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REVIEW: Ostry KC06
Mar 17, 2014 at 8:20 PM Post #76 of 2,536
shotgunshane said:
My Ostry has finally arrived. Very nice packaging for a budget phone. They look very good but wish the cable had a slider.

I've only listened to 2 songs but they sound fantastic. They are very well balanced across the spectrum with a slight tilt on deeper bass. Very good tuning. Excellent find!
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Good to hear!

What's YOUR say on its level of detailing?
 
Mar 17, 2014 at 8:47 PM Post #78 of 2,536
Ok they are a little bassier than I thought. Just put in the RE0 and the KC06 is a good bit more bassy. My balanced RE400 is out getting re-terminated but I'd guess bass levels are around that if not a hint more in deep bass. Should please many.

Treble has a very good tonality to it. It's light and airy without sounding thin, so it's a little like the RE0 in that aspect. And I'd say detail retrieval is on par with any of the Hifiman phones. Really very enjoyable.

The cable is kind of terrible. It's springy and plasticky. The RE0 cable is better AND it has a slider, lol. Ah well, the sound quality makes up for it.
 
Mar 17, 2014 at 9:02 PM Post #79 of 2,536
shotgunshane said:
Ok they are a little bassier than I thought. Just put in the RE0 and the KC06 is a good bit more bassy. My balanced RE400 is out getting re-terminated but I'd guess bass levels are around that if not a hint more in deep bass. Should please many.

Treble has a very good tonality to it. It's light and airy without sounding thin, so it's a little like the RE0 in that aspect. And I'd say detail retrieval is on par with any of the Hifiman phones. Really very enjoyable.

The cable is kind of terrible. It's springy and plasticky. The RE0 cable is better AND it has a slider, lol. Ah well, the sound quality makes up for it.
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Thanks for the impressions!
 
Comparing them directly to the RE400, how do they do?
 
Mar 18, 2014 at 3:08 AM Post #81 of 2,536
tomscy2000 said:
  No slider!?!
mad.gif

 
Worst. Product. Evar.
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Lol. I believe I should feel bad about having no problem whatsoever with the cable. 
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Mar 23, 2014 at 2:56 AM Post #85 of 2,536
Thing is, there's no absolute definition of what's "technically better", so the criteria should be stated.
 
For instance, my RE600 are probably closer to a neutral bass response than my KC06, but the result is achieved by excessive driver damping. In my book, Ostry's bass tuning is actually more sophisticated than HiFIMAN's, as it trades a bit of neutrality for more natural decay. As a result, drums sound much more dynamic and lifelike on the KC06 than the RE600 to my ears.
 
Mar 23, 2014 at 4:09 AM Post #87 of 2,536
sbose said:
  @james444 where do you place kc06 within your favorite iems?
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Alarmingly close to top-tier performance and #1 in terms of bang / buck among the IEMs I've heard.
 
Note that this is strictly based on my personal preferences. For example, I value natural decay more than flat response and prefer an open soundstage to an intimate closed-in presentation. Just two examples to illustrate why others may come to a different conclusion.
 
Mar 23, 2014 at 9:41 AM Post #88 of 2,536
My re400 is still out. Not sure when I'll have it back; BTG audio has a backlog.

Technically better most definitely encompasses measurably better for me (and not just FR); I wouldn't use the term technical for preferences and other areas of subjective evaluation; and flatter FR is not always preferable when all other aspects are considered. But I will certainly flesh those thoughts out more specifically after I can perform some direct a/b.

The re600 has other issues like a serious shelving of treble that affects tonality and timbre of instruments. It sounded impressive, polite and pretty neutral the first couple of weeks and then the issues started really coming to light for me. Pianos are terrible to me on the re600. And while the re400 isn't as refined (smooth without sacrificing micro details), it has much better tonality and timbre than the 600 IMO. Plus it's quite expansive sounding when run balanced.

Right now all I have are my review notes from comparing the re400 to the Music Two, so I really can't say how close or how far away the kc06 is to the re400 single ended.

A bass EQ'd MH1 is the best bang for buck for me.
 
Mar 25, 2014 at 9:36 AM Post #89 of 2,536
Did a little comparing with the SoundMagic E10 today.
 
- Vocals on the KC06 sound more up front compared to the more V shaped E10.  
- Sub bass seems similar in quantity but the E10 has more overall bass quantity due to more mid bass.
- KC06 might be a little faster in bass; has a bit better bass texturing.
- KC06 sounds brighter, airer and clearer.
- KC06 has a little better resolution.
- Both have very good treble timbre but the E10, while not having the airiness of the KC06, does have more realistic treble timbre that never steps out of line while maintaing very good sparkle. I can't stress enough how good the E10 treble is imo.
- While treble timbre is better on the E10, overall instrument timbre and realism is better on the KC06.
- You can play the E10 louder without the treble becoming to much; the KC06 has its limits- too loud and it gets a little uncomfortable. (probably shouldn't listen that loud for very long anyway)
- If I was looking for an iem to use for yard work or exercising, I'd go for the E10 as the extra mid bass helps in noisy environs, plus the ability to go a little louder without fatigue (The E10 has been my yard work iem for over 2 years now). Otherwise the KC06 is little bit more balanced across the spectrum (but still with elevated bass), with a bit more intimate vocal and better micro detail.
 
The KC06 is really good, and not just really good for the money.  My top 3 budget phones are now the MH1, KC06 and E10.
 
(edited to reword a few lines)
 
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