Over a year ago in 2016 I invested in a pair of Klipsch R6i Earbuds. They've proven quite useful on short transit and plane trips. While not true 'noise isolation' they perform much better than the stock Apple Earbuds or AKG EO-IG955's that come with Samsung's Flagship Galaxy S8's.
After scoring a free pair of AKG IG955's and spending some time burning them in I've been able to both appreciate the AKG's and compare them to my Klipsch R6's. I actually like them both, but for different purposes & reasons.
First the specs for each:
AKG EO-IG955 Specs*:
Both are quite nice. The Klipsch R6i look like $60 earbuds, the AKG's while good look more like $30 earbuds. What caused AKG to lose points was they stopped the fabric braiding on the cable at the Y-axis split between Left & Right Speakers and used some cheap rubber material that causes them to tangle fairly easily; it's quite difficult to tangle the flat cabling of the Klipsch's.
Comfort (AKG wins)
One of the problems with in-ear headphones is getting used to that sensation of something getting 'stuck' inside your ear. The very first time I ever tried an in-ear headphones I couldn't stand it for more than a few minutes. But after a few years of acclimating I've come to appreciate them in especially noisy environments and when a larger over-ear pair of cans would seem inappropriate or cumbersome (ex..outdoor hike or in the gym).
While I've grown accustomed to the Klipsch and appreciate the more snug fit as it helps with noise isolation on a plane ride, the AKG's are more supple and comfortable to wear, although at the expense of very little noise isolation (but still better than Apple Earbuds). For most part while on a train or at my desk I go for the AKG's.
Sound (Klipsch - Bass + Soundstage // AKG - Mid/Treble)
No doubt the Klipsch were tuned for Bass and I can hear the emphasis here when listening to the same song compared to the AKG's who give better mid & treble, although not as wide a soundstage as the Klipsch. Acoustic Guitar sounds quite nice on the AKG's, but otherwise I prefer the overall sound signature of the Klipsch at it seems richer.
Overall (Klipsch wins)
Naturally, the Klipsch would win here as it's a more premium pair of headphones and I paid a higher price for them, but unless you get the AKG's for free (with a Samsung Phone), don't buy them for more than $20. The Klipsch are more Bassy and great for Plane Trips; short of buying true Noise Cancelling Headphones. But for quick & simple, it's the AKG's.
Update 11/5/2018..it's all about the Ohms! 18 vs 32 (AKG sound richer at higher volume)
Based on user comments I gave both the AKG's and Klipsch another listen for several hours across a few days. I also swapped out the Klipsch ear tips with a slightly smaller set and this improved the wearing comfort.
One thing I noticed, the AKG's sound improves if you kick up the volume a bit to about 10 bars (out of 16 bars on an iPhone 6s) or 62.5% volume. I normally listen to music at 8 bars (50%), but after realizing the AKG has a higher Ohm impedence of 32 vs. 18 for the Klipsch makes sense it requires more power to improve the sound. So in fairness, this was my error on the review, the Ohms are quite different and almost twice as high on the AKG, thus requiring a bit more power to sound correctly. I could see the AKG's sounding even better with an Amplifier and tried them on my Fiios e10k.
I'll need to give both a few more months of listening then come back again for another review, likely do a mega review with every earbud in my collection (Apple, AKG, Audio Technica, Beats, Klipsch).
After scoring a free pair of AKG IG955's and spending some time burning them in I've been able to both appreciate the AKG's and compare them to my Klipsch R6's. I actually like them both, but for different purposes & reasons.
First the specs for each:
Klipsch R6i Specs:
- 6.5mm Drivers
- 10 ~ 19,000 Hz
- 110 db/mW
- 18 Ohms
- -22 Noise Isolation
- 3.5mm Plug (Gold)
- Flat Cable (Tangle Free)
- Microphone
- In-Line Control (Volume Up/Down, Start/Pause)
- $60 @ Amazon
AKG EO-IG955 Specs*:
- Driver Size?
- 20 ~ 20,000 Hz*
- 93.2 db/mW
- 32 Ohms
- 3.5 mm Plug (Non-Gold)
- Partial Braided Cable (Sorta Tangle Free)
- Microphone
- In-Line Control (Volume Up/Down, Start/Pause)
- $99 @ Samsung
Both are quite nice. The Klipsch R6i look like $60 earbuds, the AKG's while good look more like $30 earbuds. What caused AKG to lose points was they stopped the fabric braiding on the cable at the Y-axis split between Left & Right Speakers and used some cheap rubber material that causes them to tangle fairly easily; it's quite difficult to tangle the flat cabling of the Klipsch's.
