Klipsch R6 Bluetooth Earphones — Australian Review

There’s a lot of mobile accessories out there ranging from barely functional to ludicrously overpriced and when it comes to the essential mobile accessories, a good set of headphones or earphones is right up there. The problem I face is that I listen to a lot of music and struggle to find a complete replacement for my array of headphones, I have a set of Sennheiser on ear for work, I have a set of Sennheiser earphones for riding and a couple of other pairs floating around as spares so quality of sounds, a solid and quality build and of course (if going wireless) battery life must be excellent.

Klipsch are well recognised as being a genuinely high quality option, but with that recognised quality comes a premium price that many buyers simply can’t overcome – We hope to break down that barrier and let the discerning buyer know if the premium you pay for the Klipsch R6 Bluetooth earphones is worth the cost compared to other brands and options.

Hardware

The first thing I noticed when I opened the box is that even the retail packaging is good quality, protecting the hardware in transit. I quickly discovered though that it didn’t really need the protection because it’s pretty solid in its own right. The ear pieces have a bit of weight to them which caused a bit of hesitance on my part, quickly alleviated however as they’re super comfy the moment you put them on. Making this even more impressive is the fact that they create a great seal in your ears so the sound is really rich, but more on that later.

The other striking feature of the hardware is the aesthetics, they’re really easy to control and (to me at least) really good looking! I like simplicity and the controls are very simple offering power, volume and some track controls via the in-line mic most users are going to be happy with these for daily use and particularly commuters who need solid battery life.

Possibly the biggest issue I have found so far is more a design issue than a hardware fault with the in-line microphone. Its placement means that if you drape the cable behind your neck (which is quite natural with these sort of earphones) the mic is heavily obscured meaning your voice to callers is very faint if they can hear you at all. I thought this was a little strange at first until I checked their press images and realised that they’re designed to be worn with the cable under your chin.

Sound Quality

When it comes to sound quality everyone has their preference, mine is towards an all rounder due to my eclectic tastes in music. I need a solid mid range for the rock and acoustic tunes I listen to. I like to have solid low range sound because lets face it, who doesn’t like a bit of bass? High range is a must for pretty much anything, but there’s good, bad and ugly when it comes to high range. Good; the sound is solid, reliable and a consistent performer. Bad; is when it’s inconsistent and you lose music quality because of it. When it gets ugly the high range is shrill and intrusive.

The R6 Bluetooth earphones are really solid performers in all respects, but if I’m brutal about it the bass is probably a bit lacking for those who listen to “doof doof” but that is more a reflection on the type of droning bass versus “punch” required for that music genre. For those of us that listen to actual music you’re going to be pretty happy with the sound you get out of these.

Battery Life

As with any device, your battery life is going to depend on your use case. For me personally, the use for headphones is pretty heavy during the week. I usually listen to between 4 and 7 hours of music every day. Even with this level of use I managed to get more than a full day, several times I got 2 days out of them which is pretty impressive. For the average commuter who doesn’t have the opportunity that I do to listen to music throughout their work day I’d be surprised if you didn’t get 3 or more days out of a single charge.

The battery life is very impressive, undoubtedly coming from the weighty earpieces which store the batteries. For those who really hammer earphones, if you’re carrying a MicroUSB cable guess what? You’re in luck, that’s all you need to give your earphones a quick to up charge and I’ve confirmed that about 15 minutes on charge is enough to get you a touch shy of 90 minutes of music listening which will cover the large majority of people who commute to and from work or that after work run/ride.

Conclusion

Hunting for sound equipment is a really personal thing, there’s a lot of personal preference in your choice such as the type of music you listen to, how you like them to fit and of course weight and fitting type. The we get to the price and let’s be honest with each other here… $299.00 is a pretty steep price to pay for a set of earphones.

Putting the price aside, the build quality of thee hardware is truly excellent and will definitely stand the test of time. The convenient carry bag means that you can easily drop your earphones in your bag and know that the cables won’t get tangled among other goodies floating around in there. I’ll issue a small caution here, it’s a small bag and easy to misplace; even with the earphones in there!

If you’re going to use the Klipsch R6 in ear Bluetooth earphones regularly and heavily I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them for having not only a really good quality build, but genuinely excellent sound quality. Taking the price into account (keep in mind you’ll undoubtedly be able to find them cheaper on discount sites from time to time) these aren’t going to be earphones that a lot of users will consider but they certainly are worth considering if you’ve got the money to spend and want to look at a long term investment for daily use.

When you’re looking for sound accessories, what are the features and specs that you look for?