[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Luminette /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm into aesthetics - and this is totally not a scenario where my aesthetic indulgences are going to be compromising or relating to the sound (function) in any way Question - and forgive me if this was covered in the thread already, but How are these things on hissing? Their sensitivity is so high. I am wondering how they will fair out of both a headphone out on an ipod, and, perhaps more importantly (to me), how they will fair out of a portable amp I am thinking to use the minibox-e+ because of the low gain as well as the impedance switch - but of course who says that 75 impedance is the exact amount I'd want to add to address the hiss issue. Or that they would not decline in worse ways from using an impedance adapter Larry? Steve? Anyone - got some expertise on this w/ the livewires?

I seem to recall someone did testing and determined that 75 ohm was too much and 50 was better. So Livewires now offers a 50 ohm cable as an option, or both cables for an extra $38.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by garthfluff /img/forum/go_quote.gif Has anyone upgraded to LWs from Super Fi 5 pros? I'm considering it. Can anyone give me their experiences?

Yes. The Livewires are on a whole new level with improved timbre, tone and transparency. Once you get the LW you will start to dislike your Super.fi until you can't enjoy them anymore.

 

[garthfluff]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yes. The Livewires are on a whole new level with improved timbre, tone and transparency. Once you get the LW you will start to dislike your Super.fi until you can't enjoy them anymore.

Looks like money well spent then, luckily I sold my Super Fi's to finance them.

 

[Baines93]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FrederikS|TPU /img/forum/go_quote.gif LiveWires sound great out of a decent low gain headphone amplifier. Right now I am using mine with a Tomahawk. They don't hiss with the amp but straight out of the D2 they hiss a bit.

The hiss is nothing compared to a Zen Vision M! Even the lineout sucks. The ZVM lineout and a $200 (used price!) Super Macro 3 didnt sound as good to my ears as a D2 headphone out and a cheap Cmoy! The unamped and amped difference was much more noticable with the D2 and cmoy than it was with a $200 (used price!) SM3 and ZVM lineout! There is less hiss even with a cheap Cmoy, i imagine with the SM3 there would be even less and much better SQ when used with the D2. Lineout isn't the be-all-and-end-all with a very good SQ player IMO. Amp the d2, amp the Sony's, amp the i7!

After Xmas i am going to buy an iBasso D2 Boa to test against my u control alone and u control with cmoy/fiio e5 (soon to be released!) and if it is better, which i think it will be, it will go in my portable rig (u control usb power only) and replace the Cmoy in my bed rig. I will keep the E5 though, and sell the U-C, and giveaway the Cmoy.

Then if a FiiO DAC or DAC/amp comes out i will test it or the DAC and FiiO e5 (depending on if it is a DAC/AMP combo) against the other two, and if it is better than the Boa and U Control (with and without cmoy/fiio e5) then the Cmoy will be given away, and the Boa will be sold, along with the U Control. I doubt it will beat the Boa, but if it is close then i will sell it, as the price difference im sure will be large, and the SQ difference small (especially if the Fiio DAC does have an internal amp, with the Fiio E5 attatched too using the DAC/AMP as a DAC + pre-amp, it may be pretty damn good SQ!)

Out of interest, Frederik, UNAMPED, what volume do you use on the d2 with a flat EQ, stereo enhance on 2, Surround on 4, BBE on 2, and M3B on 10? (i love these settings by the way! Ooodles of bass, and my beloved treble sparkle too

) I worry about my hearing, and only go to 8 MAX (bus) on those settings. Out of interest, what vol. do you use on those settings? I would love to know if my volume is safe or not... I worry about it so much!

