[ljcii]

I have a question, do the sleeks use their own type of armature or those one that every other companies uses/

 

[BloodSugar00]

I agree that you should have a more relaxed attitude about this, but I have seen myself that individuals regard the Sleeks as overpriced and then they usually tag along ''and it's only a single driver unit'' in accompaniment. So I can relate to hearing this 'criticism'/remark in conjunction with these phones. However, I think the build quality is a bigger concern, really. Still, it can be irritating that ppl remark -and in doing so reveal their shallowness/ignorance- with regards to sleeks being only single driver and/or assuming multi driver is better than single options. Especially, if you're reading it in fresh threads a lot. But yeah, chill on it more is the message.

 

[EyeAmEye]

I don't see how anyone can claim the SA6 is overpriced when there are quite a few people who believe it rivals universal IEMs hundreds more expensive and to some, myself included, rivals customs at 4x the price.

You may not personally like the SA6, but that doesn't make it overpriced. To me, the top end IEMS, SE530 and TripleFi are overpriced if the SA6 is a worthy adversary.

 

[Stikk]

Quote:

Originally Posted by EyeAmEye /img/forum/go_quote.gif I don't see how anyone can claim the SA6 is overpriced when there are quite a few people who believe it rivals universal IEMs hundreds more expensive and to some, myself included, rivals customs at 4x the price. You may not personally like the SA6, but that doesn't make it overpriced. To me, the top end IEMS, SE530 and TripleFi are overpriced if the SA6 is a worthy adversary.

Well I, personally, have never heard the sleeks and I'm sure they sound great but my point is just that they use less materials, less labour and less resources in general to make than the dual/triple driver. You can't just stick three drivers in a box and pump sound into the ear, you need x-overs, you need to do research and testing and stuff and all that stuff takes time and money.

I know Sleek do development as well, I'm not saying they don't, but let's imagine they put in exactly the same amount of time and effort into developing their single driver. They're still cheaper to manufacture and produce so why do they price them the same? If they managed to build a single driver unit that bests the triple driver competitors, they should have brought it in at a really reasonable price point and just scooped up the market.

Of course, I have nothing against Sleek but as some people may be aware from the other thread, I bought a set of customs recently and went for 3 drivers over 1. The sleek lacks bass, apparently, which is no doubt what other manufacturers found, which is why they added a second and third driver. I still might buy a pair of Sleek customs eventually..

 

[oak3x]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sovkiller /img/forum/go_quote.gif I own right now the Klipschs, RE2 and the Sleeks, and I'm very happy with them, OTOH all the multidrivers I have heard/own have ended in not being my cup of tea...There was one discussion even about a 5 drivers IEM recently, not very popular around here neither, but why 5 drivers???

How would you rank your IEM's if you had to?

I own the SA6 and Klipsch X5, and seem to prefer the energy the X5 deliver. Both are great IEM's though

 

[EyeAmEye]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stikk /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well I, personally, have never heard the sleeks and I'm sure they sound great but my point is just that they use less materials, less labour and less resources in general to make than the dual/triple driver. You can't just stick three drivers in a box and pump sound into the ear, you need x-overs, you need to do research and testing and stuff and all that stuff takes time and money. I know Sleek do development as well, I'm not saying they don't, but let's imagine they put in exactly the same amount of time and effort into developing their single driver. They're still cheaper to manufacture and produce so why do they price them the same? If they managed to build a single driver unit that bests the triple driver competitors, they should have brought it in at a really reasonable price point and just scooped up the market. Of course, I have nothing against Sleek but as some people may be aware from the other thread, I bought a set of customs recently and went for 3 drivers over 1. The sleek lacks bass, apparently, which is no doubt what other manufacturers found, which is why they added a second and third driver. I still might buy a pair of Sleek customs eventually..

I get what you're saying, but I believe they were priced mainly for SQ, which puts them at a fairly inexpensive position, plus the fact that the ports make it a much more versatile IEM than any competitor. They certainly could ramp up the overall build quality, add a more flexible braided style cable and some other improvements, but that would probably drive the cost up to the 530 and TripleFi.

