Review: Klipsch R6 in-ear headphones
TLDR:
- Warm, smooth, V-shaped sound signature, but significantly baised toward bass.
- Low bass thumps with good attack, dynamic impact and extension. But mid to high-end bass is significantly boosted, which can often translate into muddy or bloated sound.
- Mids (especially low-mids) can be difficult to distinguish at times due to the bass, but otherwise musical and fluid with good clarity.
- Treble is refined and gently textured, but rolled off early losing some extension.
- Soundstage is wide but not very deep.
Seeing as how Klipsch is a reputable brand, and the Klipsch R6 6.5mm dynamic drivers were labeled as "Reference" on the packaging, I decided to give them a try. At the time of this review, the retail price is $80 USD.
All testing was done on a Windows 7 PC with an Asus Xonar DSX soundcard, using 320kbps MP3 files and WAV files played in Foobar2000. All categories are color coded to the corresponding rating.
Packaging & Accessories (6/10):
The accessories included are the instruction manual, warranty information, 3 pairs/sizes of eartips, and the earphones themselves with pre-installed tips. The total 4 pairs of tips are adequate for most ear sizes, but I would have liked to see more provided, especially considering that the nozzle size on the earphones are small to the point where you would have difficulty finding replacement tips if you lost them.
Design & Build Quality (9/10):
The design of the housings are quite large with a tastefully done modern look, but are deceptively feather-light. The faceplate of the back has an indent that feels great when you grip the earphones by pinching it between your thumb and index finger, making insertion easier.
The earphones are entirely coated with a quality semi-grippy rubber material, with the exception of the faceplate "ring" and the nozzle which is a brushed aluminum metallic finish. Even though I prefer round cables over the flat ones on this unit, I can't really fault it because it is still by far the best flat cable design I have used.
The jack is a straight angle plug, flexible and uncumbersome, but the best feature is the effective cable cinch, which manages to stay in place zipped under the chin, helped by the grippy cable.
The only concern I have is the durability of the cable, since there is no visible strain relief connecting to the housings.
Comfort (9/10):
While the smooth moulded, rubberised long barrel design requires deeper insertion than most earphones, there are no problems with comfort whatsoever. The housings are appropriately angled to fit the direction of the corresponding ear canal. With the right eartips, the earphones do not slide and stays firm in place. I used the largest tips included and the fit was perfect.
Isolation & Microphonics (8/10):
Due to the nature of the deeper insertion, noise isolation is well above average and outside sounds are muted quite effectively due to the size and length of the housings.
Microphonics are what you would call "cable noise". When you move around and the cable collides with your shirt/jacket, you hear the sound through your earphones. Because of the flat cable design, a substantial amount of noise does travel through them. But regardless, you can comfortably wear these over-and-around the ears by switching the right and left monitors. This will effectively eliminate most microphonics.
SOUND (6/10):
Frequency Response
Ideally, good equipment should produce sound that is neutral (uncolored/unflavored) to the source material, or close to it. This is especially important considering the marketing for these earphones claim to be "reference".
The overall frequency response is heavily weighted toward the lower end and there's also a slight "V" shaped dip in the lower mids.
Perceived Frequency Response:
(Bass) 20hz |--""''''''''''''"-.---------------.....| 16K (Treble)
Attack & Decay/Note Presentation
Throughout the entire frequency response with the exception of the high treble and low bass, the presentation of the notes sound uniformly smooth, thick and perhaps, a little too smoothed over losing out some detail, but at the same time has a sense of lushness especially in the mid ranges when the bass is not present to drown it over.
The smoothness of the highest highs and lowest lows are comparatively less, which is a good thing since it gives these frequencies a sharper "snap" and a textural feel to contrast the smoothness, but there's not quite enough of it.
The attack of the sound follows a slightly relaxed approach with the exception the highest treble and low bass feeling more immediate. The decay however is quite natural across the entire frequency range.
Below is a representation of what this all looks like. Red meaning warm, thick and musical, green meaning neutral, blue meaning colder, drier and more analytical.
Perceived Note Presentation
(Bass) 20hz |--""''''''''''''"-.---------------.....| 16K (Treble)
Distortion
Sound distortion at higher volumes is often a problem with cheaper drivers, but this is rather non-existent with the R6. Besides the arguably distorted bass from the sheer quantity, the frequency response is otherwise kept well under control avoiding any problems at louder-than-average listening volumes.
