AlexxxAA85
500+ Head-Fier
Happy Birthday!!!If only mine came today! Would’ve been the perfect gift as today is my Bday! But it will be here tomorrow!!!!
Congrats @Bret Halford
Fir Audio Thread - Discussion and Impressions
PoetOfTheKill
Head-Fier
Can I ask which ear tips are those?Today is a good Tuesday.
Only had them in a few tracks, but I think we're going to be friends.
Congrats man. The cable looks like code 23Today is a good Tuesday.
Only had them in a few tracks, but I think we're going to be friends.
Happy birthdayIf only mine came today! Would’ve been the perfect gift as today is my Bday! But it will be here tomorrow!!!!
Congrats @Bret Halford
Today is a good Tuesday.
Only had them in a few tracks, but I think we're going to be friends.
Look at that cable. It even has a Fir watermark.
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Bret Halford
500+ Head-Fier
Cable is substantial but definitely not a problem weight wise. Pliability is quite nice, the cladding keeps cable shape over the run of the cable but is quite locally permissive to touch or the lay of your shoulders etc.
They were installed stock, they look and feel exactly like Symbio W hybrid tips to me. The orange colorway is a very handsome pairing, and on these particular IEMs they are providing quite a nice fit for me out of the box. Tip rolling will come later, but I have no problems with the stock option here.
I have code 23 coming on Thursday, so I'll be able to post some direct comparison pics. The RN6's cable is a good gauge, but I'd be very surprised if it is close in diameter to the Code 23's honking 16.5 AWG (and that's probably a good thing for most people lol).Congrats man. The cable looks like code 23
Excuse me, I have to go return some video tapes <pops Phil Collins on the RN6>
Look at that cable. It even has a Fir watermark.
wolfstar76
Headphoneus Supremus
Happy Birthday!If only mine came today! Would’ve been the perfect gift as today is my Bday! But it will be here tomorrow!!!!
Congrats @Bret Halford
Resolution/detail retrieval wise, How does fur xeon 6 hold up to other TOTL IEMs out there? 64 audio u18s/t, 64 audio fourte, empire Odin, empire evo, VE Ext, VE Phoenix, Sony Z1r, UM mest mk2, Moondrop S8 etc? Thanks all
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Resolution with gobs of warmth is Xe6's secret sauce, so while it's not the most resolving set ever released, it's still there at the top.
OhmsClaw
500+ Head-Fier
Is that Cillian Rail?
Look at that cable. It even has a Fir watermark.
I had the chance to sit down with Phonix, EXT, and Xe6 yesterday to compare them, and while Phonix does pull ahead of Xe6 a little on details and resolution, it’s much closer than you might think considering Xe6 abundance of mid bass and lower mids. VE EXT is a fine IEM, but is not really close to either, in fact I found it quite jarring when switching to it from Xe6, a bit like going from a 4K TV to 720p.
I recently sold Z1R after 2 years of ownership, it’s resolution a step up from EXT, but falls a bit short of Xe6 or Phonix.
I hadn’t heard Xe6 for a while, and it put an immediate smile on my face. I’d be very willing to sacrifice that little bit of detail for the goosebumps I get from it’s tuning.
Can anyone say how the Rn6 compares technically to the Xn6? Especially given the price difference, I would think the Xn6 would be better in that regard. The question would be in what way and to what extent.
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The graphs aren't massively dissimilar, but seem to demonstrate a tweaked tuning. The driver count is the same, with the main difference being the size of the kinetic bass port. I wouldn't expect there to be any sacrifice in technicality. If anything, as it was explained to me, the mids were clearer on the rn6, though not technically "better", largely because of the way the rn6 has been tuned.
People keep on bringing up the price difference with the implication that there's either some conspiracy behind it, or otherwise that the rn6 is somehow a worse model because it's less expensive, as if features have been trimmed. This study makes for a fun read on that phenomenon, if you're at all interested in social psychology:
https://fs.blog/how-raising-prices-can-increase-sales/
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I think you'll get some good feedback on this very soon as Rn6 sets are delivering for a few here today. I know @Auricon has the Xe6 and has an Rn6 incoming. @aaf evo will have both sets shortly too. @twister6 also posted some brief comparison notes in his CanJam 2023 review (scroll down about half way on page 2). He describes Rn6 as a "side-grade" to Xe6. A different flavor, if you will.