Thanks in advance Frederik,

Matt

 

[garthfluff]

Getting my impressions on Friday, finally taking the plunge.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Baines93 /img/forum/go_quote.gif The hiss is nothing compared to a Zen Vision M! Even the lineout sucks. The ZVM lineout and a $200 (used price!) Super Macro 3 didnt sound as good to my ears as a D2 headphone out and a cheap Cmoy! The unamped and amped difference was much more noticable with the D2 and cmoy than it was with a $200 (used price!) SM3 and ZVM lineout! There is less hiss even with a cheap Cmoy, i imagine with the SM3 there would be even less and much better SQ when used with the D2. Lineout isn't the be-all-and-end-all with a very good SQ player IMO. Amp the d2, amp the Sony's, amp the i7! After Xmas i am going to buy an iBasso D2 Boa to test against my u control alone and u control with cmoy/fiio e5 (soon to be released!) and if it is better, which i think it will be, it will go in my portable rig (u control usb power only) and replace the Cmoy in my bed rig. I will keep the E5 though, and sell the U-C, and giveaway the Cmoy. Then if a FiiO DAC or DAC/amp comes out i will test it or the DAC and FiiO e5 (depending on if it is a DAC/AMP combo) against the other two, and if it is better than the Boa and U Control (with and without cmoy/fiio e5) then the Cmoy will be given away, and the Boa will be sold, along with the U Control. I doubt it will beat the Boa, but if it is close then i will sell it, as the price difference im sure will be large, and the SQ difference small (especially if the Fiio DAC does have an internal amp, with the Fiio E5 attatched too using the DAC/AMP as a DAC + pre-amp, it may be pretty damn good SQ!) Out of interest, Frederik, UNAMPED, what volume do you use on the d2 with a flat EQ, stereo enhance on 2, Surround on 4, BBE on 2, and M3B on 10? (i love these settings by the way! Ooodles of bass, and my beloved treble sparkle too ) I worry about my hearing, and only go to 8 MAX (bus) on those settings. Out of interest, what vol. do you use on those settings? I would love to know if my volume is safe or not... I worry about it so much! Thanks in advance Frederik, Matt

The D2 Boa will indeed be better than the u-control. The u-control sounds like headphone out of a 5.5G iPod (decent but nothing to write home about), while the D2 Boa sounds like an iModded 5.5g ipod via portable line out dock with a good amp, and is much more transparent and detailed and spacious.

In my review of 9 mini-USB amps, I did find that it wasn't as spacious as the D2 Viper or Pico or others at 300 hours of burn-in, but it caught up with those after 600 hours. I'm not expecting anything with "FiiO" in the name to excel or match the Boa anytime soon.

 

[Luminette]

I've got a little worry stage now - I'm fearing the comments of them sounding so grado-like. Grados fatigue me, and quick. And I don't really want my mids any more forward than the rest of the spectrum.

Just how Grado-like are these in presentation? And especially on the potential fatigue-factor. It's weird to think of something closed sounding like something open in general.

 

[younglee200]

The Livewire sound was a bit fatiguing for me.

Because they were so flat, I didn't expect them to be, but my ears couldn't handle them after a few hours...

 

[MediumFi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Baines93 /img/forum/go_quote.gif The hiss is nothing compared to a Zen Vision M! Even the lineout sucks. The ZVM lineout and a $200 (used price!) Super Macro 3 didnt sound as good to my ears as a D2 headphone out and a cheap Cmoy! The unamped and amped difference was much more noticable with the D2 and cmoy than it was with a $200 (used price!) SM3 and ZVM lineout! There is less hiss even with a cheap Cmoy, i imagine with the SM3 there would be even less and much better SQ when used with the D2. Lineout isn't the be-all-and-end-all with a very good SQ player IMO. Amp the d2, amp the Sony's, amp the i7! After Xmas i am going to buy an iBasso D2 Boa to test against my u control alone and u control with cmoy/fiio e5 (soon to be released!) and if it is better, which i think it will be, it will go in my portable rig (u control usb power only) and replace the Cmoy in my bed rig. I will keep the E5 though, and sell the U-C, and giveaway the Cmoy. Then if a FiiO DAC or DAC/amp comes out i will test it or the DAC and FiiO e5 (depending on if it is a DAC/AMP combo) against the other two, and if it is better than the Boa and U Control (with and without cmoy/fiio e5) then the Cmoy will be given away, and the Boa will be sold, along with the U Control. I doubt it will beat the Boa, but if it is close then i will sell it, as the price difference im sure will be large, and the SQ difference small (especially if the Fiio DAC does have an internal amp, with the Fiio E5 attatched too using the DAC/AMP as a DAC + pre-amp, it may be pretty damn good SQ!) Out of interest, Frederik, UNAMPED, what volume do you use on the d2 with a flat EQ, stereo enhance on 2, Surround on 4, BBE on 2, and M3B on 10? (i love these settings by the way! Ooodles of bass, and my beloved treble sparkle too ) I worry about my hearing, and only go to 8 MAX (bus) on those settings. Out of interest, what vol. do you use on those settings? I would love to know if my volume is safe or not... I worry about it so much! Thanks in advance Frederik, Matt

Every time I think I'm getting a handle on this stuff, I read a post like that...

