[planx]

Hey guys! I was lucky enough to win the SA7 in the Facebook giveaway event and I gotta say that I'm pretty excited to give Sleek a try again. After their SA6 experience, I was pretty hesitant on purchasing their SA7 but since I won one I'm more than intrigued now haha. I really hope that the build quality improved, but the one thing I'm not so excited about is their dreaded cable once again.
 
Can't wait as I loved how the SA6 sounded

 

[rawrster]

Congrats on the sa7. The cable is definitely horrible but the ear pieces themselves seem pretty solid.

 

[khastan]

Hi all
 
Living in Thailand I have just received a Blox13 replacement cable from their distributor here. Blox themselves have been fantastic to deal with and also their distributor in Thailand. First impressions are that it is a great deal stronger and sounds great. The outer covering is clear plastic and what looks like heat shrink tubing has been molded into the plastic of the earphone plug and down the cable for approx 3 inch making that connection from the plug downwards very strong.  Forgot to add using with SA7s.
 
Regards

 

[DrSheep]

I love my SA7 too, however, I am slightly put off by how fast the price drop on it...

 

[jant71]

They probably aren't selling. The move to the U.S. was nice but they needed to do things like have truly updated the cable(seems they don't fail like before but that was not the only issue with it). They wanted $349 earlier and they could have got it but 3 pairs of tips, no real usable everyday case and not including the bass ports wasn't going to cut it.
 
If they were equipped more like Westone or the UE900 they would be more attractive. Some packaging, a pocket-able case, 10 pairs of tips including single, duals, and foams, a mic cable option(possible included like the UE900), etc. are what people look for.
 
I also have a cable coming as a bought a used SoundSoul U10 for $8 on Amazon. Tracking said it was coming today but probably tomorrow.

 

[jant71]

Double post...not sure why it asked permission to leave the page when I clicked submit?
 
So, anyhow here is a pic to show that cable...

I'll take some compared to the Sleek when it comes in. Good thing is more and more are using these connectors. Used to be just Sleek and Panny.

 

[khastan]

That's very similar to the cable I have just received. Mine was dirt cheap $5 inc postage so I am going to get a couple of spares.

 

[jant71]

Okay,


 

 
So, not sure how I like the memory wire on the SA7. The cable itself is stiffer, springier, and holds it's bends more than the Sleek cable does. The plug and connectors are all slightly shorter in length. It is slightly thicker but not by much.
 
As for the sound, after testing on both phones, I think the SoundSoul cable does present slightly different. Not much difference but a slight bit more treble presence and a little bit more air around things because of it. A slight bit of difference in sound but more stiff and unwieldy.
 
Probably not any kind of upgrade more than an option if you really need a spare and want decent sounding earphones as a bonus. Sounds like the BLOX cable is a better bet if, as it sounds like, it can also be had cheaply.
 
Edit: After a while with the SoundSoul cable, I find something about it a bit more "fun" sounding. I think it might be a bit more up front and still have similar depth and the image front to back is more 3-D. This all may just come from the memory wire positioning the earpieces but it is there. If the cable relaxes some from being tied up for a while that would be nice as well.
 
2nd Edit: Okay, I've narrowed down what I like with this cable. Bass is better since it is a bit more airy and this helps the mid-bass quality by freeing it up. Guitars are really nice now. Vocals seem sweeter. Treble is more and more up front and throws a little more detail in my face making it easier to hear. The little extra bit of air is welcome though only really front to back and left to right(they might be a little narrower top to bottom. I may change my view that it is a bit more of a change in sound than I first thought as it has grown on me. Again, more different than better or worse in SQ.

 

[khastan]

All three plugs are the exact same length on the Blox cable. The cable is more prone to kinking the Sleek and the 3.5 plug is right angled as opposed to straight on the Sleek cable, it also has a small clip for attaching to a shirt etc. I would agree it does sound more up front, I would say more lively. I have also used it with a Digiziod and used with this the SA7s  sound superb.

 

[themad]

 Just got my SA7's. I really like the adjustment ports! Bass+ and Treble= work best for me.
 
 Fit is fine, very light and small IEM's. Too bad these stock tips do not keep a proper seal after wearing them for around 15-20minutes. Just waiting for a few different tips I have ordered.
 Also, cable is very light but does look fragile. Waiting on the Blox cable too.
 
 So far, really nice acquisition soundwise!

 

[planx]

Finally got my contest pair SA7 today and right now I have mixed feelings while listening to them. The mids and bass are fairly good, but the treble seems to be quite bright atm. I'm a little confused as I thought there were only two treble tips available, but with my pair I received 3 pairs of treble tips. Two of them silver and one of them black, but with the silvers one of them has a yellow accent on the inside while the other seems to have a light green accent. Since I'm on the bus right now, I think it would be risky to change the tips but I will try to experiment once I get home.

 

[DrSheep]

  Finally got my contest pair SA7 today and right now I have mixed feelings while listening to them. The mids and bass are fairly good, but the treble seems to be quite bright atm. I'm a little confused as I thought there were only two treble tips available, but with my pair I received 3 pairs of treble tips. Two of them silver and one of them black, but with the silvers one of them has a yellow accent on the inside while the other seems to have a light green accent. Since I'm on the bus right now, I think it would be risky to change the tips but I will try to experiment once I get home.

That's news to me, and those are dampers on inside to tune the frequency.  And yes the SA7 even with normal port is quite bright.

 

[jant71]

Yellow is minus, green is neutral, and black is plus

. Some of the brightness comes from the softer tips. Softer tips tend to not seal in the most bass. So, one might want to  go that route for less treble emphasis.

 

[planx]

  Yellow is minus, green is neutral, and black is plus

. Some of the brightness comes from the softer tips. Softer tips tend to not seal in the most bass. So, one might want to  go that route for less treble emphasis.

 
Interesting, because on the Sleek site, they only offer black or silver tips for the SA7 on the accessory page, but I received TWO pairs of silver tips, with different colour accents in the inside. Since I'm home now, it's difficult for me to tell which one is brighter, but I think the green tips sound more open and possibly emphasized upper mids. I do not remember what treble tips did what with the SA-6 unfortunately so I can't use that experience to assist me with these tips.

 

[jant71]

You may buy these Sennheiser CX880 diaphragm guards...

and put them in the black(empty shell) treble ports and tune to taste. Esp. if won in a contest it should be little outlay to spend a few bucks and have all the bass and treble "VQ-ability" you can. There are different Senn Diaphragms Guards but I say the CX880 since they are a bit denser than some others and you can trim to adjust more or less esp. since there are 20 pieces in a pack to toy around with. The SA7 isn't as adjustable as it can be out of the box but do not limit yourself, as I always say, and tweak them to your desired outcome.