My guess is that the move from SS to Alu shells contributes slightly to the price delta between the two sets. Also, it's likely that the initial R&D cost was more impactful in the Xe6 price and that learned knowledge was then leveraged in the making / tuning of Rn6. This could further explain the price difference between the two sets. I would be surprised if the Rn6 is any less competent or "technical" than the Xe6.
EDIT - Rn6 in the neighborhood!
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Bret Halford
500+ Head-Fier
I am so excited for my FIR bros getting their RN6's today. You guys are in for a real treat!
TFW you stayed up hours too late listening to your new IEMs, and you still wake up way, way too early the next morning. Can't sleep, there's Radon out there...
Initial Honeymoon Impressions:
What a fabulously well built product. FIR's relentless focus on detail delights my autism. Little things like the simple, user serviceable clamp on the meshguard keep making me think "I really can't wait until every other IEM does this too.' My cell phone pics really don't do the IEM justice, beautiful elegant yet simplistic build. I was very surprised how small it is, the pics of the frontier series had me anticipating something much larger.
Sound wise, I already find FIR's take on bone conduction far more convincing than other's I've heard. Kinetic bass is such a clever solution for delivering subsonics. It doesn't seem to depend on contact as much as say EE's Weapon IX, which makes for very nice channel matching. But more than that it has a lovely coherence and doesn't get overcome with some of the over bounciness I get on some others. Go figure, letting a subwoofer radiate rather than covering it in an IEM shell seems like such an obvious idea in retrospect... if I had a dollar for everytime I thought that about FIR's design I'd be well on my way to an XE6
I don't have any exposure to FIR's other IEMs so I cannot compare there, unfortunately. As far as the RN6's tuning I don't find things too warm and the bass is very tidy considering the elevation they get to in the subs. It strikes a very nice balance for me in terms of warmth and clarity, generally present but highly pleasurable and it doesn't interfere with lower mids.
They are quite capable across most genre's I've tried them on, particularly electronic and metal (which lucky me are my favs). Only issues I've encountered are an occasional overemphasis on cymbals in some rock mixes, but this is quite common on EST tunings for me, and is probably worth its weight in sparkle in other areas.
Gonna be tough to pull these things out of my canals to join zoom calls for work in a few... will be a treat to see more folks get their Radon's and share impressions today!
TFW you stayed up hours too late listening to your new IEMs, and you still wake up way, way too early the next morning. Can't sleep, there's Radon out there...
Initial Honeymoon Impressions:
What a fabulously well built product. FIR's relentless focus on detail delights my autism. Little things like the simple, user serviceable clamp on the meshguard keep making me think "I really can't wait until every other IEM does this too.' My cell phone pics really don't do the IEM justice, beautiful elegant yet simplistic build. I was very surprised how small it is, the pics of the frontier series had me anticipating something much larger.
Sound wise, I already find FIR's take on bone conduction far more convincing than other's I've heard. Kinetic bass is such a clever solution for delivering subsonics. It doesn't seem to depend on contact as much as say EE's Weapon IX, which makes for very nice channel matching. But more than that it has a lovely coherence and doesn't get overcome with some of the over bounciness I get on some others. Go figure, letting a subwoofer radiate rather than covering it in an IEM shell seems like such an obvious idea in retrospect... if I had a dollar for everytime I thought that about FIR's design I'd be well on my way to an XE6
I don't have any exposure to FIR's other IEMs so I cannot compare there, unfortunately. As far as the RN6's tuning I don't find things too warm and the bass is very tidy considering the elevation they get to in the subs. It strikes a very nice balance for me in terms of warmth and clarity, generally present but highly pleasurable and it doesn't interfere with lower mids.
They are quite capable across most genre's I've tried them on, particularly electronic and metal (which lucky me are my favs). Only issues I've encountered are an occasional overemphasis on cymbals in some rock mixes, but this is quite common on EST tunings for me, and is probably worth its weight in sparkle in other areas.
Gonna be tough to pull these things out of my canals to join zoom calls for work in a few... will be a treat to see more folks get their Radon's and share impressions today!
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