[Pitounet]

Dubhead, I'm happy that you too think they have too much bass. All the other reviews here say they are more balanced, detailed and have a better soundstage than the s4. I bought them because of these reviews thinking that I would have something that I would prefer tony s4i ii. Bit I am very disapointed. I am new to this forum and I think I am not the best one to judge headphones. But all what I read on this thread before you wroteyour review just don't sound right to me.

 

[dirtdiver]

Is there any reason to get these if I have the S4II and don't have any problems with them? Well, I take that back, I wish I could do the following:
 
1. No matter which silicon I've used, it won't sit in my ear...it slides out, ESPECIALLY if I'm on an elliptical.
 
2. Right angle jack
 
3. I could loop them over my ear.

 

[shrkz]

I received these as a replacement for my S4II's since Klipsch no longer produces these (huge shoutout for their warranty) and all I can say is that I'm absolutely blown away. I'm just your average user so I can't really go to the technical side of things, but these are a huge improvement over the S4's.

 

[DroidArmy]

I received these as a replacement for my S4II's since Klipsch no longer produces these (huge shoutout for their warranty) and all I can say is that I'm absolutely blown away. I'm just your average user so I can't really go to the technical side of things, but these are a huge improvement over the S4's.

I've been using a pair of R6's for roughly 6 months now. They're so awesome! The only damage to them is some minor splitting at the connector and removed filters (my little mess up, nothing changed sound wise). I like them a lot more than my s4. The sound stage sounds really good

 

[DaddyMojo]

I've been using a pair of R6's for roughly 6 months now. They're so awesome! The only damage to them is some minor splitting at the connector and removed filters (my little mess up, nothing changed sound wise). I like them a lot more than my s4. The sound stage sounds really good

Great update, glad to hear that you enjoy them.  I have always found Klipsch to be very comfortabe for iems and glad that you find the sound improved from the S4.

 

[cr0wnest]

I went from the regular S4 (used for about 3 years?), then to the S4 II, then recently, the Shure SE215. Only tried the R6 at stores though. In comparison to the S4's, the R6 feels a little more fitting in the ears, and they seem to provide slightly better seal though they still have that "loose" feeling the S4 did. Sound wise, think of it as a somewhat more refined S4 II. Unfortunately I didnt spend enough time with it to make a fair comparison. But if given a choice, I'd take the R6 anytime.
 
With regards to the SE 215, I'd take the Shure any time. Similarly priced, better sound stage (Compared to the S4 II), much clearer mid range, and the sound just isnt as fatiguing to listen as the S4 II which was one of the main problems I faced. The overall SQ is better as well, probably due to the better sound isolation the ergonomics of an over ear IEM provides, and to be honest, they're a lot more fun to listen to. Just my opinion coming from several years of using the S4.

 

[andimuller]

I was reading this thread before getting a pair of R6i, and now I bought them, so thought I'd chip in with some first impressions.
 
I have owned S4 (broke - my fault), S4i (broke - not sure whose fault) and until recently S4i II (lost while drunk - definitely my fault). I'll compare them here to the S4i II's because those were the ones I was replacing and intended to buy, when I saw they were discontinued.
 
Build/design:
 
I much prefer the R6i to the S4(i) II for the following reasons:
 
 - The cable is smooth! Halleluja! Not the rubbery/sticky texture from the S4i II-cable (owners will know what I'm talking about), which caught on to anything, and pulled your plugs out with even a slight brush against it. Also less cable noise. People complaining about cable noise from the R6(i) have clearly never owned S4(i) II's...
 
 - They feel better in my ears, but that might have to to with the rubber tips being all new. Oddly, they almost feel lighter, even though they are 3,2 grams heavier according to specs.
 
 - I was worried about the remote-control being on the left-side cable rather than in the middle. BUT on the R6i it seems much lighter than on the S4i II. I dont feel any pull whatsoever. Also the button layout is good. Only one button (play/pause), and for volume control the whole surface "tilts" up or down. For me that's brilliant, because I often couldn't tell the buttons from each other with out looking, because they only differed slightly in size.
 
 - Strange detail, but due to the different design of the "house", I find these easier to fit in my ears. The flat area is the natural place to push with your finger.
 
- People who use the upside down/over the ear fitting with S4's be warned: These don't really fit this way. I haven't been able to find a sweet spot with good sound and a comfortable fit.
 
