SA6 Review and the Competition

“They sound really good! My favorite in-ear so far.”

How many have I tried, you ask? Well, I’m including a review I’ve been working on below:

Shure SE530

the good

- Amazing response and clarity
- Selection of ear sleeves allows a proper fit
- iPod seems to drive them as well as my headphone amp

the bad

- Harsh treble; a general problem of canalphones, but more pronounced here
- Less bass on rock tracks than I hoped for with triple armatures
- Awkward/ugly cabling

Ultimate Ears super.fi 5 pro

the good

- Lots of bass (though not with much definition)
- Fantastic sound for $190 (via HeadRoom)

the bad

- Lacking treble
- L/R poorly marked
- They protrude pretty far out of the ears, making me nervous about what could happen if they get bumped

q-JAYS

the good

- Great form factor
- L/R well marked

the bad

- None of my audio sources seemed to drive them properly
- Way too much treble, way too little bass

Etymotic Research ER-4

the good

- Incredible definition without brittle treble

the bad

- Not producing much below 100 Hz (granted, the high definition elsewhere else makes this more noticable)
- Seemed to want to be inserted farther into my ear than anything has a right to go.
- Hard to drive with an iPod, but OK with the Edirol

Sleek Audio (with neutral treble filter and bass port)

the good

- Most balanced sound so far; plenty of bass, plenty of definition, no treble harshness
- Fantastic cabling
- Sounds great on the iPhone

the bad

- L/R poorly marked
- Storage case needs a redesign
- Storage case needs a redesign

Review submitted by: Carl Lumma