 

[nalth]

Quote:

Originally Posted by younglee200 /img/forum/go_quote.gif The Livewire sound was a bit fatiguing for me. Because they were so flat, I didn't expect them to be, but my ears couldn't handle them after a few hours...

Flat? May I ask if you have a good seal? I find my 701's fatiguing at times but this is mostly due to clear highs and a somewhat lacking bass. The LW's however have a nice bass which, for me, makes them more pleasant.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Luminette /img/forum/go_quote.gif I've got a little worry stage now - I'm fearing the comments of them sounding so grado-like. Grados fatigue me, and quick. And I don't really want my mids any more forward than the rest of the spectrum. Just how Grado-like are these in presentation? And especially on the potential fatigue-factor. It's weird to think of something closed sounding like something open in general.

They do not have an upper mids peak like some Grados or ATH, and I do not find them fatiguing at all. I did find the Super.fi 5 Pro fatiguing, and sometimes the Denon C700 are fatiguing, but not the Livewires.

Mine have a decent soundstage and are not too forward - probably closer to an RS-1 with bowls rather than an RS-2 which is more forward, and nothing like my SR-325i or SR-60.

 

[Luminette]

Give me your ears so I can try out your Livewires

Alright, going for em

 

[precsmo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict /img/forum/go_quote.gif They do not have an upper mids peak like some Grados or ATH, and I do not find them fatiguing at all. I did find the Super.fi 5 Pro fatiguing, and sometimes the Denon C700 are fatiguing, but not the Livewires. Mine have a decent soundstage and are not too forward - probably closer to an RS-1 with bowls rather than an RS-2 which is more forward, and nothing like my SR-325i or SR-60.

I'm really not sure why so many been expecting not too forward mid and so on? Can someone please tell me isn't it a good thing to have if the vocal can go forward as much as possible so that everything aren't mixed in the head? Isn't it the soundstage that we always want like speakers in the room? I've been hoping if the vocal can go as far forward as possible, and the background sounds can go as far sideways and backwards as possible, is this actually consider not a good sign for headphones and IEM? I'm a little confused

 

[tonyep]

Quote:

Originally Posted by precsmo /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm really not sure why so many been expecting not too forward mid and so on? Can someone please tell me isn't it a good thing to have if the vocal can go forward as much as possible so that everything aren't mixed in the head? Isn't it the soundstage that we always want like speakers in the room? I've been hoping if the vocal can go as far forward as possible, and the background sounds can go as far sideways and backwards as possible, is this actually consider not a good sign for headphones and IEM? I'm a little confused

I have tried both the FreQshow and Livewires. I personally prefer the Livewires as they sounded more balanced and the vocals is not upfront like the FreQshow. I couldn't stand it at all.

You should have went for the FreQshow imo as they fit what you are looking for.

 

[Luminette]

Quote:

Originally Posted by precsmo /img/forum/go_quote.gif Can someone please tell me isn't it a good thing to have if the vocal can go forward as much as possible so that everything aren't mixed in the head?

For me, hell no. Soundstage and instrument seperation capabilities take care of everything being "mixed in the head". I don't want to have to suffer unbalanced amounts of mids just to get an adequate amount of the rest of the spectrum.

Putting mids forward, let alone "forward as much as possible" is just to just plain make the rest of the stuff in my head vanish from the presentation

Most people regard live presentation as the reference point as how music should be reproduced. This I am not really an advocate of (nor am I opposed to - I'm learning). But using reproduction of audio with speakers as a reference for how headphones should sound just seems wonky