Why You Can Trust CNET Klipsch R6i In-Ear Headphones review: Comfortable in-ear headphones that crank the bass
If you love bass, Klipsch's latest sub-$100 in-ear headphones could be right up your alley.
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In the past, Klipsch's sub-$100 in-ear headphones had a more neutral sound profile that was a bit of a counterpoint to the bass-hyped sound of Beats and other popular brands targeted at a more youthful audience.
Klipsch R6i In-Ear Headphones
The Good
The Bad
The Bottom Line
It came as something of surprise then that the company's R6i, a $100 in-ear model (£79 in the UK, "coming soon" in Australia) that you can get for closer to $80 online, is a bit of a departure from previous models like the S4i , S4i II , and higher-priced X7i .
Like those models, the R6i in-ear headphones, available in black or white, come with the company's patented oval-shaped eartips that make it easier to establish a perfect seal than round tips. It also has a tangle-resistant flat cord and an inline three-button remote and microphone for hands-free calls and control of music on Apple's iOS devices. A version without the inline remote, the $80 (£69) R6, is also available.
The R6i headphones are lightweight and comfortable to wear. They also do a decent job of sealing out ambient noise -- so long as you get a tight seal, of course. And they come with the standard Klipsch carrying case, which is one of the best out there.
Performance
When it comes to their sound, it's pretty simple: If you like bass, you'll like Klipsch's R6i headphones. And if you like a lot of bass, you may love them.
Yes, they're very bassy, and even the midrange is warmed up and rich. Bass fullness, oomph, and power are more plentiful you'll get from many similarly priced in-ear models, but the downside is that treble definition is lacking.
What you get in the package.
Even when listening to a recording that doesn't have much bass, like Eric Clapton's all-acoustic "Unplugged" CD, these headphones filled out the sound of Clapton's vocals, guitar, and foot tapping.
Treble detail is lacking, but on the plus side the R6i headphones reduced the grating harshness of a lot of contemporary recordings, like Arcade Fire's recent "Reflektor" album, making them more listenable.
Listening to Steven Price's rumbling score for the film "Gravity" with the Beyerdynamic DX 160 iE ($119, available for about £85 in the UK) in-ear headphones, the bass plumbed just as deep as the R6i's, but in overall clarity they far exceeded the R6i. The DX 160 iE trounced the R6i's resolution of fine detail.
The R6i's plug has a straight rather than an L-shaped design.
The HiFiMan RE-400 ($99, available for about £99 in the UK and $109 in Australia) in-ear headphones are even more balanced-sounding, so the difference in clarity when switching between the R6i and RE-400 pairs was very significant. The blistering dynamics and immediacy of A Tribe Called Quest's "The Low End Theory" album were scaled back over the dull R6i model, so the music was less exciting. Yes, there was more bass from the R6i -- a lot more -- but by every other measure of quality the RE-400 and Beyerdynamic DX 160 iE R6i headphones were better.
Conclusion
The Klipsch R6i in-ear headphones are the kind that some people -- namely those who like a lot of bass -- are going to really like, and others aren't.
If you listen to a lot of hip-hop or techno (and variations of those genres) and are looking for comfortable in-ear headphones with very plump bass, the R6i will certainly fit the bill. But for those in search of more balanced, detailed sound, the R6i headphones won't be a match.