Sound:
 
I have only used these for 3 hours, hence they are not broken in. Also, I have a slight cold Anyway, compared to the S4i II (which I found identical to the S4/S4i sound wise):
 
 - Definitely more powerful bass. But tight, not boomy. I've tried boomy earbuds - these aren't boomy. Mids and highs are still there and are well defined. It's a warmer sound, but also more gritty and insisting - slightly less "open" than the S4. I've noticed that the slightly more powerful lows give especially acoustic guitars and pianos a presence, that I sometimes missed with the S4s. Some techno and house tracks seem to benefit from it as well. My guess is that it's in the 2-300 Hz area, because it touches on lower mids. It's hard to describe, but It's like the R6's opens up extra "layers" of bass compared to the S4's, which had a deep, more controlled and pleasant, but also sightly less dynamic bass. However, I loved the crystal clarity of the S4's - even if a bit too crisp a times - and I do hope these will "open up" more after being broken in. But I can live with it if they dont.
 
- Output seems a bit lower with these. On both my iphone and Mac I listen to the R6i one or two volume "clicks" above what I'm used to with the S4's. Might change when broken in.
 
- These bleed more. They aren't loud as such and you probably won't annoy people on a bus/train/airplane (yes, ****ty-white-Apple-earbud guy/girl, I talking about you). But they are louder than the S4, which I could barely hear playing even at high volumes. 
 
So there, my first impression. Hope you'll find it useful.  I'll return with an update, if anything changes.
 
Cheers,
Andi

 

[jason2087]

I picked p a pair of R6's recently, will review.

Edit: The r6's have decent bass, but sound pretty muddy and imprecise. The bass is overpowering at times. Listening to a such like You Wont Relent - Misty Edwards, the bass guitar overpowers everything. Wake Me up - Avincii the bass overpowers everything. Electric guitars sound muddy and indistinct.

Edit2: A bit more listening has led me to the conclusion that these just have too much bass. They are powerful, yes, but unbalanced. If you enjoy that kind of thing, go for them, but they are not my thing. I prefer the s4 to the r6.

The bass is just to unbalanced and leaky imo.

I had to respond to this thread because everyone keeps saying R6 is superior to S4(original). I used the S4 daily for 3 years and they were a fun headphone because they had good punch bass and decent highs. They weren't the best but they were comfortable and could take a beating while having a casual fun sound. The bass was a bit punchy, but in my opinion not out of control. The highs had sibilance and were annoying at times but after extended use it died off and it was tolerable. 
 
The R6 bass is just a total disaster it overpowers everything. I mean muddy and overpowering the vocals completely. 
 
The soundstage is better but overall it sounds artificial now. 
 
I wish my S4's never broke and would never recommend these to anyone.This is a disaster compared to the S4. Unless you want a total bass junky headphone don't even consider this. 
 
I am not  a newbie either. I am putting these head to head with S4's signature, Etymotic HF5, Westone4, GR07 etc. I can't in good standing recommend this to anyone. 
 
I will credit Klipsch with amazing customer service for giving me the free replacement. I would recommend getting other Klipsch products.The cabling is also much better than the S4's which had terrible cabling on the original models. The reason these got replaced is that the cabling broke near the jack on the original. 

 

[jason2087]

Dubhead, I'm happy that you too think they have too much bass. All the other reviews here say they are more balanced, detailed and have a better soundstage than the s4. I bought them because of these reviews thinking that I would have something that I would prefer tony s4i ii. Bit I am very disapointed. I am new to this forum and I think I am not the best one to judge headphones. But all what I read on this thread before you wroteyour review just don't sound right to me.

 
No you are not the only one. The bass is a disaster stay away from this mess. 

 

[billybob_jcv]

As with all product reviews, I think you need to read all reviews with skepticism until the reviewer has convinced you that what they hear matches with what you hear. Sometimes it is all a matter of perspective - what other headphones has the reviewer owned or listened to? If they are coming from apple ibuds, then just about *anything* you select from head-fi is going to sound "more balanced & neutral". One of the reasons that I trust reviews by folks like ljokerl, Tyll and HiFiGuy is that they have each reviewed several headphones that I own - and their reviews are generally a good match with what I hear from those same headphones. That gives me confidence that when I read their reviews of headphones I do *not* own, that what they say will match what I will hear if I buy those headphones. This concept should NOT be taken for granted. We don't all hear the same way. Everyone brings their own personal biases, preferences, experiences and "head transfer function" to the table. Someone that is sensitive to edgy treble will immediately focus on that aspect and call the headphone "bright", while someone that is NOT sensitive to this region might see it differently.

