[Onurb8690]

US Tour - Fir Audio Frontier Series
With all this talk and questions, it sounds like everyone needs to hear these for themselves.

For US HEADFIERS who want to join our tour, please follow the link in my signature below to our tour page and follow the instructions. I have the tour kit in hand which will ship out Monday to start our tour. Please sign up ASAP!



Yes, as a huge Fir Audio M5 fan, I had to get my own Xe6 as well. For those that know me, of course in custom. While they impress immediately, I have taken a couple of days with them before commenting so that I could get my head wrapped around them. The kinetic bass adds a whole new dimension to in-ear listening - not only in richness but in spatial/dimensional detail. This is what is harder to describe. While it adds to that bass response and the richness, it is more than that. I will detail in my full review which should follow soon, but for now, here are some listening notes focusing on what others have not said yet.

Net New Listening Notes (Building on what others have said):

1. New Designs: A lot has changed at Fir since I created my custom M5 a couple of years back. The design options are staggering now in comparison. I am very pleased with the results you can see in my hand above. The fit is also as stellar as was my M5.
2. 2-Pin Option: For those that have not noticed, the original Fir Audio IEMs only came in RCX, but now I was able to choose a 2-pin option. While I liked the sturdiness of the RCX fit, that limited my cable rolling until I ordered an adapter to be able to roll cables. While the adapter was stout, this interjected an additional point of failure. I for one, appreciate the additional 2-pin option.
3. Low Volume Champion: One thing I really appreciated about the M5 was its ability to sound full at low volume. However, the Xe6 with the kinetic bass is extremely rich at low volumes. This is a huge win for me who likes to listen at night while falling asleep. This makes the Xe6 my new goto for bedtime listening.
4. Scaling Source: The Xe6 scales up with better sources sounding wonderful with the Hugo 2 and my Burson C3R, but it also sounds incredible with my iPhone making it wonderful on both sides of the scale. However, where I am finding that the Xe6 scales the best is in scaling the source file. This comes back to the extra dimension mentioned earlier - it is pulling new material from source files that I am not hearing with other IEMs.
5. Brain Burn-In: While I am sure that there is some driver burn-in required for that 10mm kinetic bass driver, I am dealing more with brain burn-in. I am getting used to new information coming from the Xe6 that my brian is required to decipher. I have used some bone-conduction headphones before, but this is different, more detailed than I have heard before. This is not a bone-conduction vibrator sitting on my forehead, it is part of the custom inserted near that is wedged against the inner ear with no slop at all. Very detailed. Now I feel like something is missing when I compare to other IEMs in my collection.
6. Bass Extension vs. Richness: While bassheads will love undoubtedly this design with its bass fullness and extension, this is an extreme audiophile design first lifting gobs of detail - but in a rich, sensory way. Similar to how I differentiated the VE EXT from the Phonix with the EXT being solid-state vs. the Phonix being a tube amp...the Xe6 is more akin to the Phonix as a tube amp with its rich presentation. However, the Xe6 also has more bass kick akin to the EXT offering it a space in between though clearly more in the tube amp richness camp.

More to come in my review.

Spectacular Look!!!!

 

[bogdan belonozhko]

This is an excellent device, especially for those living in tropical climes with high humidity, to use on IEMS or any gear regularly! Is this sold on your web site only or also available at FIR's resellers' around the world?

It is available through dealers and direct on our site.

 

[aaf evo]

Does anyone have any A/U12t to KR5 comparisons by any chance? I am working on getting a demo of the KR5 but I don’t want to “overlap” with any of my CIEMs.

 

[mvvRAZ]

Can’t wait to see how the Xe6 turns out after this masterpiece

(Cable by @doctorjuggles)

 

[Skullar]

Does anyone have any A/U12t to KR5 comparisons by any chance? I am working on getting a demo of the KR5 but I don’t want to “overlap” with any of my CIEMs.

My KR5 is packed to go back to be replaced. And i just bought U12T. So not very confident going into detail. But they are more complimentary than anything else.

I only had several hours on KR5 but its quite revealing sounding concentrating on clarity. Upper mids and mid treble are stars of show.
Bass is a bit dry but very fast, however. I could not use it with stock cable, and i do think it needs angled 2 pin connector to keep bass driver closer to ear. So i might not get right impressions.
It is quite detailed and very spacious sounding. But its more of Asian tuning.

U12Ts Bass is bombastic in comparison and its mids are more organic and upper mids are a more laid back. But it has plenty of space on airiest Apex module. I think U12T has a bit more upper treble focus too.

KR5 is more of a technical beast some W tuning. Where as U12T is a bit of both technicalitiesties and fun and more of U tuning.
I cant wait to get KR5 back to be honest. But those iems are not meant to replace each other

 

[aaf evo]

My KR5 os packed to go back to be replaced. And i just bought U12T. So not vere confident going into detail. But they are more complimentary than anything else.

I onny had several hours on KR5 but its quite revealing sounding concentrating on clarity. Upper mids and mid treble are stars of show.
Bass is a bit dry but very fast, however. I could not use it with stock cable, and i do think it needs angled 2 pin connector to keep bass driver closer to ear. So i might not get right impressions.
It is quite detailed and very spacious sounding. But its more of Asian tuning.

