Dunu SA6 MkII vs SA6 Ultra vs SA6
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- Опубліковано 16 лип 2024
- Resolve takes a look at the Dunu SA6 MkII to find out if it's better than the original and the original, the SA6 Ultra, and the Symphonium Meteor.
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00:00 - Intro
00:52 - What is the SA6?
02:19 - Accessories, Design & Comfort
03:28 - Objective Sound & Measurements
05:29 - Subjective Sound Impressions
06:37 - Comparisons & Conclusion - Наука та технологія
Thanks for the nozzle diameter info Andrew!
Great review Andrew. I couldn't quite articulate my thoughts on why this set didn't work for me. You put into words what I could not.
Thank you Andrew for the review❗️🤘 That’s what I have here Oracle mk1 and Meteor😉❤️
I purchased these and used them for maybe 20 minutes before deciding to return them. Ultimately I found the clarity to not be where I needed it to be. For reference my daily headphones are Clear OGs, and while they're a few hundred more expensive (and not IEMs..), the difference during A/B testing was staggering. The Clears walked all over these for my personal preference in tone as well as clarity.
Beautifully crafted though.
The only iems that will seriously impress you as $1000+ headphone user are the anole vx, LCDi4, and the shure KSE1500/1200. As precog said in his vx review "if flagship iems are like looking in 1080p, the vx is 4k". They are kinda special among iems even after listening to practically all of the flagships from visiting Singapore.
@@enjoshi-godrez8775 Appreciate the context. I wish we had better ways of testing IEMs in the US like I know some shops allow in Singapore.
@@MattBorchert yea, im lucky enough to live in Munich for High End as it is.
@@MattBorchert if you like the tuning of the clear, the vx would probably be perfect for you. As Joshi said, they are quite a step above the rest of the kilobuck iem ladder. They are appreciably more detailed than the u12t for instances. But the cost is very oppressive, though they qdc iems have exemplary qc, so buying used shouldn't pose much if a risk. Shame you can't demo them.
@@jefryions5657 Appreciate it, sounds like they'd be a fantastic match for me. :)
Hey Andrew, is this one similar to the Mest MK2?
I’d love to see how it compares to the SA10 when you get a chance to review that.
Hello friend please can you tell me if the Zens Top is better than the dunu sa6mk2 and sa6 ultra?
I had the ultras and also have the MK2, after burn in the MK2 sounds so much better to me. Obviously it's subjective.
Congratulations on completion of your brain burn in 🎉👌
Question about the term “color-way”, has that always been a term in the audiophile space? Cuz I’ve never heard that being used for anything else like gaming handhelds, glasses frames, phones, Etc.
used everywhere for design related things.
I have the first two and I do love them,but did not think having another would have made sense as I would have liked something totally different
Why did you pay €600 for tuning differences? Lmao
I think the AFUL Performer 8 would be good IEM to compare the SA6 lineup and the Meteor to.
lol watching this on the 8's right now. Just got them in today. Liking them so far. On a Zen stack, nothing fancy.
@@LorenzoFrausto heheh niiice! How do they compare to other IEMs you have or had?
@@SalarSayyad honestly I don't have anything else in this price range. Next iem I have thieaudio Excalibur at $550US new I think? They don't compare at all. Everything else I have is $200US or under. Its better than all those, that's for sure.
@@SalarSayyad and I mean they don't compare in tech or tuning. Like they are way too different to compare.
@@LorenzoFraustoI absolutely love my Excalibur. It is my go to iem for jazz and classical
This versus moondrop variations?
Can Anyone recommend an amp or tube to pair with my wm1a.. portable pls
Thanks
One day in the deep future, AI Resolve and AI Zeos discuss the SA6 series of IEMs. AI Zeos favours the SA6 Ultra while AI Resolve prefers the SA6 Mk XVII Supreme. AI Chrono offers to run a series of sound tests using his real live human friends in order to settle the question.
They should resell the zeos ultra.Many people amd reviewers agree with you.Companies have e tendency to exaggerate with products that have succeed reputation and very often do wrong changes.Many times a small change is what is needed and not a big one
What Bluetooth DAC/Amp would you recommend for listening to heavy metal. BTR7?