Comfort (AKG wins)
One of the problems with in-ear headphones is getting used to that sensation of something getting 'stuck' inside your ear. The very first time I ever tried an in-ear headphones I couldn't stand it for more than a few minutes. But after a few years of acclimating I've come to appreciate them in especially noisy environments and when a larger over-ear pair of cans would seem inappropriate or cumbersome (ex..outdoor hike or in the gym).
While I've grown accustomed to the Klipsch and appreciate the more snug fit as it helps with noise isolation on a plane ride, the AKG's are more supple and comfortable to wear, although at the expense of very little noise isolation (but still better than Apple Earbuds). For most part while on a train or at my desk I go for the AKG's.
Sound (Klipsch - Bass + Soundstage // AKG - Mid/Treble)
No doubt the Klipsch were tuned for Bass and I can hear the emphasis here when listening to the same song compared to the AKG's who give better mid & treble, although not as wide a soundstage as the Klipsch. Acoustic Guitar sounds quite nice on the AKG's, but otherwise I prefer the overall sound signature of the Klipsch at it seems richer.
Overall (Klipsch wins)
Naturally, the Klipsch would win here as it's a more premium pair of headphones and I paid a higher price for them, but unless you get the AKG's for free (with a Samsung Phone), don't buy them for more than $20. The Klipsch are more Bassy and great for Plane Trips; short of buying true Noise Cancelling Headphones. But for quick & simple, it's the AKG's.
Update 11/5/2018..it's all about the Ohms! 18 vs 32 (AKG sound richer at higher volume)
Based on user comments I gave both the AKG's and Klipsch another listen for several hours across a few days. I also swapped out the Klipsch ear tips with a slightly smaller set and this improved the wearing comfort.
One thing I noticed, the AKG's sound improves if you kick up the volume a bit to about 10 bars (out of 16 bars on an iPhone 6s) or 62.5% volume. I normally listen to music at 8 bars (50%), but after realizing the AKG has a higher Ohm impedence of 32 vs. 18 for the Klipsch makes sense it requires more power to improve the sound. So in fairness, this was my error on the review, the Ohms are quite different and almost twice as high on the AKG, thus requiring a bit more power to sound correctly. I could see the AKG's sounding even better with an Amplifier and tried them on my Fiios e10k.
I'll need to give both a few more months of listening then come back again for another review, likely do a mega review with every earbud in my collection (Apple, AKG, Audio Technica, Beats, Klipsch).
I would definitely say - no no and no...
ReplyDeleteOn my table there's a high performance sound card with 2 outputs, same AKGs and same Klipsch.
Indeed the mids and treble are better on the AKGs while Klipsch is bettor on base (something I wouldn't have imagined) but the sound stage and frequency response is lower for AKGs.
I have tuned some frequencies to go with the base under those "20hz" on the paper. And AKG's definitely I hear while the klipsch are good for "boomy" base, but worse than the AKGs at deep base. I know, because I have tried it and re-tried it, over and over again, with different tests, frequencies, songs you name it..
And no I wasn't unbiased in my test, I wanted AKG to fail. but they were better on all counts, from base, frequency response, mids and trebles. The quality, in the review you forgot to say about the small braided cable, and sturdy materials, while Klipsch is light plastic (and it breaks, I am at my 3rd pair now).
I wanted AKG to fail, and did my best, but with one earpod Klipsch and another one AKG in my ears, AKGs kill them on every count. (again, I wanted them to fail, try with a splitter, if you can't find an external professional 2 outputs 24bits 192khz 120db - and frequencies testers ).
Thank you! Was very helpful feedback. I had a hard time trying to find the specs online for the AKG and the source was probably inaccurate that listed it as 20hz ~ 20khz.
DeleteMy sound sources are a humble iPhone 6s, HP Laptop + USB Fiios e10k. I did all the testing on the iPhone 6s and my reason for going with the Klipsch at the time, but I did like the AKG for comfort and are pleasant on the mids/treble.
I still have much to learn.