Livewires vs. Universal IEMs with dual drivers.

[steevdeadman]

Hey,

I am one of those lurking people and I had a question about Livewires (for all of those who have a set). I've been looking for a set of dual driver IEMs for a while and still can't decide what to get (it's between Super.Fi Pro 5s, Livewires, Shure e4s and the not yet released q-Jays). My hearing isn't the greatest (years of standing in front of 800 watt bass cabs will do that to ya

) I would figure since the Livewires are custom molds, they would be more suited to my needs. But I'd like a more "professional" opinion

from some of you guys on this forum. I'm willing to spend the extra scratch on the Livewires if they'll do the job. What do you guys think?

Thanks for the input!
-s

 

[druelle]

You may want to ask in this review thread:

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=247387

I'm sure he & the other people reading that thread would be more than willing to help you out.

 

[Funk-O-Meter]

I'd recommend either the Livewires or the Future Sonics Atrios or Futur Sonics Customs which are probably more when your willing to part with ($750). Here's why:

You play bass. You need an IEM with good low end reproduction. Some IEM's favor one frequency range more then others and you can go wrong with an IEM that doesn't give you enough bass punch. The Atrio's favor bass big time. They've got smooth, punchy, deep bass for days. The problem is the isolation isn't that good and the build quality is kind of poor honestly. They won't hold up to lots of road use and you'll be loosing and replacing tips and might not be able to get a good seal every time the first time. But they have serious tight punchy bass which may prove to be the most important thing. Just expect to have to replace in a year or two if your using them a lot.

Livewires are the best armature IEM's I've heard yet. They have nice deep smooth bass that goes all the way down to the bottom but it's not pronounced like the Futursonics and it's not as "fast". You can however get good punch out of them with a little EQ. They sound really good with good EQ. The major selling point is that they're built like little tanks and the fit is great cause they're customs. After using them I really don't think I could use my Atrios or my old UM-2's on stage. The UM-2 didn't sound as good to me, doesn't fit as good and cost more! A no brainer really.

Shure E-4's don't sound bad but they don't have the bass of the Livewires or Atrios. Nor the build quality of the Livewires.

The Super-Fi's probably sound good (haven't heard them) but they can stick out of your ears and are obvious and I doubt from what I've read that they would last you that long on the road. They also don't seam to be the best design for good seal from what I've read. But again, I haven't gotten to really sit down with them for long so get better info from the others on those.

Those are my recommendations having been hunting for a good quality professional IEM for on stage use for the last few years.

1. Livewires for build, comfort and sound
2. Atrios for the smooth super punchy sound
3. UE Super-fi 5pro's or EB's.

 

[steevdeadman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Funk-O-Meter /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'd recommend either the Livewires or the Future Sonics Atrios or Futur Sonics Customs which are probably more when your willing to part with ($750). Here's why: You play bass. You need an IEM with good low end reproduction. Some IEM's favor one frequency range more then others and you can go wrong with an IEM that doesn't give you enough bass punch. The Atrio's favor bass big time. They've got smooth, punchy, deep bass for days. The problem is the isolation isn't that good and the build quality is kind of poor honestly. They won't hold up to lots of road use and you'll be loosing and replacing tips and might not be able to get a good seal every time the first time. But they have serious tight punchy bass which may prove to be the most important thing. Just expect to have to replace in a year or two if your using them a lot. Livewires are the best armature IEM's I've heard yet. They have nice deep smooth bass that goes all the way down to the bottom but it's not pronounced like the Futursonics and it's not as "fast". You can however get good punch out of them with a little EQ. They sound really good with good EQ. The major selling point is that they're built like little tanks and the fit is great cause they're customs. After using them I really don't think I could use my Atrios or my old UM-2's on stage. The UM-2 didn't sound as good to me, doesn't fit as good and cost more! A no brainer really. Shure E-4's don't sound bad but they don't have the bass of the Livewires or Atrios. Nor the build quality of the Livewires. The Super-Fi's probably sound good (haven't heard them) but they can stick out of your ears and are obvious and I doubt from what I've read that they would last you that long on the road. They also don't seam to be the best design for good seal from what I've read. But again, I haven't gotten to really sit down with them for long so get better info from the others on those. Those are my recommendations having been hunting for a good quality professional IEM for on stage use for the last few years. 1. Livewires for build, comfort and sound 2. Atrios for the smooth super punchy sound 3. UE Super-fi 5pro's or EB's.

Hey Funk-o-meter.