Bass
Obviously these are bass heavy, but the lowest end of the bass boasts a satisfying immediacy to it with quick attack and good precision. The bass is also quite extensive, deep, and rumbling attributed by its overall quantity.
The issue is the middle and higher bass frequencies are rather bloated. This results in the bass being prone to the thumping and heavy-sounding characteristic. And unfortunately, the bass does tend to leak into the lower mids and overpowers them.
Mids
The mids at times are often difficult to hear because of the aforementioned bass, but on tracks with a vocal or mid focus to them, they sound clear in a smooth way. Very musical and can be played at louder volumes without sounding jarring. More prominent vocals will have the impression of being sweet-sounding.
Treble
The very top end has enough bite to keep things interesting with a sparkly, but gentle texturing, even though the highest frequencies are rolled off a bit too soon loosing out some extension. The low treble retains that smooth, sweetness from the mids.
Soundstage
The soundstage defines the characteristics of the virtual soundspace perceived by your hearing from the sound source. Even with in-ear-headphones, a soundstage will still be produced, though much smaller than with headphones and obviously speakers.
A smaller soundstage would sound more claustrophobic like you are listening to music inside a closet, or like there is a wall right in front of your face or to your sides. Listening closely to how instruments resonate is a good way to determine soundstage.
The soundstage characteristics of the R6 is that it is surprisingly wide and airy for something so bassy, which is probably helped by the mid-low frequency dip to clean up some of the bass bloat and give the soundstage more breathing room.
Even though bass-heavy earphones tend to produce a deeper and more lengthy sounding stage, the R6's have a somewhat tame depth to them. While not extremely shallow, it is disappointing compared to the width.
The shape of the soundstage is far from proportionate, but the overall size is slightly above average in this price range.
Mod-ability (5/10):
Eartips
It is important to understand that 50% of the sound comes from using the right eartips and having the right fit, while other 50% comes from the drivers, including the material and build of the housings.
Different eartips have different sound qualities too; softer tips tend to transmit more bass while suppressing treble. Stiffer tips tend to suppress bass and increase treble detail/transparency.
The total of 4 pairs of tips included should be good enough to fit most people, but because the nozzles on the housings are on the small side (though not as small most balanced armature designs), finding replacement eartips, or eartips for the purpose of altering the sound qualities are limited.
Equalizer
The potential for equalization is pretty good, using an EQ solution to tone down the bass will easily bring out the details that are overpowered by the bass. However, a significant cut in the bass must be applied along with an increase bump in the low-mids.
Bass Vent
One of the easiest mods for most earphones is to cover the bass vent with some tape. This almost always results in a reduced bass response due to less air being moved through the drivers. This also increases noise isolation by blocking the gaping hole(s) which let outside noises in.
For the R6, the bass vent is a pinhole about ~0.7mm diameter under the housings. I used a tiny amount of Rubber Cement and dabbed over the area to cover the holes for this mod.
Sadly, the results did not tame the bass as much as I hoped. Modded, the earphones are still considered more on the bassy side. I did not detect any other noticeable changes to the sound.
Value (5/10):
Besides the design, comfort and physical handling, there is nothing really outstanding about the R6. And the sound signature is more likely to please bassheads than more professional tastes, to the disappointment of its "Reference" sound claim on the packaging.
In terms of value, if you want something that sounds comparable and significantly cheaper while providing more clarity and a bit less bass, the often recommended Sony MH1C far outshines the Klipsch R6.
Conclusion (6/10):
I am unsure why Klipsch branded this with the "Reference" tag, since the R6's sound is dramatically skewed toward the mid and upper bass regions. And even if it was marketed as "bass-enhanced", the R6 still meets a lot of tough competition at the asking $80 price range.
The saving grace is the design, ergonomics and noise isolation. If you can find these at a deal for $60 or less, I could then recommend them if you like bass.
Every sad friday now and then, I bring myself over to Fry's Electronics to try the latest Klipsch IEMs.
Hoping to find one that doesn't disappoint.
The S4 and S3 were mediocre. The X10 broke within a week, and I gifted 4 pairs away from the $99 sale. None of them are currently functional. Bought the R6, XR8i and promptly returned them. Even went with a X20i based on the reviews that it had good clarity. Let down once again.
Every Klipsch IEM has the same dreadful bass bloom and muddy upper midrange.
I don't want to know what Klipsch were thinking with their "house" signature.
This isn't to bash Klipsch, generally speaking. They have good bookshelf speakers such as the R14M and R15M. Those ironically lack mid-bass emphasis.