Q5k easy
hey mr resolve could we please have the 5128 measurements of the sa6 ultra? pretty please 👉👈
Yes, once Precog sends it back up. He's currently got it for a review article that's up on headphones.com
You said meteor is relaxed, how is It compared to andro2020? Is It on par with technicalities
The Meteor have much better bass than the andro 2020. but in term of technicalities, the andro is better. Don't forget that the meteor is almost half the price vs the andro
Hey Andrew! Nice surprise to see this review. I'm trying to chose between the sa6 mkII and the Thieaudio Oracle MkII but having a hard time. Which would you take? And apart from tuning differences does one have the edge over the other, if so what areas? My current iems are Etymotic ER4XR, Shuoer s12 and 7hz Zero. Would have to blind by due to my location
I'd recommend the Meteor and the Oracle MK1
@@ResolveReviews Thanks!
Is there a cheaper IEM that you can EQ to sound just as good if not better?
the isine series probably
@@lain2236adyeah, the isine10 is a extremely resolving and detailed open-back IEM that needs a lot of EQ to sound good 😂. I’ve heard all of Audeze’s IEMs are tuned extremely poorly except for maybe the Euclid.
@@dbean5174I have the i4. In order to get them to comply to the IEF 2023 target and sound like it should, I need to apply 14 different parametric peak filters. 10 genuinely isn't enough because its midrange is so messed up. After though, its the best headphone I've ever heard except maybe IEF tuned LCD5, susvara, or the halo flagships.
The uograde of Sa6 is Holocene not the Sa6mk2
General kenobi!
Hype 2, baby.
Could you please tell us which one is better specifically in mids and highs between Zens Top vs Sa6mk2? thank you for your answer
What's the name of the jazz track in the intro/outro?
I think on the technical aspect, SA6 mk2 is a CLEAR upgrade over the SA6, as as in bass performance. but yea regarding layering, imaging, width/height and overall note weight I think mk2 has it over the original
For me, in this price range, my two choices are:
Xenns Mangird Top for when I want a more musical presentation.
and
IKKO Asgard OH5 when I want a more neutral presentation.
It's over SA6 MK2! I have the high ground!
Just after you posted this video a Metallica video was posted. How did these go with heavy metal.
They should perform phenomenally because of the smoother midrange as there's no instance abrasive passages in Metallica's discog will make it too intense
I have the Ultra and have been thinking of selling it, but it being limited and all makes me want to keep it just to have as part of my collection.
why were you thinking of selling them?
@@malthus101 I sold them to fund other audio gear, since I have quite a few IEMs that I like better then the ultras (IE600, EA Gaea and 7A Supernova). The ultras are good, but their tuning doesn't really do anything special IMO, other then being comfortable (ie600 are even more comfortable for me) and looking good.
Poor guy Watchung review. 😂
So poor you can't spell 😂
Hi
I am planning to purchase $300~$500 MMCX(4.4) and 2-Pin(4.4) IEM Cable. Please recommend products.
do not spend over 50$ for a cable, there is literally no reason to do so. cable has a less than 0.1 percent impact on sound.
@@milolo2.071 Thanks for the useful information.
I have received a Sony IER Z1R to compare with my beloved Dunu SA6 Ultra
Difference is minimal
Tested both same cable, same eartips Dunu Candy eartips and same amp Fiio BTR 7
Z1R has cleaner and more transparent sound, more 3D soundstage and obviously more bass
Is it worth the upgrade?
No. I am sticking to te SA6 Ultra and returning my Sony IER Z1R
To each is own l, but the kilobuck iems to me make the $500-$700 iems sound unacceptably unresolving. Though once you tried a anole vx or lcdi4, ALL other iems become unacceptably muddy even in the kilobuck range, like you once had no window, now you have one that hasn't been cleaned properly.
@@enjoshi-godrez8775 I actually have tried those and they are as clean as the ier z1r and the u12t it is because of the better driver materials used
I ended up keeping the IER Z1R for its bass
General Kenobi..
METEOR MY BELOVED! ❤
Here's one I didn't see coming! I feel much more validated in my love for the ultras now :) Excellent!
