[Kosmic]

My fit is perfect.

Off the top of my head some possible things to help a good fit.

1) A good audiologist

2) Wear headphones for an hour or two right up to the moment you have them done so your ears are hot and expanded. Make sure your ears are free of wax build up.

3) Keep your jaw in a natural position, and don't move while the impressions set.

4) Keep the silicone impressions in a small sealed plastic bag and away from heat to stop shrinkage. Send them straight away, don't hang on to them.

If you are young you may just have had a growth spurt after having your impressions made.

*3) Common consensus now seems to be that open mouthed impressions using a bite block gives a better fit.

 

[lisnalee]

I wonder if the shrinkage is the reason why some fit better than others. I had my impressions for a about 10 days while deciding on colours etc before i posted them. So they where about 2 weeks old as such when livewires recieved them. Maybe this is why i have no fit issues with mine. Joeb & Rav how long after you had yours done did you post them?

 

[Rav]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lisnalee /img/forum/go_quote.gif I wonder if the shrinkage is the reason why some fit better than others. I had my impressions for a about 10 days while deciding on colours etc before i posted them. So they where about 2 weeks old as such when livewires recieved them. Maybe this is why i have no fit issues with mine. Joeb & Rav how long after you had yours done did you post them?

Posted mine the day i got them done.

 

[JoeB]

Yeah I sent them about 3 hours after having them done, and they arrived within 4 days. I think to get them adjusted, surely you would need to be there with them in order for a proper change? To show them how they fit in your ear etc, otherwise it would just a guessing game I reckon. I think I will be keeping them, and not sending them off. I must admit though, I think it's better having these problems than with my old ec2 where I couldn't even get a seal in my life time, and the comfort was no good at all.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

My audiologist swears the impressions he took will be good for years (blue silicone, but comes in a dual-tube and is mixed as it is injected with a silicone gun).

Livewires got my impressions within three days, shipped within 13 days and I had them on day 16. They have gone back once on day 19 (last week), to be re-dipped for being too small, with the right much smaller than the left.

I got them back after just a week, this Tuesday, and I spent the last two days using them for a review of the www.PenguinAmp.com Caffeine with bass boost, and now they are going back again to be "re-dipped" some more. Yesterday I had my audiologist confirm they are both too loose, with the left being closer to a good fit than the right.

Customer service has been good, and I am hoping this will be the last time they come back too small. The left I can live with as it is, but the right loses the seal too easily - both can be removed too easily but the left left seals fine unless I do a Cheshire Cat Grin...

The sound quality is tremendous, so I can live with the inconvenience of refitting to get that sound.

 

[Kosmic]

I'm not an expert, but logically thinking...if an impression is made of your ear....then the Livewires earpiece will be an exact copy of the impression (It should be an exact copy).

If your ear canal changes shape depending on the x,y, position of your jaw perhaps this is the reason for your anomaly. Your impression might have been made with your jaw in a different position to how you would normally have it with the Livewires inserted.

My livewires fit perfectly but they feel different if I laugh, chew gum, lie down, lean my head to one side. Sound quality is not affected, just the way they feel can differ depending on what I'm doing

If you are a perfectionist then this is likely to drive you mad unless you learn to live with it.

 

[Kosmic]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict /img/forum/go_quote.gif My audiologist swears the impressions he took will be good for years (blue silicone, but comes in a dual-tube and is mixed as it is injected with a silicone gun). Livewires got my impressions within three days, shipped within 13 days and I had them on day 16. They have gone back once on day 19 (last week), to be re-dipped for being too small, with the right much smaller than the left. I got them back after just a week, this Tuesday, and I spent the last two days using them for a review of the PenguinAmp.com Caffeine with bass boost, and now they are going back again to be "re-dipped" some more. Yesterday I had my audiologist confirm they are both too loose, with the left being closer to a good fit than the right. Customer service has been good, and I am hoping this will be the last time they come back too small. The left I can live with as it is, but the right loses the seal too easily - both can be removed too easily but the left left seals fine unless I do a Cheshire Cat Grin... The sound quality is tremendous, so I can live with the inconvenience of refitting to get that sound.

That is the oddest thing. Perhaps the impressions, or even the molds themselves expand and contract to heat and cold. Hmmm that's a thought.

