new contender in the heavy weight division?

i had my first encounter with customs about a year ago, during a search for the perfect IEM tip. even after rigorous experimentation with various tips, i was left largely unsatisfied. triflanges were uncomfortable, complys never did last long under my rough usage, and olives just didn't isolate enough for me.

i guess my frequent yet highly unproductive trips down to that little headphone shop made uncle feel pity for me (either that or i just irked him by asking so many questions), because one day he took me aside and asked me to consider making either custom tips or full customs, these would solve my problem once and for all. not wanting to make an impulse purchase, which i am fond of doing, i went home and visited my good friend google, and so took the first steps into the exclusive world of customs. my subsequent trips down to jaben no longer consisted of purchasing and trying out of iem tips, but the enquiring of prices and opinions of different customs.

however, as with many other people, my opinion of IEMs at that point was the more the merrier, the more drivers they had, the better they'd sound, and as such, my first pair of customs were not the dual driver livewires. i do, however, remember being very impressed with the demo unit of the livewires, and unable to shake off that nigging itch, i finally succumbed to temptation and packaged an order for the livewires. upon arrival, i finally learnt the lesson "quality, not quantity". while lacking in one driver compared to the other IEMs that i own, it sure didn't lack in the sound department! but enough about them. something more amazing has come along.

if price and performance ratio is your cup of tea, carry on reading. in the audio world, there is an unspoken rule of thumb, the increase in price has an inverse relationship with the increase in performance, but every once in a while, one does stumble on that little gem that runs amock, and laughs in the face of such rules. such is the triple driver custom i am speaking of, something i christened, upon first listen, as the triple threat.

as a closet basshead as well as a jazz fan, having deep, clear extended bass and a lush, rich mid range is a must, and the triple threat does not fail to deliver on my criteria. bass is impactful with nice depth and good resolution, without muddying out the mids, ensuring that bass instruments sound clear and precise, never straying from where they're meant to be. the midrange is smoothly textured, and generous in both detail and clarity, a killer combination for jazz and vocals, in my opinion.
the highs are sweet and natural, and for lack of a better description, faithfully reproduced. they sparkle when they need to, and while not overly prominent, they hold their ground and are in no way overwhelmed.
as a whole, these are detailed IEMs and they never fail to remind you about this constantly as you enjoy your music. instruments are clearly seperated and defined.

why did i name it the triple threat? the first two threats would definitely be it's price/performance ratio, and sound quality. the third threat however, is the build quality. solidly built and very well manufactured, it looks as though it can weather some abuse, especially from a careless person, such as yours truly. however, as with all other audio equipment, dropping, knocking, stepping on, throwing etc, etc, is not encouraged.

as with all other customs, these promise consistency in sound and comfort, with a difference, it does it all at a very affordable price! top range performance that does not cost top dollar, a rarity indeed.

and before anyone asks for a comparison between the various iems or customs i have, i must state beforehand that i, for one, have never believed in comparing different audio equipment out of respect for their differing sound signatures and everyone's unique sonic preferences