[Neweymatt]

Oddly, I EQ'ed my Xe6 to drop the 100-200 Hz range a few dB and I didn't really like the change in sound. I don't feel that it added anything, but it definitely took away from the sense of grandeur that the stock Xe6 presents. It wasn't night and day, but I preferred the unmodified sound better. But then again, I don't really enjoy a "lean" sound anyway, so it could just be my personal preference.

In the times I've so far listened to Xe6 I never thought it needed EQ at all, but I've been wondering if it'd be possible to EQ down Xe6 to mimic Rn6? Maybe for those genres/albums where all of that midbass is just too much of a good thing, I dunno.

 

[Garney]

My guess is that it’s not as simple as dropping a few dB’s at 200hz and bam, Xe6 becomes Rn6, or vice versa. I think the diameter of the cutout in the shell for the kinetic DD plays a role in how both sound and I’m guessing the driver tuning between the two is more substantial / different than the FR shows.

I know a few here own both so maybe someone can prove me wrong.

 

[Yefry]

I had the Odyssey and much prefer the Xe6. Better tuning, better soundstage, better ergonomics (smaller size), and I like the Xe6 kinetic bass more than the Odyseey BCD bass (which is very impressive, but which I found too intense for long listening sessions).

In my case the sound was simply correct, I prefer a focus on subbass instead of so much body in the mid-bass, it just didn't seem like a sound worth 4000 euros.

From what I've read it seems that Fir is at a higher level, everything would be determined by its isolation capacity, EXT is open but it insulates well, if I don't get good isolation it would be a failed purchase for me

 

[Neweymatt]

My guess is that it’s not as simple as dropping a few dB’s at 200hz and bam, Xe6 becomes Rn6, or vice versa. I think the diameter of the cutout in the shell for the kinetic DD plays a role in how both sound and I’m guessing the driver tuning between the two is more substantial / different than the FR shows.

I know a few here own both so maybe someone can prove me wrong.

Hmm, I thought Rn6 uses the same drivers as Xe6?, just with a different tuning and the bass port. Which I reckon could make it possible to use EQ to at least approximately match them, more so by being subtractive with the Xe6…

Will test this out myself one day, or just cave and get an Rn6

 

[jlawso13]

I see the fives are deprived of attention, but the m5 are excellent headphones at the moment

I just snagged a set of 5s from the classifieds, and while they're absolutely crushing lows and mids, I feel the timbre is a bit wonky on cymbals and snares... Interested to see if I'm alone, or if I need to amp roll it a bit.

 

[pankaj1431]

FiR were kind enough to make me a CIEM RN6 as I had purchased the entire Frontier series and M5 in custom already, making this my 5th FiR CIEM.

I’ve been spending the last hour or so listening to RN6 and understanding what it’s about. I bought these without having heard them, and it was something I swore I’d never do again after this didn’t work out for me once already with a different brand CIEM, but from what I knew about RN6 I felt very safe doing this and I love my kinetic bass in CIEM form.

This definitely carries some of XE6 DNA but puts its own twist on it. The warmth from the XE6 is reduced quite a bit here, which gives you leaner and more transparent sound with more clarity, separation, and what to me sounds like more accurate timbre. The bass loses a bit of the heft and slam from XE6 but still has excellent body and rumble. Everything feels more opened up and imaging is more accurate.

As of right now I’m hearing RN6 to be the more capable all rounder and the XE6 to lean more into the specialist side. I really enjoy XE6 with electronic music as it manages to capture the excitement in the FR but make it less fatiguing in the highs versus other sets. RN6 does not replace XE6 for me or vice versa, they’re different enough sounding to own both or have a clear favorite of one or the other. I personally love both of them.

I’m thrilled to add RN6 to my collection, these are an absolute hit and easily would be my #1 recommendation from any of the frontier series IEMs, especially if you found the XE6 too warm or the KR5 too recessed in the high mids.

Cheers to many more hours of enjoyment

Transparent shells looks very beautiful . Congrats for RN6 and enjoy them

 

[CodenameBK201]

I got my rn6 last night and got all of twenty minutes with them, so enjoy my explosion of random thoughts (or don't, your prerogative). I want to post proper impressions, maybe even a review, but for immediate thoughts, out of the box, I can confidently say that rn6 is not xe6. Xe6 is more musical, more fun, more move to the beat for me, and subjectively speaking I like it better...but, there are other IEMs out there with similar tunings that have a fair more boom if you're looking for fun sounding. Rn6 is a weird thing, very much it's own animal. I'm not bopping my head to head-banging bass, but I'm listening more. Orchestra stuff sounds really crispy, symbals are crisp, trumpets sing in a way that only BA sound does, and the kinetic bass there is just enough that I'm listening to the music in a way that isn't distracting from it. Bone conduction bass is fun, but every implementation I've heard feels like a subwoofer tacked onto an existing track--fun gimmick, but not accurate. As for vocals being clearer, that's 100% true. This was one of my few test tracks last night if anyone's curious:



