things for them. This is a fairly new development though so I'm not sure we have much feedback about the improvement that they (hopefully) have in those areas. I can't speak for Fidelity.
 
Other options:
 
Someone around here has the 1964-D dual driver model which is now priced at $325. They really liked it. I don't think anyone has tried their single driver model though.
 
I have the Kozee Sound Solutions X1 which is a single driver model for either $140 (silicone) or $190 (acrylic). My acrylic model sounds quite good for the price, although I'm not sure what signature you are looking for. The downside is that the company is a one man show and he is swamped, so getting an answer to emails is tough, and the wait time is very long right now.
 
That's all I can think of in the sub-$400 range. Have you considered getting some universal models reshelled into a custom? That could be cheaper if you already have a pair that has good sound. 

 

[drewrussell2011]

I got a pair of AC2's today... and its true that there are always adjustments that need to be made. I got them for a total of $384... which while below MSRP, doesn't include the expense of driving to the audiologist for what I'm sure could be four or six times total. (They are located 45mins away from my home).
 
 

 

[benjistein]

 
Quote:

That was actually why i started a new post.  His request was for above $400 IEMs.  I can't spend that much coupled with trips to the audiologist, and i've yet to hear musicians successfully get their customs perfect in one shot.  If i could afford $400 monitors i would already have AC2's or JH5's. 

Well, his request was for "roughly 400" which I figured "sub-400" might partially fit into. I've definitely seen reports of people getting their customs properly fitted on the first try, though I currently can't recall how many of them were musicians. It sounds like it more depends on a good audiologist/impression than the particular model. You could also try the buy+remold attitude (either used, or reshell standard IEMs), which might be a little cheaper. But then you bump into different kinds of wait times.
 


Quote:

I have the Kozee Sound Solutions X1 which is a single driver model for either $140 (silicone) or $190 (acrylic). My acrylic model sounds quite good for the price, although I'm not sure what signature you are looking for.

You know, I've been wondering this for a bit. Aren't silicon IEMs usually *more* expensive than the acrylic ones? What's with the flip here? Or is this kind somehow different from the more typical silicone kind?

 

[project86]

Quote:

You know, I've been wondering this for a bit. Aren't silicon IEMs usually *more* expensive than the acrylic ones? What's with the flip here? Or is this kind somehow different from the more typical silicone kind?

The thing is, most companies don't offer both options. You either get the UE/JH types who only do acrylic, or the Sensaphonics/ACS types who only do silicone. The latter does tend to be more expensive if you compare based on driver count. 
 
With Kozee the acrylic model is considered the "Executive" upgrade. It gets you a detachable cable, the possibility of art, and most importantly a different driver that is vented for better low end response. I guess they can't do a vent into a silicone shell. So in their case, that's why it is cheaper.

 

[benjistein]

1964 ears does both (Silicone is $50 more), as do FutureSonics, and AlienEars, as do a few others. (http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/541494/tbd#post_7302111) All of them charge more for the silicone, which kind of made sense, since I thought it was a lot harder to work with.
 
Acrylic bodies and silicone tips (or hybrid) makes sense that it's harder to work with, since the two materials don't bond well together.
 
Perhaps someone like JackKontney or average_joe might know?

 

[project86]

Quote:

1964 ears does both (Silicone is $50 more), as do FutureSonics, and AlienEars, as do a few others. (http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/541494/tbd#post_7302111) All of them charge more for the silicone, which kind of made sense, since I thought it was a lot harder to work with.
 
Acrylic bodies and silicone tips (or hybrid) makes sense that it's harder to work with, since the two materials don't bond well together.
 
Perhaps someone like JackKontney or average_joe might know?

1964 actually charges $100 extra for full silicone. And it is available with the single, dual, or triple driver models but not the quads for whatever reason.
 
I think the reasoning behind Kozee having their acrylic model be an upgrade is that the driver is probably more expensive. Also they have to mess around with the cable socket, where the silicone version does not have one. 
 

 

[benjistein]

You're right, thanks. Good catch. I must've been thinking of the soft canal, which checking is for $50 more. I'm sure the drivers cost more in the upgraded version, but if one company is willing to charge $100 more for it, which is nearly 2/3 of the price of the Kozee X1, something seems very strange about the pricing models.