With great anticipation I really wanted to love these custom made Sleek Audio CT6 with wireless bundle for nearly $500. Unfortunately, they are very disappointing due to my high expectations.
I used them on a mission trip to Papua New Guinea which included six air flights, so I had extensive use of them in-cabin and while waiting. I compared them to my Altec Lansing im716s which are superior in almost every dimension.
The single armature aspect is what I believe makes SA's offering comparatively weak. The highs and mids simply do not sparkle, are not detailed like the im716s that I purchased (a backup pair) for only $69. The bass is below average especially at low volumes. In fact, at lower volumes these IEMs are weak and not detailed at all; and I believe this belies the weakness of a single armature design. Only at moderately high volumes do these IEMs seem above average. And then at those volumes, there is the noise fatigue issue. In contrast, the im716s sparkle relatively even at lower volumes and ROCK OUT at higher volumes. The im716s seem to be faster paced as well.
I listen mostly to vocals and am disappointed in the midranges of the SA CT6s which also lack crispness and detail.
The overall sound of the SA CT6 IEMs are veiled not unlike the Westone UM1s that I own. And not surprisingly these are also single armature.
The soundstage is pretty good and extended for IEMs, however, and only in this area does the SA CT6 best the im716s, and only by a little.
The comfort of SA CT6s was also disappointing as there is stuffiness after use of more than thirty minutes to an hour with the hard plastic material as opposed to the soft rubber tri flanges or modified bi flanges of the im716.
The sound isolation is decent but well short of the very isolating tri flanges of the im716s.
I bought these mostly based on reviews of these fairly low priced customs found on Slashgear and Techpowerup and HERE. I question the impartiality and fairness and accuracy of these reviews, because my experience is much lower than the glowing reviews at these three areas including this site. Some of these reviews have described them better than Westone 3s and UE 10s and SE530s which are some of the better IEMs. I am calling those reviews out as being NOT UNBIASED based on my disappointing experience. If you are on here and are truly unbiased, then I have to recommend that you do yourself a favor and buy some left over Altec Lansing im716s or Etymotic ER-4Ps which are similar; and if you are unbiased, you will like these more because of their superiority.
Had I to do it over again, I simply would have saved the over $500 invested including $50 custom fitting at an audiologist and $40 express shipping for the international trip. I regret the money I spent on the Sleek Audio CT6s and caution others with their hard-earned bucks. It's not that the CT6s are bad, they just have average sound and I expected so much more. Again in comparison, I find myself much preferring the less than $100 Altec Lansing im716s for the highs, midrange, bass, isolation, comfort, low volume performance, mid volume performance, and more moderate volumes as well. Be wise and be cautious.
I used them on a mission trip to Papua New Guinea which included six air flights, so I had extensive use of them in-cabin and while waiting. I compared them to my Altec Lansing im716s which are superior in almost every dimension.
The single armature aspect is what I believe makes SA's offering comparatively weak. The highs and mids simply do not sparkle, are not detailed like the im716s that I purchased (a backup pair) for only $69. The bass is below average especially at low volumes. In fact, at lower volumes these IEMs are weak and not detailed at all; and I believe this belies the weakness of a single armature design. Only at moderately high volumes do these IEMs seem above average. And then at those volumes, there is the noise fatigue issue. In contrast, the im716s sparkle relatively even at lower volumes and ROCK OUT at higher volumes. The im716s seem to be faster paced as well.
I listen mostly to vocals and am disappointed in the midranges of the SA CT6s which also lack crispness and detail.
The overall sound of the SA CT6 IEMs are veiled not unlike the Westone UM1s that I own. And not surprisingly these are also single armature.
The soundstage is pretty good and extended for IEMs, however, and only in this area does the SA CT6 best the im716s, and only by a little.
The comfort of SA CT6s was also disappointing as there is stuffiness after use of more than thirty minutes to an hour with the hard plastic material as opposed to the soft rubber tri flanges or modified bi flanges of the im716.
The sound isolation is decent but well short of the very isolating tri flanges of the im716s.
I bought these mostly based on reviews of these fairly low priced customs found on Slashgear and Techpowerup and HERE. I question the impartiality and fairness and accuracy of these reviews, because my experience is much lower than the glowing reviews at these three areas including this site. Some of these reviews have described them better than Westone 3s and UE 10s and SE530s which are some of the better IEMs. I am calling those reviews out as being NOT UNBIASED based on my disappointing experience. If you are on here and are truly unbiased, then I have to recommend that you do yourself a favor and buy some left over Altec Lansing im716s or Etymotic ER-4Ps which are similar; and if you are unbiased, you will like these more because of their superiority.
Had I to do it over again, I simply would have saved the over $500 invested including $50 custom fitting at an audiologist and $40 express shipping for the international trip. I regret the money I spent on the Sleek Audio CT6s and caution others with their hard-earned bucks. It's not that the CT6s are bad, they just have average sound and I expected so much more. Again in comparison, I find myself much preferring the less than $100 Altec Lansing im716s for the highs, midrange, bass, isolation, comfort, low volume performance, mid volume performance, and more moderate volumes as well. Be wise and be cautious.
