[Pianist]

From my experience with the SA6, I can say that they are a very nice pair of IEMs with really sweet midrange and treble and solid, tight bass response, but there's one thing that they seriousily lack and that is dynamic range. If you like your music nice and dynamic with a feeling that there's movement in it, while retaining that wonderful Sleek warmth and fullness, I would recommend Shure SE530 + custom tips to improve treble.

 

[Tsujigiri]

Thank you again for all the replies. Ravissimo, the earplug option sounds great, especially since the dorms can get noisy. I have the same problem with the Altec Lansing 336 / UE SuperFi 3, so it's good to hear that the SA6 has a better fit.
I've been looking around the forums a lot more, and I think I'm getting a better understanding of the top IEM's. It looks like the favorites here are the IE8, SE530, TripleFi 10, and some kind of Westone (not sure if more people like the 3 or the UM3X). I've also noticed that whereas the detractors for the SA6 seem to just say that it's mediocre, the detractors for each of the favorites say things like "massively bloated bass," or "very boring and little soundstage." Are the differences between those four that extreme, or are all of them great IEM's, and people are just being picky about them? It seems like people slam the top 4 a lot harder than they do the SA6, but at the same time seem to like them better...

 

[ceekay84]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kobayashi /img/forum/go_quote.gif You can do a LOT better than the SA6. The new ones still have pretty poor cables too. Better than the old ones but still not good.

With enough money, of course one can do better...

 

[kobayashi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ceekay84 /img/forum/go_quote.gif With enough money, of course one can do better...

Even with the same money you can do a lot better. There's a reason why no one owns the SA6 and those who did have sold them. They're just not that good and their construction is shockingly bad.

 

[Tsujigiri]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kobayashi /img/forum/go_quote.gif Even with the same money you can do a lot better. There's a reason why no one owns the SA6 and those who did have sold them. They're just not that good and their construction is shockingly bad.

Mind posting some of the same-price better options? Right now I'm working with a choice between getting these and going all out for a top of the line non-custom IEM.

 

[kobayashi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tsujigiri /img/forum/go_quote.gif Mind posting some of the same-price better options? Right now I'm working with a choice between getting these and going all out for a top of the line non-custom IEM.

Why non-custom?

 

[Tsujigiri]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kobayashi /img/forum/go_quote.gif Why non-custom?

I don't think I'm ready for customs yet. I've just gotten into headphones and am not sure if what I like now will be what I like later in the hobby, so I'd like to have the flexibility of being able to resell whatever I get now. Also, customs are generally way out of my price range.

 

[kobayashi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tsujigiri /img/forum/go_quote.gif I don't think I'm ready for customs yet. I've just gotten into headphones and am not sure if what I like now will be what I like later in the hobby, so I'd like to have the flexibility of being able to resell whatever I get now. Also, customs are generally way out of my price range.

You can get top-flight customs for under $250. Fisher charges $80 for the shell and you're looking at about $25 for the impressions. You can get TF10 Pros for $99, UE5EBs for $99 (amazing bass), used X10s, etc.

If you're liking the idea of getting SA6s, they are even a good choice for custom shells because the Sleeks are so poorly built and low-quality cables. Neither of those will be an issue if you go custom.