Awh...i was going to get a pair of these but at least Andrew smiled.
Seems to me the MK2 is a more V/U shaped ultra
Pay up!
Looks like I'll have to write these off. Which IEM sounds like the DT1990 headphone? (tight controlled bass, great detail retrieval and sparkly treble extension). Moondrop Variations?
This is the first time over the years I felt you had an agenda, and we're not completely objective... perhaps it was the awkward segway into the Meteor, which was judged better without any foundation. Yes, it's always just your opinion, but your opinion before this always had a robust rationale and accurate context. Could it have anything to do with the big sale on the original SA6 going on now? Probably not, but in the past, you've been more careful... remember it's not just avoiding bias but avoiding the appearance of bias that engenders trust. Even the Collaborator of the SA6 Ultra thinks the MkII sounds better than BOTH his SA6 Ultra and the SA6 original, and with him, I wholeheartedly agree.
Resolve here - Headphones.com sells both of them. I'm just not a fan of the tuning changes on the MKii, specifically to do with the upper treble zing. It doesn't sound as good as the original to me for that reason. But if you prefer the MKII then by all means, enjoy. It makes zero difference to me which one people prefer, and in that sense I'm glad the option exists.
I'm an SA6 owner. You had spent all this time criticizing Andrew about his video: what had YOU contributed in the responses? You had picked apart people's work, without sharing your own experiences and thus allowing people to grow their knowledge. What is, "robust rationale", "accurate context", "just his opinion", "bias", "when he was more careful in the past", are also, just your opinions. Andrew doesn't work for Harman or Stereophile, nor I do I think Stereophile should ever review IEMs. None of them are quite audiophile grade, to me, though some of them excel at certain things and outperform my speakers for a lot less money (like the imaging and layering on my Moondrop Katos). Few of them have any soundstage. I use them in hotel rooms, the gym, planes, and airports, and mostly playing vocals. Mainly to hush noise. Once at home, it's back to my speakers (which do have room related problems in the bass that headphones and IEMs lack). More amateurish reviewers might say, "this product is one of the best in its class", but offering few technical details, or comparisons with other products at the same price point. There's people whose accounts contradict that of other reviewers. Andrew's not one of those people, at all. He probably collaborates carefully with the other members of Headphones.com before each post. You have biases and opinions of your own, which may not be shared by others. The SA6 mk ii isn't on my shopping list, and I don't see the point of buying any newer IEMs unless they use dynamic drivers (and I don't want to pay $900 for Dunu Zen Pros, so I'm rather stuck). My favorite rock songs have sounded severely compressed and lacking dynamics when played through any balanced armature drivers I've tried. Kick drums sound especially bad. Your comment about Dunu IEMs going on sale and this affecting Andrew's judgement, was imagined, on your part. I wouldn't buy them if they were $200 off, because they're not the right product for me, even at that price. I have owned some of the other products that Andrew had reviewed (which I had later sold). The Meteor would probably sound better to me, as well.
@@dan-qe1tb Based on your and Andrew's replies, I likely didn't make my points very well, so I appreciate you providing an opportunity to try again.
I certainly agree that I can't do reviews at Andrew's level. Still, I have done reviews to which I received quite a bit of positive feedback (search Head-Fi for " FiiO KA5 Impressions and KA3 Comparisons" June 24, 2022). But mostly, I learned how difficult it is and how much effort it takes to do a review valuable to others. My attempts at reviews only made me, like you, very appreciative of Andrew's work.
It was out of this appreciation that prompted me to write my comment to Andrew about his SA6 review. I believe Andrew is a national treasure desperately needed in an industry overrun by misinformation, market manipulation, and deceptive consumer practices. Being a former university professor like him has interested me in his career journey. I intended to provide him valuable feedback regarding issues facing all reviewers to help him continue honing his craft to benefit us all.
The career arc of pretty much everyone who reviews for a living, whether reviewing wine, restaurants, cars, movies, etc., reaches an apex when, through fatigue, burnout, or just boredom, the reviewer gets a bit lax executing on their signature "robust rationale" and "accurate context." They might start to rely too heavily on the "just his opinion" and "our opinions simply differ" response to any attention brought to how this review differs from previous reviews.