I know this is very hard when you don't have years of experience from owning dozens of headphones. Head-fi is a journey, not a destination, and no one promised the road would be easy...

 

[jason2087]

As with all product reviews, I think you need to read all reviews with skepticism until the reviewer has convinced you that what they hear matches with what you hear. Sometimes it is all a matter of perspective - what other headphones has the reviewer owned or listened to? If they are coming from apple ibuds, then just about *anything* you select from head-fi is going to sound "more balanced & neutral". One of the reasons that I trust reviews by folks like ljokerl, Tyll and HiFiGuy is that they have each reviewed several headphones that I own - and their reviews are generally a good match with what I hear from those same headphones. That gives me confidence that when I read their reviews of headphones I do *not* own, that what they say will match what I will hear if I buy those headphones. This concept should NOT be taken for granted. We don't all hear the same way. Everyone brings their own personal biases, preferences, experiences and "head transfer function" to the table. Someone that is sensitive to edgy treble will immediately focus on that aspect and call the headphone "bright", while someone that is NOT sensitive to this region might see it differently.

I know this is very hard when you don't have years of experience from owning dozens of headphones. Head-fi is a journey, not a destination, and no one promised the road would be easy...

I get everyone has a diff opinion. I think some of the newer people here overrated the R6. If you put it against HF5 or GR07 and other better iems it really bring out how badly these suck.
 
Again stay away. 

 

[shadow82x]

Just got a pair of the R6's and I'm actually quite impressed. But like every earphone I've tried it's not perfect. (klipsch x11, s4, senn ie800's, jbl synchros s200, akg k376)  As someone who plays percussion I have deep appreciation for detail & accuracy. I want a snare drum to sound like a snare drum. I want cymbal crashes to sound like cymbal crashes. But anyway, you get the point, lets talk about the pros of this earphone:
- The overall soundstage is improved compared to the S4.
- These are by far the most comfortable IEMs I have tried. Granted, I don't go for the "on-ear" design and avoid those kinds of earphones at all costs.
- These are also one of the lightest earphones I've tried aside from the x11.
- I actually love the bass (lows) on these, but yes, it will be a bit overpowering for some... Perhaps as a percussionist I'm just naturally used to hearing lot of bass after striking an instrument 
- Fidelity is surprisingly pretty good. Snares, cymbals, bells, tambourines all sound like the real thing.
- Wiring and durability appear to be high quality
 
Now for the bad:
- As someone mentioned above, I feel like the vocal clarity seems slightly washed out. Now its not terrible since can still hear the voices clearly, but compared to other earphones vocals are definitely not as emphasized as much. But who knows maybe this was by design, I know Klipsch is known to have distinctive "mids". 
- While highs (such as cymbals and tambourines) sound accurate, they seem a bit "far away" and I feel like they should be emphasized more. But again, this could be my percussion favoritism just wanting more oomph on percussion instruments. 
- In case you couldn't tell already, they aren't balanced. More emphasis is placed on the bass than anything else. So if this is what you're looking for, great.
- Microphonics - Not as bad as the S4, but it's still there, like most earphones of this design.
- Only  a 1 year warranty
 
 
So overall, I really like these earphones, especially for $100. They have 95% of the sound signature I was looking for with. However, if you prefer a balanced sound over a fun sound, these aren't the earphone for you. 

 

[DroidArmy]

Anyone experience driver flex with these? I can hear a distinctive crackle pop when I push in the right ear bud, the left one doesn't have this so maybe its a defect? The s4s had no driver flex but they also didn't have the small vent hole these do.

I know it's been a while, but I want to report back on this. My pair does have slight driver flex in the left ear bud, but it's pretty minor. If you put them in properly, you won't have an issue with it. It only shows up if you push on them hard or get them at a really weird angle. It's just a pop and done, go equalize pressure. It bothered me at first, but not so much now. My s4's had this issue with the right bud. From what I've heard, it's fairly common in dynamic driver iems and in-ears

 

[DroidArmy]

You can actually remedy the driver flex issue with a tiny screwdriver. All you have to do is make the vent on the problematic bud ever so slightly bigger. Just very slightly. That's what worked with mine. No more pressure issues! The sound won't change if you do it right. If you do decide to do this for whatever reason, make sure not to damage the driver.

 

[DroidArmy]

I doubt many people have the issue though. Klipsch are very good at fixing issues when they arise. Mine is a first-batch model, so the likelihood that this is a widespread issue is slim. However, if you need a fix, my solution works. I wish I fiddled with them sooner. So much better