- Joined
- Aug 9, 2006
- Posts
- 12,932
- Likes
- 1,080
What a steal - at 80$, they are well-worth it, but Amazon have them going for around 50$ now - unbelievable. If that was the only thing I wrote, I would still call it a strong recommendation. Sleek have outdone not only themselves, but the market with this creation. It isn't perfect, but at its price point (which Sleek are working hard to hit), it is amazing.
Original Review - Sleek Audio SA1 earphone in review - aluminium and rosewood = the new peas and carrots
Build
Firstly, the SA1 is well built*. See that *? That means I have some issues. Firstly though, the body is a freakin' bullet. Strong in rosewood and turned aluminium, it isn't about to break. And, the VQ system, enabled by screwing in a different coloured port, is much better than the SA6's plastic-popping system. The phone portion is very solid.
Moving down the line, the cable is... not bad, but not very good. First, its good points are: it is less prone to crystallise than the prior SA6/CT6 model and despite its wispy shape, is quite strong. And, Sleek's connector is of higher quality than UE and Sennheiser - at least when regarding universal earphones.
That said, the cable is a downgrade. It is thin, has half-arsed stress relief, and not only the plug, the earphone connector portion, too, sticks out at odd, dangerous angles. The cable isn't well protected and I foresee some problems down the road.
Fit
Sleek have never been as comfortable as Westone, but the SA1 isn't bad at all. It is tiny and plugs up the ear easily without fuss. The ear pieces are soft in dual flanges, or hard in single flange, but both work well, isolate well, and have minimal impact on the sound. That said, you can really change the sound quite a bit - not as much as Monster's Turbine Pro, but add a dense foam, and the bass belts out (respectively).
No issues really, but the cable's odd angles make things, interesting, at times.
Sound
The SA1 does everything well, and sound is no exception, but... I don't think it is the best sounding 80$ earphone on the market. Rather, it is the earphone with the most potential and best research at that price point currently.
It has a strong low end, but nothing huge. Mids are smooth an high sparkle, but don't offer too much energy. Balanced is a pretty good word to use here. That is good. Vocals, percussion and certain strings are right on! in my estimation, but that is somewhat personal.
What the SA1 doesn't do as well is: separation. In mids and highs it isn't as pronounced because they have a goodly amount of energy and dynamics which cover over a lot of stuff. Bass however, is less textured and detailed as some other earphones and is the main reason I say the SA1 isn't the best sounding 80$ earphone.
Overall, it does so many things right and is only really tripped up by a less than stellar cable and fender/bumper/stress relief system.
Is it worth 80$? Most definitely. And I think many people will really enjoy this earphone because it really stands well above its peers and has a really really nice case!
As always, this is just a paraphrased summary of the original review:
Sleek Audio SA1 earphone in review - aluminium and rosewood = the new peas and carrots
Original Review - Sleek Audio SA1 earphone in review - aluminium and rosewood = the new peas and carrots
Build
Firstly, the SA1 is well built*. See that *? That means I have some issues. Firstly though, the body is a freakin' bullet. Strong in rosewood and turned aluminium, it isn't about to break. And, the VQ system, enabled by screwing in a different coloured port, is much better than the SA6's plastic-popping system. The phone portion is very solid.
Moving down the line, the cable is... not bad, but not very good. First, its good points are: it is less prone to crystallise than the prior SA6/CT6 model and despite its wispy shape, is quite strong. And, Sleek's connector is of higher quality than UE and Sennheiser - at least when regarding universal earphones.
That said, the cable is a downgrade. It is thin, has half-arsed stress relief, and not only the plug, the earphone connector portion, too, sticks out at odd, dangerous angles. The cable isn't well protected and I foresee some problems down the road.
Fit
Sleek have never been as comfortable as Westone, but the SA1 isn't bad at all. It is tiny and plugs up the ear easily without fuss. The ear pieces are soft in dual flanges, or hard in single flange, but both work well, isolate well, and have minimal impact on the sound. That said, you can really change the sound quite a bit - not as much as Monster's Turbine Pro, but add a dense foam, and the bass belts out (respectively).
No issues really, but the cable's odd angles make things, interesting, at times.
Sound
The SA1 does everything well, and sound is no exception, but... I don't think it is the best sounding 80$ earphone on the market. Rather, it is the earphone with the most potential and best research at that price point currently.
It has a strong low end, but nothing huge. Mids are smooth an high sparkle, but don't offer too much energy. Balanced is a pretty good word to use here. That is good. Vocals, percussion and certain strings are right on! in my estimation, but that is somewhat personal.
What the SA1 doesn't do as well is: separation. In mids and highs it isn't as pronounced because they have a goodly amount of energy and dynamics which cover over a lot of stuff. Bass however, is less textured and detailed as some other earphones and is the main reason I say the SA1 isn't the best sounding 80$ earphone.
Overall, it does so many things right and is only really tripped up by a less than stellar cable and fender/bumper/stress relief system.
Is it worth 80$? Most definitely. And I think many people will really enjoy this earphone because it really stands well above its peers and has a really really nice case!
As always, this is just a paraphrased summary of the original review:
Sleek Audio SA1 earphone in review - aluminium and rosewood = the new peas and carrots