Also, letting the appearance of "bias" (such as, in this case, the appearance of coordinating reviews and email marketing campaigns of a now previous-generation/in-inventory product) is the type of thing top reviewers steadfastly avoid. Someone is paying every reviewer, and that someone almost always has a commercial interest in a business affected by the review. Therefore, apparent bias is always a concern in the reviewing world, and effectively navigating this apparent bias is a critical factor in being successful as a reviewer.
Considering reviewer salaries, expenses, expensive testing equipment, etc., there is likely a commercial benefactor from these reviews. However, in this case, IMO, it's likely NOT the more obvious helping sell overstocked or higher margin items by targeting these products with more favorable reviews than deserved. It's more likely in this case that the commercial benefit is by getting advance information about what products will be getting rave reviews enabling optimizing marketing plans and inventory in advance. This might be a very significant competitive advantage in a business where you can't sell what you don't have. (BTW, this could be decisively addressed by adding "...and no one gets advanced access to this review..." to the standard review disclaimer preamble).
The positive part about this bias situation is the commercial marketing/inventory benefit comes AFTER the review, lessening the appearance of bias in the review and helping the reviewer avoid the appearance of bias. However, as I mentioned in my initial comment, the approach in the SA6 review and contemporaneous email marketing campaign felt different. If the circumstances were indeed different, I hoped this feedback to Andrew that something seemed different would be helpful to him so it could be avoided. If nothing was different, then this is just an opportunity to encourage Andrew to steady on with the many things he typically does so well and caulk up this review as being a bit rushed, a bad day, or I was just wrong in my perceptions and assessment.
Nevertheless, it wasn't my point that I disagreed with Andrew's opinion of the SA6. My point was that HIS opinion on the SA6s didn't agree with HIS opinion on almost every other IEM. If you watch many of Andrew's reviews as I do, you notice a remarkable consistency in what he cares about and focuses on. This consistency is what makes his reviews exceptional and so much more valuable than just one man's opinion. However, IMO, many of those things he traditionally cares about and focuses on were uncharacteristically glossed over and dismissed in the SA6 review. Other issues he usually carefully builds a foundation for were just dropped into the discussion with little or no foundation.
Finally, regarding your "Finally, your comment about Dunu IEMs going on sale was random, inapplicable, and imagined, by yourself." All I can say about this is that you apparently were not on the same Headphone.com emailing marketing list that I was.
Again, thank you for your thoughtful comments and for giving me the opportunity to try again to make my points.
@@whitehatbob4153 i agree with this mans post.
My favorite IEM $600 or below is Penon 10th Anniversary IEM. 2 DDs + 2 BAs + 2 ESTs. Such great sound quality and not overpriced. Competes with kilobucks IEMs.
Penon shillers....🤡
First
Sa6mk2 is bad ; it is below the normal sa6? What
Z's either a audio reviewer you've never even heard of, or you trust him with all your heart on his reviews
lmao nah I've heard of him and don't trust him. man says good things about just about any product and only ends up criticizing them when he's moved on to the next product review
Lol, I stopped watching him because his recs keep ending up as lemons one too many times
He's a salesman and an entertainer rather than a proper reviewer. Though you can get some valuable opinion on important things like fit, comfort and perceived durability etc, which are frequently overlooked or glossed over by many others.
GENERAL KENOBI
The SA6 Ultra is not resting in peace, it is resting in my ears.
Why wasn't this compensated? Because it wouldn't be accurate above 2khz since kemar is a population average? And what about Listener's 5128-711 target, why not use that? It isn't very accurate >5khz but no targets on711 are really.
1. yes compensated is better, but this is data overload at this point. 2. because people are still getting used to 5128 DF + slopes. 3. Do you mean Listener's 711 target? That would make the two not comparable. The point about our project here is to use the same DF + slope so you can see the variation for HpTF effects.
How do you feel about IE600 compared to this and maybe the Symphonium?
Both are excellent. The IE600 has a V shape tuning while the Meteor is closer to warm-neutral with bass boost. FYI, Andrew is not a fan of the IE600