I don't think they lack bass. I think many other IEMS (SE530, Atrios, FreQ and UE11 to name a few) have too much bass. The Sleek custom adds a bit of bass to the overall SA6 sound, btw, so anyone liking the sound of the SA6 and wishing for a bit of extra bass might want to look into the custom.

 

[drmcworm]

To me It's pretty weird appreciate the price of an audio devise based on the price or number of it's components.

 

[wynn]

I am looking for SQ only.
Well, SA6 sounds really great but it is not perfect yet for myself.
Also, I don't like their build quality.

-wynn

 

[scytheavatar]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stikk /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well I, personally, have never heard the sleeks and I'm sure they sound great but my point is just that they use less materials, less labour and less resources in general to make than the dual/triple driver. You can't just stick three drivers in a box and pump sound into the ear, you need x-overs, you need to do research and testing and stuff and all that stuff takes time and money. I know Sleek do development as well, I'm not saying they don't, but let's imagine they put in exactly the same amount of time and effort into developing their single driver. They're still cheaper to manufacture and produce so why do they price them the same? If they managed to build a single driver unit that bests the triple driver competitors, they should have brought it in at a really reasonable price point and just scooped up the market. Of course, I have nothing against Sleek but as some people may be aware from the other thread, I bought a set of customs recently and went for 3 drivers over 1. The sleek lacks bass, apparently, which is no doubt what other manufacturers found, which is why they added a second and third driver. I still might buy a pair of Sleek customs eventually..

In case you haven't realized, it took 3 years of development to make the SA6. 3 years of development isn't cheap. And why are the Sleeks priced the same as dual drivers? Maybe because they sound better than dual drivers of the same price?

 

[Stikk]

Quote:

Originally Posted by scytheavatar /img/forum/go_quote.gif In case you haven't realized, it took 3 years of development to make the SA6. 3 years of development isn't cheap. And why are the Sleeks priced the same as dual drivers? Maybe because they sound better than dual drivers of the same price?

That's like saying "why is a Toyota Camry not the same price as a Mercedes C-series? They go the same speed". The Camry is cheaper to manufacture and thus can be sold at a lower price and that's why Toyota sell more cars than any other company on the planet.

My point, as I have reiterated many times, is that these single driver Sleeks use less resources and cost less to manufacture, so why not price your competitors out of the market, if your product is comparable and cheaper to make, why not take advantage of that?

As for the R&D, do you think Ultimate Ears shot some goo into someone's ear and stumbled across the ability to make custom earphones? No, of course not, they do R&D too, all of them do so I really don't think Sleek as spent more time or money on R&D than any other high-end audio company, they have just invested it into different areas.

 

[digivate]

Quote:

Originally Posted by scytheavatar /img/forum/go_quote.gif In case you haven't realized, it took 3 years of development to make the SA6. 3 years of development isn't cheap.

Yeah, good point ... the SA6 took 3 years of development, as opposed to all those dual and triple driver IEMs that could easily have been knocked together in a couple of hours or less.

Quote:

Originally Posted by scytheavatar /img/forum/go_quote.gif And why are the Sleeks priced the same as dual drivers? Maybe because they sound better than dual drivers of the same price?

You've started a thread about the SA6 and how people knock it for not having dual drivers, then said that the thread is not actually about the SA6, and then just banged on about the SA6 and how it's better than dual driver IEMs.

You're starting to come across as the kind of person that could start an argument in an empty room!

 

[scytheavatar]

Quote:

Originally Posted by digivate /img/forum/go_quote.gif You've started a thread about the SA6 and how people knock it for not having dual drivers, then said that the thread is not actually about the SA6, and then just banged on about the SA6 and how it's better than dual driver IEMs. You're starting to come across as the kind of person that could start an argument in an empty room!

