Sleek Audio SA6's

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That, and I'll tell you right now about my dismal experience with them.

When they came, one side was DOA. Fast shipment of a replacement, but that still should not have happened.

The sound is horrible. Boomy, and the mids were bloated with too much bass that absolutely smeared all over the entire sound spectrum. No combination of filters could remedy that.

The V-MODA Vibes, UE super.fi 5 Pro, and SA6 are the three IEMs that I think are horrible beyond description, and I would gladly take the iBuds over them.

And there have been many complaints about the SA6's QC in general, although lately Sleek Audio have announced that they have an updated version of the SA6 so it's supposedly more robust in its physical quality.

There are a few people here who do like the SA6 a lot, but from my general experience, I strongly suggest you look towards more praised (and reliable) products.

That's really weird; right under this thread is another one asking almost the same question, and with the same price budget.

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f103/r...-range-446376/

So perhaps you should look into the HP-FX500...I forgot what I bought instead once I returned/sold the SA6.

I have positive experience with the SA6, so experience is obviously more personal than not. The old SA6 had workmanship problems with the housing of the earphone and I have heard, cables. The new one has a better-designed audio neck.

The sound is thick, but not oppressive and can be tuned (albeit not like an EQ) to fit your taste. The only problem I have with the sA6 is fit, but my ear canals are small and their long body put too much stress on my (much like the ER4). Excellent earphones though

My opinion resembles that of shigzeo's, but I don't have any fit problem. I have the original SA6 and I agree that build quality is by far the biggest weakness. Not sure about the new SA6 v.2 though.

In fact, I liked the SA6 sound so much, that I bought the CT6, their custom earphone which I reckon is one of the best deals in the audio world at 350$ or whatever it costs. If the SA6 was a better fit, I would have done more than audition it. The old SA6 I sold even though loving its sound.

That said, Sleek's bling bling look is not for me. It is oddly out of place with the excellent sound.

Aw... I liked my Vibes.

True, they aren't great in a number of regards, like sound stage and locational cues and some level of muddiness (although amp did help some). Still, they have a very large presence and an enveloping presentation. EQing helped a lot in terms of raw frequency response, and with a EQ and a little wattage, they do clean up nicely. I found stepping away from the stock single flange tip to be helpful too. The Vibes are capable of being twice as good as they were stock. Just saying...

I find with a lot of earphones, you really do have to massage the sound a little to end up with good results. Only a few earphones really excel right out of the box and with no work. Many do ok, but almost everything you run has room for improvement in one way or another, sometimes significantly so.

I can't comment on the SA6, haven't heard the set personally although I'd like to some day. However, the reviews and user comments I have come across really do describe it as a decent IEM, not perfect but decent. You make it sound like junk, and you're probably right according to your own preferences and scale of measurement. You seek certain things, and the SA6 didn't offer. I can relate. I think similarly of the RE0. I ran it, tried everything under the sun to like it. In the end, I sent it back to Head Direct because it wasn't anywhere near the way I wanted a pair of earphones to sound like and didn't perform a number of key traits I deemed necessary. It was to the point where I would rather keep my Vibes over the RE0 which in many ways is sad. There is a ton of love and high regard for the RE0 and in some ways it's very well deserved. It just comes down to a matter of personal preference though, and in my reviews and comments of the RE0 I have to be very careful to take the personal bias out of my comments which is a very hard thing to do. You seek a specific sound, specific traits. You need an earphone that has those things.

ehhh i used it for like...3 weeks? and after hearing them, i forced myself to get the UM3X. Their sound quality is ehh although their customer service is superb! Quality control on the other hand is a bit...well at least for me, I've been having bad luck with it. Between SA6 and RE2, believe it or not, I find RE2 most frequently used. Clearer to my ears. My friend however, LOVES his SA6 so yeah its up to u. Dont sleek audio have their new customs for around the same price? CT series or something....

I liked the sound, typical balanced armature, detailed and clear, yet with some weight that made them sound balanced, very good for vocals.
Buildquality was bad; almost no one here seems to manage to keep the cable working for longer then two months, but the cable seems to have been improved, likewise the buildquality of the phones themselves.
However, here in Europe the Sleeks cost as much as my current phones, the Sennheiser IE8 which is IMO far better in sound- and buildquality.

I also was an early SA6 owner and fan, but finally the build issues wore me down (the customer service is great). THen, I got the W3s and sold the SA6s. I liked the modular approach, but it just got too problematic. I had no problems with the sound sig. It was nice, as I recall. But again, things just kept falling apart.

I actually prefer the sound to the W3 (my taste), but the fit is no where near as nice as the Westone which is about as good as it gets.

I have the SA6 and I like them a lot. The earlier version was failure prone, as has been pointed out. But, since I got the the newer versions of the shells and cables, I have had no problems. I actually prefer them, slightly, to the RE0's I also have. They have excellent mids and decent bass, with just a shade less treble extension than the RE0.

The earlier post comparing them unfavorably to ibuds is over the top. They are high quality sounding iems. They used to be routinely praised on head-fi. It is just that the earlier build problems and the FOTM train moving on, has rendered them somewhat obscure on this site.

Agree about SQ, and also glad to hear the v2 is holding up. I might still have mine if they had not kept failing (3 driver replacements within warranty period).