U12Ts Bass is bombastic in comparison and its mids are more organic and upper mids are a more laid back. But it has plenty of space on airiest Apex module. I think U12T has a bit more upper treble focus too.

KR5 is more of a technical beast some W tuning. Where as U12T is a bit of both technicalitiesties and fun and more of U tuning.
I cant wait to get KR5 back to be honest. But those iems are not meant to replace each other

Appreciate the impressions, that last sentence makes me happy. I have become such a fan of this kinetic bass, and it’s even better on the CIEMs than the universals. So I want to explore the other frontier models.

 

[Skullar]

Appreciate the impressions, that last sentence makes me happy. I have become such a fan of this kinetic bass, and it’s even better on the CIEMs than the universals. So I want to explore the other frontier models.

Im quite curious about Neon too. But need to get my KR5 first. I also would add that my source is sp2000 SS. If you have something warmer it might make much better synergy with KR5. I have someone with C9. So will test it out. U12T however are the opposite and want something bright to pair with.
I honestly think that Indigo is a bit of both lol.

 

[aaf evo]

Im quite curious about Neon too. But need to get my KR5 first. I also would add that my source is sp2000 SS. If you have something warmer it might make much better synergy with KR5. I have someone with C9. So will test it out. U12T however are the opposite and want something bright to pair with.
I honestly think that Indigo is a bit of both lol.

Yeah I have Annihilator for that bright U shaped CIEM but it doesn’t have kinetic bass

 

[Skullar]

Yeah I have Annihilator for that bright U shaped CIEM but it doesn’t have kinetic bass

I yet need to be blown away by kinetic bass on KR5. But as i said i think there are few things that i was doing wrong with them during several hours they worked. I have high hopes for them as i loved the rest of signature.
I need much more time and fiddling to get a good feel. I love its staging and imaging. So will see. They might even convince me to go for some warmer source like sp2000t.

The only alternative i see for that kind of signature would be Ely X. But the price is a bit hard to justify for a blind buy. KR5 was already a big enough gamble. But its promising so far.

 

[aaf evo]

I yet need to be blown away by kinetic bass on KR5. But as i said i think there are few things that i was doing wrong with them during several hours they worked. I have high hopes for them as i loved the rest of signature.
I need much more time and fiddling to get a good feel. I love its staging and imaging. So will see. They might even convince me to go for some warmer source like sp2000t.

The only alternative i see for that kind of signature would be Ely X. But the price is a bit hard to justify for a blind buy. KR5 was already a big enough gamble. But its promising so far.

It honestly took me about 20 hours of listening to pick up on what the kinetic bass is about. The best way I can describe it, or how I perceive it, is that it almost turns your whole head into a bass enclosure and just doesn't feel restricted on how it images the lows. It sounds incredibly large without being overwhelming. It's very unique to me and I love it, going to regular DD low IEMs after so much time with the XE6 has showed me how different it is.

 

[mvvRAZ]

It honestly took me about 20 hours of listening to pick up on what the kinetic bass is about. The best way I can describe it, or how I perceive it, is that it almost turns your whole head into a bass enclosure and just doesn't feel restricted on how it images the lows. It sounds incredibly large without being overwhelming. It's very unique to me and I love it, going to regular DD low IEMs after so much time with the XE6 has showed me how different it is.

I also had that experience - like it comes from an entirely different place, and no matter how bassy the song, it stays completely clean from everything else that’s playing

The second part to me is that outrageous texture, makes even the IE900 seems a little plasticky, and that’s my reference for bass texture

 

[Skullar]

Im sure i need to spend some time with it to start appreciate the bass. Its by no means bad as is. I just did not get a chance to notice anything out of ordinary about it yet.

 

[audionewbi]

I think I'm sold on the XE6!

 

[aaf evo]

I think I'm sold on the XE6!

It’s a very warm IEM and it takes some adjustment brain wise to get used to it. It’s not like anything else I have heard before, as much as I love it I’d still recommend a demo first. With that said, it’s probably the most enjoyable and addicting IEM I think I have ever heard and I truthfully mean that.

 

[efftee]

It honestly took me about 20 hours of listening to pick up on what the kinetic bass is about. The best way I can describe it, or how I perceive it, is that it almost turns your whole head into a bass enclosure and just doesn't feel restricted on how it images the lows. It sounds incredibly large without being overwhelming. It's very unique to me and I love it, going to regular DD low IEMs after so much time with the XE6 has showed me how different it is.

Is it a tuning, this Kinetic bass, or some hardware thing, like BCD? Is it changing the entire bass spectrum or specific freq ranges, ie sub, mid bass centric? I assume you're referring to the bass experience on the electronic dance music you listen to, what does Kinetic bass do to say... Jazz or Orchestral music, if you listen to any of those?

It’s a very warm IEM and it takes some adjustment brain wise to get used to it. It’s not like anything else I have heard before, as much as I love it I’d still recommend a demo first. With that said, it’s probably the most enjoyable and addicting IEM I think I have ever heard and I truthfully mean that.

Wow, big big statement that. I must say that I have been most impressed by all the reviews I've read on the XE6. Only thing that is detracting (somewhat) is the warm and thick mids. I'm imagining this over-lush syrupy enveloping almost suffocating sound (haha!) which I know can't the case but as I grow a little weary of the thick warm sound signature of too many IEMS, especially in my collection, I'm wondering if I need the epitome of that in the fold!