Yeah, this thread is not about the SA6, it's not about its questionable built quality that admittedly might be a reason not to get them. It's about that 'SA6 sucks cause it's not a dual driver' attitude which I find ridiculous.

 

[BloodSugar00]

In fairness, I think threads evolve of their own volition, and the SA6 has stayed the topic of conversation, thus far.

Stikk makes fair arguements. However, I agree with EyeAmEye in that Sleek have priced their product on the quality of sound they feel it produces, as opposed to the man hours and material costs taken to create a unit, and, also, their VQ system (the first customisable sound system in an IEM). On these merits, I think their mrp is a fair reflection of the product and not overpriced. Lets not forget also, that the treble tube and bass port system must of taken a while to develop and then to implement into the physical design of the headphone; thats probably in the same ball park as implemneting a crossover I'd guess.

 

[ferros]

Stikk, as an economist i would say that prices rarely result from costs, but surely costs define boundaries for people setting prices.
And the question: which is best - 1 or more drivers IEM will never get the ultimate answer. Both got some advantages and some disadvantages. Etymotic keeps on doing IEMs with just one driver whereas some companies are fitting 5 in one, which is silly by the way. I don't think one could strike a good balance between 5 drivers, even when he's a great professional. At least it's extremely hard imho...

 

[Squirsier]

I'm gonna state the obvious here, but everything is subjective. And not only subjective to one's specific tastes, but also to their individual experiences.

My case with the Sleeks. At first, I loved them. I ended up making a very favorable review, even comparing them to my Beyer DT770 (not the same type of headphones, I agree, but that's what I could compare them with at the time).

However, I soon noticed that in very busy passage of some of my favorite "electronica" tracks, the SA6 seemed to lose coherence. I tried many combination of treble tips and bass ports, but still felt something was wrong.

I ended up buying the Triple.Fi and immediately liked them a lot more. However, the fit was an issue with my left ear and I sold them.

I ended up buying cheaper headphones to compare the SA6 with. First the MDREX75 (successor to the MDREX71), which sounds maybe a TAD bit better than the EX71, but still has heavy bloated bass (mid bass) and recessed mids that don't sound no where near as great as the Sleeks (its major strong point imho) but the clarity is better. Then, I got tempted by a pair of AKG k414p. They have a good review on HeadRoom's website but lot of people seem to diss them here. Funny thing is, for a $50 pair of cans, I like these a LOT. They have excellent tight and punchy bass, great highs but slightly nasal mids.

After the clarity of the TF10, the EX75 and the AKG k414p, the SA6 sound really dark and muddy, even using the Treble ++ tube and the bass - or = port. When I do listen to them, I end up using the Treble Booster EQ setting on my iPod to achieve a more decent sound TO MY EARS, otherwise the SA6 tend to sound boring to listen to. I also had the displeasure of having gone thru a broken driver on arrival and 2 cables that broke (probably due to the case they're providing - don't use it to store the SA6, it's a cable destroyer).

I can't tell if the muddy/dark sound I am getting from the SA6 today is because of the faulty cable tho. Thing is, while Sleeks have excellent customer support, having stuff break regularly is not pleasant.

As you can see, my opinion of the Sleeks changed because I experienced something else, period. The more I try stuff, the more I know what I want to hear from a pair of IEM / portable headphones.

Anyway, now, I have a pair of Klipsch Custom 3 coming up. I hope this will be the end of my IEM/ portable headphone journey (for a while anyway). I've been buying (and selling) a lot of them in the past few months to find MY pair, and my whole point is, there is no need to disrespect any company for whatever amount they charge for their product if you end up not liking what they're offering. $200 might be a lot for something you don't like, but it's gonna be priceless if you end up enjoying your purchase for a long time. And if you don't like them, MOVE ON. They're not for your ears, that's all... Otherwise, there would only be 1 company making headphones.

Oh, and if you're already happy with what you have, trust me, stick with it. Curiosity didn't kill the cat, but it certainly killed the wallet

/rant I guess, if I made sense...