Blame it on the mold in the cold!

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Well, the impressions were much more snug and difficult to remove than the actual earpieces.

My second set of impressions were done for Westone UM56 custom tips. Those fir perfectly, although they do seem to hold my Shure SE500's farther out from the ear. These tips will fit my Westone 3's when I get them.

Yesterday I got a new set of free impressions (repeat customer) for either Sensaphonics or HearYourself custom SE500's full-shell silicone custom sleeves. That way I will be able to move the UM56 to the W3's and have a full shell for my Shures. I hope to have the money in 2-3 weeks to order my custom SE500's sleeves.

But, I am going to call Livewires and ask if they will need the new impressions too, or if the ones they got 4 weeks ago will be alright if they ever have to re-make the Livewires. I know Livewires often returns the impression upon request, because they keep an investment (mold) of the impressions.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

PS - Earphone solutions charges $109 + S&H for the UM56 - my local audiologist charged me $15 for impressions, and $77 for the UM56 including and extra set of free impressions (westone cuts up the first impressions to make the investment, so the impressions aren't re-ususable for anything but another UM56).

 

[cantsleep]

these are the advices that i got from the audiologist.

-normal people, just be still/natural when you take your impressions.
-others, open your jaws wide once or twice if you are going to need to sing while having them on, monitoring purpose.

normally, the impression does not change over time. you dont really have to send them in right away. just have them preserved in right environment until you send them in.

im keeping my impressions for future upgrade, probably to UE products, or custom earplugs.

 

[lisnalee]

Thanks Rav & Joeb for your replys.

It sounds like my shrinkage idea might just be a myth. It's probably more to do with the audiologist and the way the impressions were made than anything else. Mine were done with the blue 2 part silicone and open jawed with a bite block. As for fit i can yawn, laugh, eat and drink and pretty much everthing else without losing the seal.*

 

[roastpuff]

I'm so torn. Torn between getting Livewires or a higher-end custom IEM.

On one hand, the Livewires are only $300, impressions included. That's mighty cheap for a pair of custom-molded in-ears - cheaper than anything else you'd find on the market, and reputed to sound pretty darn good, too. Sure, the accessories kit might be tacky, and the company reputation isn't there yet, but it's still a darned sight bang-for-buck value.

On the other hand, having heard most of the commonly available universal IEM's on the market - and having owned the Triple.Fi 10 for a good 6 months - I know what I like and what I don't. And when I heard that the E500's and the TF10's have better sound, overall, than the Livewires... I don't know if I could live with myself if I did that. After I heard the TF10's, I know that I wouldn't want to settle for anything less than that quality of sound. The UM2's that I borrowed during the summer after I sold my TF10's sounded... average, to my ears. Nothing special. Nothing like what I remembered the TF10's to be.

The UE customs and the Westone customs are supposedly better - especially the UE10 and UE11. They're 3-4x the price, but are unrivalled for sound quality and UE has a very strong following in the community. Westone's still-vaporware 3Customs also has incredibly great potential, as well, at a price point probably similar to what the UE10's fetch now (~900USD). Customer service has great testimonials, and everything is slick and polished with them - with decades of experience, how could it not be?

The question is now, am I prepared to spend up to 3x the money on a better custom IEM?

It'll mean either me selling off most of my gear, or saving up for a LOOOOOONG time, but this isn't something I can sell off if I don't like it - it's a keep-it kinda thing.

It's a case between me wanting to cheap out and me wanting the best - these two part-personalities clash a lot, especially being on Head-Fi.

 

[JoeB]

Guys sorry to jump in (didn't think it was worthy of a topic), but what are you using to clean the livewires (apart from the tool to get out wax) I mean the actual outer shells? I'm trying to think of a solution that will clean them, and get rid of germs (but be safe for later use when putting it in my ear). Right now I'm just a slightly damp moisturising pad to wipe off the wax etc, but over time I guess germs will be building up and something a little tougher than water will be needed

 

[Rav]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gaijin /img/forum/go_quote.gif oops, wrong thread (mine got closed down)

That's about the third thread you've posted that, what are you trying to say?

 

[1012007]

Can UK People pm me with the custom charges they had to pay etc

Thanks a lot guys.