AmanGeorge
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Feb 13, 2007
- Posts
- 2,343
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- 15
Hey all-
I'll post this in their sponsor thread as well (edit - couldn't as the thread is locked, but here it is in case anybody wants to read about the management changes), but I wanted to make sure I stuck a note in this forum as well in case anybody ever searched.
A few months back, Livewire headphones (www.mylivewires.com) came under new management. After dealing with them extensively before and afterwards, I wanted to share my story briefly in case other prospective buyers are interested, particularly if they had heard negative feedback about Livewire service at some point.
The old Livewire - terrible service (feel free to skip the detail)
When I first ordered my Livewires, it was around January of 2010 - I sent them money and my earmolds and hoped to get a reasonable turnaround. Unfortunately, I didn't end up getting them until about 5 months later. I called and emailed frequently - they never responded to emails or voicemails, but I could occasionally get a hold of them by phone, in which case they were very polite but always told me the earphones were coming soon (but with no definite estimate). Then, 10 days after I got the earphones, the wire broke... I called and emailed a number of times to get a replacement and it never came. When I realized I had a bad seal in my left ear, I just gave up - stopped using the earphones because I knew that there was no way they would ever re-mold it for me.
Fast forward to today... new management!
I heard Livewire had recently come under new management, and decided to give re-molding and cable replacement a shot. I'm happy to report that new management has made a world of difference - they have been very responsive via phone and email (and super nice! Must be the Minnesota thing), they turned around a refit of my left earpiece in <3 weeks and sent me a replacement cable to boot.
Moral of the story for prospective buyers: If you have heard about nightmare experiences dealing with Livewire, it was probably under the old management. The new management is outstanding, fast, and responsive!
...And they make outstanding headphones. I have been thrilled with my Livewire Trips, which are very nicely balanced, have excellent bass oomph, and great extension in both directions. I would say with reasonable confidence that they compare favorably to all similarly-priced full size headphones I have heard (K701, HD650, DT880, W1000, SRH840, etc.). I don't like them quite as much as either my Stax rig or my LCD-2, but I really could be happy with the combination of my Sansa Fuze and the Livewires.
One more note on sound for prospective buyers - like the Shure SE530/535, these headphones are extremely sensitive to hiss. I had to return my TTVJ Slim because it was too noisy with these. Make sure when you're purchasing amp/DAC or mp3 player that you buy something with a reputation for being dead silent (I have had outstanding results with a Sansa Fuze, which is very close to silent with them, a Leckerton UHA-6, and a uDAC/Mini^3 combo, both of which are quiet as a mouse).
I'll post this in their sponsor thread as well (edit - couldn't as the thread is locked, but here it is in case anybody wants to read about the management changes), but I wanted to make sure I stuck a note in this forum as well in case anybody ever searched.
A few months back, Livewire headphones (www.mylivewires.com) came under new management. After dealing with them extensively before and afterwards, I wanted to share my story briefly in case other prospective buyers are interested, particularly if they had heard negative feedback about Livewire service at some point.
The old Livewire - terrible service (feel free to skip the detail)
When I first ordered my Livewires, it was around January of 2010 - I sent them money and my earmolds and hoped to get a reasonable turnaround. Unfortunately, I didn't end up getting them until about 5 months later. I called and emailed frequently - they never responded to emails or voicemails, but I could occasionally get a hold of them by phone, in which case they were very polite but always told me the earphones were coming soon (but with no definite estimate). Then, 10 days after I got the earphones, the wire broke... I called and emailed a number of times to get a replacement and it never came. When I realized I had a bad seal in my left ear, I just gave up - stopped using the earphones because I knew that there was no way they would ever re-mold it for me.
Fast forward to today... new management!
I heard Livewire had recently come under new management, and decided to give re-molding and cable replacement a shot. I'm happy to report that new management has made a world of difference - they have been very responsive via phone and email (and super nice! Must be the Minnesota thing), they turned around a refit of my left earpiece in <3 weeks and sent me a replacement cable to boot.
Moral of the story for prospective buyers: If you have heard about nightmare experiences dealing with Livewire, it was probably under the old management. The new management is outstanding, fast, and responsive!
...And they make outstanding headphones. I have been thrilled with my Livewire Trips, which are very nicely balanced, have excellent bass oomph, and great extension in both directions. I would say with reasonable confidence that they compare favorably to all similarly-priced full size headphones I have heard (K701, HD650, DT880, W1000, SRH840, etc.). I don't like them quite as much as either my Stax rig or my LCD-2, but I really could be happy with the combination of my Sansa Fuze and the Livewires.
One more note on sound for prospective buyers - like the Shure SE530/535, these headphones are extremely sensitive to hiss. I had to return my TTVJ Slim because it was too noisy with these. Make sure when you're purchasing amp/DAC or mp3 player that you buy something with a reputation for being dead silent (I have had outstanding results with a Sansa Fuze, which is very close to silent with them, a Leckerton UHA-6, and a uDAC/Mini^3 combo, both of which are quiet as a mouse).
