Insta-impression of Sleek Sa6 vs. Image X10

[tstarn06]

After a lot of gyrations on pricing, my Image X10s arrived today from Amazon (of course, now they are $179 on newegg, after I was proud of my $191 on Amazon). I bought them because while I love the Sleek SA6 sound sig, I wanted a second pair of quality IEMs, different, but quality. I might have found them. But not sure yet.

Truth is, just got home from a long, rugged day in the Big Apple (taking our one and only daughter to college for her first year). So I am dog-tired, and spent emotionally. Anyway...

Okay, I agree on comfort. The X10 comfort level is pretty amazing for an IEM. I used the stock medium silicones, single flange. And wow, they felt unreal. Almost invisible. Good start. I use the Shure olives with the Sleeks, and they are pretty snug and can get itchy after more than a couple of hours. The X10 gels melted into my ears, it seemed. Haven't tried the bi-flange or foamies yet.

Sound-wise, however, when I plugged the X10s into my Zune80, my insta-impression is "What happened to the highs/mids?" Seemed so dark and with no EQ on the Zune, I really still prefer the Sleeks (comfort notwithstanding), at least with that specific DAP.

Now, when I moved to the Sony A818, where I could kick up the EQ on the right side a tad, the X10s sounded better, but, but, on some tracks (for example, Diana Krall, Live in Paris: East of the Sun...), the vocal was a little harsh (never, ever an issue with the Sleeks). So I pulled back the EQ and found a pretty good compromise. But I need to do a lot more fiddling for the X10s to be on par with my view of the SA6 sound.

Having said that, I have compared the two for all of 5 minutes. I am drained right now, and will do some serious head to head comparison listening tomorrow.

Some say they love the X10 sound right out of the box. I am a slave to the mid-forward, airy, crisp sound the Sleeks deliver with their treble+ tubes and a small EQ boost on the highs. Not much, one click. So, so far, I won't be tossing aside the Sleeks for the X10s.

Almost forgot, the X10 bass depth and oomph is impressive. But I am not a major bass freak, so that's not enough to make the difference. With the Sleek bass+ mod, the Sleeks are a much better phone on that front, so that's not a difference maker for me.

More to come...

[soozieq]

Nice review - but no doubt the Image will change slightly the longer you listen to it. How many songs did you get to hear in five minutes? The one thing I've learnt (after all this time!), is to take no notice of the first 30 mins of anything anymore, since it takes so much longer to get a feel for the sound, especially if you've been using one pair of earphones for a long period of time. My first impressions have never ended up being my final impressions, except with the C700s, which I liked from the outset and continued to like for nine months. I still like them, but they've been relegated to second place behind the Triples.

I actually preferred the SA6 with the Sony and the Image with the Zune, the opposite combination to you. The Zune is much more neutral than the Sony, so the warmth of the Image (and extra bass) was a nicer match with the Zune. I found the SA6/Zune too watery for me, especially bass wise. But the Image with the Sony was way too warm for my liking, while the SA6 sounded much more alive in that set up, especially as the Sony can output more bass than the Zune, with or without the eq.

Anyway, I'd be interested to hear more impressions once you've had time to compare more tracks. My main issue with the Image was the random 'in the head' vocals that would attack at any time. When they were good, they were very very good... but when they were bad, they were horrid

I think (if I remember), that Steve Miller's "Abracadabra" played totally in my brain, it was so bad I had to rip the Image straight out!! But when I played it with the Denons, (and a few months later, with the SA6), the vocals were completely 'normal'. Like I said, it seemed to be random tracks. It was very strange, although someone else noticed it in the Image thread back in February when I had mine.

[tstarn06]

No doubt you are right Julie. 5 minutes is not enough. I just immediately felt the X10s to be way too warm, but that of course is because of using the Sleeks so much. I am going to download that specific track and do an AB with it between the X10s and the Zune.

I will probably end up keeping both, since the comfort is really nice with the Images. Now, the X5s sound like more to my preferences, but the idea of returning the X10s, etc., sounds frustrating.

[soozieq]

Originally Posted by tstarn06

I am going to download that specific track and do an AB with it between the X10s and the Zune.

Make sure the windows are all closed, as you're going to want to jump straight out of them once those vocals hit your brain

EDIT: Try to get the version off "Young Hearts" as that's the one I have.

[tstarn06]

Will do.

[BloodSugar00]

Looking forward to hearing more impressions tsarn06!