[Mush77]

Alright, before I get to the meat of my question, I'll indulge myself in a short introduction...

Over the last week or so, I've been browsing Head-Fi, and the stuff here is just amazing - I don't consider myself an Audiophile (not yet at least), but I am very much into sound, headphones, whatever. I would say I'm an emerging audio enthusiast. I'm 15, I live in Sydney, and I've been brought up in a family of musos, and since I was young I've been taught about audio from my father.

SO, what does this all have to do with the thread? Well, I'm looking for some new IEMs. I was originally going to go with the Shure E2s, then I got bumped up to the UE Super.Fis, and after browsing Head-Fi for a bit, the Livewires caught me attention. The reason that I spent so much time talking about myself above is this - do you think that I should spring the extra cash for the custom Livewires, at my age, or go for something slightly cheaper and universal. If I wasn't getting custom IEMs, I don't think I'd spend the >$300 AUD that it would cost. They'll probably be run un-amped (until I get some more cash ) from a 20GB 4G iPod.

And I apologise for the excessive pre-amble

 

[mrdeadfolx]

Let me be the first to say, "Welcome to Head-fi, sorry about your wallet!" Now to answer your question, if you are not planning to spend a great deal of money on audio, and are looking for a one-time purchase, my vote is with the customs, especially at that price point. I do not own a pair of livewires, but I have heard good things about them. If you plan to expand on this hobby in the future however, I'd say start with a pair of universals (Super fi 5 pros are a great starting point), and maybe save up for better customs (and an amp) in the meantime. Trust me, the super fi's will ward off "upgrade-itis" for some time. Good luck to you

 

[Mush77]

Heh, my wallet hates me already.

As for the Super fi Pros, they would make out to be about the same as the Livewires, could you, or anyone who has heard the Livewires, give a few pros/cons for each?

 

[Mush77]

Anyone else want to shed some light on the situation?

 

[jinx20001]

well the livewires are a good set of customs,but nothing shines,to get customs that really shine you pay a fair bit more,but for universals that shine they arent too much more,im talking triple fi's or se530's,about the best universals.

but then custom is custom,you will only ever need one set that will be bestowed to you,classed as just yours,and your design,and your unique earphones,just bear in mind the livewires are not considered the best customs,and for a little bit more,you could have some of the best universals,choice is yours,i personally own both the livewires and shure se530 and would consider the livewires pretty flat and the se530 offering cleaner punchier bass and mids.

customs are a wide range of earphones,they go very high in quality and price,the livewires are by no means cheap or poor quality,you will just wonder one day why you never saved fot the triple driver designs or whatever.anyway this is my opinion and customs are customs,and they are special whatever price you pay

 

[eternality.pl]

I also own livewires and I have heard e500 for quite a long time and I consider LW much better - simply because of better realistic treble. midrange and bass are more pronounced on e500 what is nice imo, but the bess on LW seems more real and it is in a quantity it should be. On e500 there were some recording where i found tyhe bass despite being enjoyable, simply too much.

 

[Mush77]

Well thanks for your help guys, I think I'll pull the trigger on the Livewires. And by that, I mean I'll save up until I have met all my outstanding debts, then buy them

(This hobby is not going to be fun for my hip pocket...)

The reason that I think I'll go with them is that, at this stage, I don't want to spend more than ~$300 on sound gear all in one hit, and the Livewires sound more to my desires - I loves me a good bit of treble, and the EQ can always be changed by a good amp down the track. Not to mention the fact that custom IEMs are very, very cool.

 

[Rav]

You might want to speak to an audiologist about customs, as your ears might still be growing at a faster rate, thus meaning your customs will lose their fit that much sooner.

 

[nickane]

Well said, Rav. I wouldn't recommend customs to a 15 y.o. Check with an audiologist but they probably wouldn't fit very long. My understanding is that customs only have a lifespan of 3-4 years on an adult (cos ears and noses keep growing) so I would've thought that lifespan would be drastically shortened upon any male below the age of 23. Even if you've got wisdom teeth and can grow a full beard, it's foolish to assume you're fully grown until then.

 

[Mush77]

Yeah, I was thinking about that as well. Since I have to clear some debt before I can even thinking about buying them, I was going to shoot off an email to John at Earpeace to get his thoughts. Or, as you both said, speak to an audiologist.

 

[jinx20001]

Quote:

Originally Posted by eternality.pl /img/forum/go_quote.gif I also own livewires and I have heard e500 for quite a long time and I consider LW much better - simply because of better realistic treble. midrange and bass are more pronounced on e500 what is nice imo, but the bess on LW seems more real and it is in a quantity it should be. On e500 there were some recording where i found tyhe bass despite being enjoyable, simply too much.

the livewires do carry a realistic signature for sure ill hold my hands up to that it is a very flat sound,coupled with custom fitting and colour is just the business really absolute bargain,i do think the e500/se530 just handles more sound better,by that i mean bass is punchier but manages to stay very clean and tight and instrument seperation and soundstage also beats the livewires marginally.

but not taking nothing away from the livewires they are really good,i mean really good aswell,but not enough to beat top of the pile consumer earphones,i think the se530 and triple fi still have that extra special something the livewires missed.but still well worth the money by a mile,value for money is second to none

 

[Mush77]

The 530's are a good $300AUD than the Livewires, so you'd expect them to have that extra kick to them. The Triple Fi's are a better comparison, I think...

But then, as I said before, custom IEMs of any sound quality still have the allure of being very, very cool.

 

[jinx20001]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mush77 /img/forum/go_quote.gif The 530's are a good $300AUD than the Livewires, so you'd expect them to have that extra kick to them. The Triple Fi's are a better comparison, I think... But then, as I said before, custom IEMs of any sound quality still have the allure of being very, very cool.

oh yeh ofcourse i am not degrading the livewires believe me they have put a big dent in the earphone world,offering something others yet to have offer,relatively cheap customs,like i said customs are customs and special,but its worth considering you do get the cheaper custom sound quality,its good dont get me wrong but its nice for an earphone to do something special,but they are pretty flat

 

[Mush77]

Yeah, I know exactly what you were saying. Thanks for your help, now I need to go away and think for a bit, then end up spending much more than I envisioned