For anyone here on the fence between rn6 and xe6...it's a hard argument. I always hate being that guy, but yeah, I get it--I could totally see the merits in owning both. Rn6 is certainly a nicer package. Cable is really just perfect out of the box, leather case quality is improved, hell, even the atom module tool is more premium. Rn6 is a more "reference" sounding set to me, and I'm still sorting my thoughts out on that. It's kind of refreshing going from trifecta, xanadu, or empire ears sound to this. And ergonomically, these things are stupid light. Like, lighter in hand than some acrylic sets I've owned. Comfy factor is 10/10, cable is solid but lightweight. Everything feels in hand like Fir took note of even the slightest complaints about the xe6 and fixed them. Definitely gonna be my go-to desk set while I'm working.

 

[PotatoMEZE]

FiR were kind enough to make me a CIEM RN6 as I had purchased the entire Frontier series and M5 in custom already, making this my 5th FiR CIEM.

I’ve been spending the last hour or so listening to RN6 and understanding what it’s about. I bought these without having heard them, and it was something I swore I’d never do again after this didn’t work out for me once already with a different brand CIEM, but from what I knew about RN6 I felt very safe doing this and I love my kinetic bass in CIEM form.

This definitely carries some of XE6 DNA but puts its own twist on it. The warmth from the XE6 is reduced quite a bit here, which gives you leaner and more transparent sound with more clarity, separation, and what to me sounds like more accurate timbre. The bass loses a bit of the heft and slam from XE6 but still has excellent body and rumble. Everything feels more opened up and imaging is more accurate.

As of right now I’m hearing RN6 to be the more capable all rounder and the XE6 to lean more into the specialist side. I really enjoy XE6 with electronic music as it manages to capture the excitement in the FR but make it less fatiguing in the highs versus other sets. RN6 does not replace XE6 for me or vice versa, they’re different enough sounding to own both or have a clear favorite of one or the other. I personally love both of them.

I’m thrilled to add RN6 to my collection, these are an absolute hit and easily would be my #1 recommendation from any of the frontier series IEMs, especially if you found the XE6 too warm or the KR5 too recessed in the high mids.

Cheers to many more hours of enjoyment

Congratulations to you with Rn6 CIEMs. That's so beautiful.

I can't use CIEM because my skin and hair are sensitive. I'll feel itchy in my ears.

And it's a matter of resale later.

Still waiting for Rn6 which I think is different with Xe6 that I liked Rn6 in the first impression , unlike Xe6 I've tried many times.

If Rn6 comes, Xe6 must go.

 

[twister6]

Which eartips are included stock with RN6? Since I received my RN6 pair before CanJam NYC in Feb, it didn't have the finalized package, still an old cable and some other silicone eartips. I saw Jordon sharing a picture of RN6 from CanJam SGP, and it has Symbio eartips. Are those included with RN6?

 

[PoetOfTheKill]

Curious if xe6 and rn6 shares the exact same drivers.
If so, does that mean that eq'ing xe6 (using autoeq/parametric) able to give a similar sound to rn6?
Would like to know your thoughts since you have both!

If I remember correctly, the kinetic bass driver is smaller on the rn6 so I don't think the xe6 will sound the same with any eq imo

 

[Garney]

Which eartips are included stock with RN6? Since I received my RN6 pair before CanJam NYC in Feb, it didn't have the finalized package, still an old cable and some other silicone eartips. I saw Jordon sharing a picture of RN6 from CanJam SGP, and it has Symbio eartips. Are those included with RN6?

Symbios and some solid foam tips.

 

[aaf evo]

If I remember correctly, the kinetic bass driver is smaller on the rn6 so I don't think the xe6 will sound the same with any eq imo

I tried to compare mine yesterday and they looked the same size to me, but it could be my eyes deceiving me as my XE6 has a matte black shell and my RN6 is clear. I’ll try share a picture later.

 

[krack2222]

Rn6 is more reference while kr5 and xe6 are for bass head (in a good way).

 

[Garney]

If I remember correctly, the kinetic bass driver is smaller on the rn6 so I don't think the xe6 will sound the same with any eq imo

I think the dynamic driver itself is the same size for both models (10mm) but the cutout in the Xe6 shell looks larger in diameter than Rn6. At least in the UIEM shells.

 

[twister6]

If I remember correctly, the kinetic bass driver is smaller on the rn6 so I don't think the xe6 will sound the same with any eq imo

RN6, XE6, KR5, and NE4 all have the same 10mm Kinetic driver. The grill cover/opening is different. XE6 is bigger, while RN6/KR5/NE4 are the same and a little smaller. I don't have yet side-by-side of all 4, but from my last year's Frontier Series review you can see the difference in opening, while the actual driver is the same.