Thanks for the info, I have a few more questions about livewires for ya. 1st, since they are molded to your ear shape, the isolation must be top notch, does it make music "seem" louder being that the isolation is so good? 2nd, as for the bass response, I am not a huge bass head, I just like everything clean sounding, even at high volume, do the livewires keep the clean sound even when at high volume? 3rd, I am going to use these mostly for listening to music either on my Meizu M3 or my computer, do you think an amp is in order or do you think the player/computer will drive the headphones fine. If I do buy a pair of these, I am gonna want to keep them for a long time and your vote of confidence of their build quality makes me feel very comfortable.

Again, thanks for all your input! I wanna make sure I'm making an educated decision before I plop down $250

-s

 

[Funk-O-Meter]

Quote:

1st, since they are molded to your ear shape, the isolation must be top notch, does it make music "seem" louder being that the isolation is so good?

Well, yes. You can listen at much lower levels and hear well because the isolation is really good. Really really good.

Quote:

2nd, as for the bass response, I am not a huge bass head, I just like everything clean sounding, even at high volume, do the livewires keep the clean sound even when at high volume?

Well honestly I've never turned them up louder than about 102-104db because a) I'm really conscious of my exposure levels since the whole reason I got into IEM's was to curtail dangerous exposure that lead to my having a little tinnitus. But I've never had them "break up" or start to distort on me even at those fairly loud levels. 102-104db is what a loud but not blaring concert sounds like. But you probably knew that.
And b) You don't have to turn them up really loud at all cause the isolation is so good you can ear everything so clearly cause the noise floor is dropped 30db or more. It's part of the beauty of IEM's that headphones aren't as good at. When I'm on the road and trying to catch a few winks in the van going down the road I can put IEM's in and play some quiet music and doze right off. I can ride in a car with the windows rolled down at 65 mph and not hear a thing when the music is playing. When it's not I can hear the outside world faintly. That in a 65mph wind. So I guess, no they don't distort. John might be able to give you specs on that.

Quote:

3rd, I am going to use these mostly for listening to music either on my Meizu M3 or my computer, do you think an amp is in order or do you think the player/computer will drive the headphones fine.

Yes, you'll have no problem at all driving these with either as they're pretty sensitive phones. I usually listen with my iPod at 1/3 to 1/2 and that's a pretty good volume. That's around 90db I think. They do sound better with a better amp. My ipod amp craps out in the low end sometimes when a song is really hot but then iPod's are known to do that. When I use another amp like the one in my Yamaha 01V things clean up a good bit and I can hear a difference. It's not night an day though. I don't think you'll HAVE to have an amp given the low sensitivity but as always a better source makes a difference.

Quote:

If I do buy a pair of these, I am gonna want to keep them for a long time and your vote of confidence of their build quality makes me feel very comfortable.

I hear you. I had to do a lot too and once I could get some good informed opinions I pulled the trigger. I say if your considering the UM-2's or other universal in that price range you might as well spend a little less even and go with these customs. I like the sound better than the UM-2 myself and I'm just not going to pay $500+ for a set of universals from Shure or whoever. It would be hard to convince me that a $500 CUSTOM is worth it for that matter. It would have to sound twice as good and honestly I doubt it can be done right now. I think IEM's only sound so good at this point. And although I'll never pay upwards of a grand for some IEM's I am damn curious about the UE's and would love to hear them.

You'll have the Livewires for years and years I'm sure. And if the cable were to go on you or something happened like what's going on with the Shure E530's right now you just order another cheap replacement cable and get back to rockin'!

 

[vii_haven]

From a drummer's perspective (i play drums for my church's worship band, i would highly recommend you getting at least dual driver IEMs for monitoring. My personal favorite (after trying the Shure E5, UE super.fi 5 Pro and the Westone UM2) is the UM2 (with full shell embedded custom molds). The bass is very very good, and the sound is extremely smooth. Very good for monitoring.

Of course, now i've 'down'graded (since the Livewires are cheaper...haha!) to the Livewires! The main difference is the soundstage, the Livewires sound quite a bit bigger as the soundstage is wider. Bass is not as lush as the UM2, but it is deep and punchy. Compared to the UM2 (with full shell embedded custom molds), the isolation and comfort is the about the same, but if you compare it to the UM2 (with triple flanges), the isolation and comfort is waaaayy better. Also of course, with the Livewires, the IEMs dont' stick out of my ear as much as with the UM2(with molds), making it more inconspicuous.

I've not tried triple driver IEMs before so i shall reserve my comments on those till i get my hands on some. Still waiting (almost impatiently) for the Westone 3 to be released.