Best Earphones By Sleek Audio

2 CommentsFriday • January 7, 2011 • by Imei

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While I already purchased a pair of Sony noise canceling headphones for everyday use to and from the office on a very short commute on light link rail, there is an earphone I want to slide by you that may very well be the best earphones yet developed: Sleek-Audio was voted one of the top booths as CES 2011 on a popularity vote for their earphone technology that will blow you away.

Why would I consider adding a new pair of earphones to my collection? The week I moved into my art space in the Old Rainier Beer Brewery building, the audiophile in me went berserk. Why? My space has tall ceilings, and with little to dampen that sound, even my footsteps echo off the walls like a bouncy ball made for a game of jacks. One of the windows needs to be redone fairly soon in order to create a better seal against the sea of sound coming from rush-hour traffic. Despite that, it’s actually not all that noisy, yet my inner musician needed to make adjustments over the first week to get used to a different acoustic rhythm. While my noise-canceling headphones do the trick, they sit on the outside of the ear. If you decide to sleep with them on, I hope you’re a back sleeper, because you won’t be able to sleep on your side.

Enter Sleek Audio. While sound is lost when it either slips out the side of whatever earphones you use, or data is lost in the transmission of sound, such as through Bluetooth wireless technology, Sleek-Audio presents a custom-fit earphone made by filling the ear with silicone (after an ear “tampon” is carefully placed against the ear drum) and creating a pair of earphones from the silicone form that fit perfectly in your ears alone. They claim it blocks out 35% more background noise than other traditional noise-canceling headphones.

But what if you wanted to go wireless? Sleek-Audio thought that through too. They have a system you can add on to convert it to a wireless system (using Kleer wireless) without having to buy another pair of earphones. While the cost of a custom pair is going to be much more than the $2 pair of earphones you receive for free with your typical iPod or mp3 player, for all that you spend on music, it makes sense to me to spend a bit more money getting the full enjoyment out of whatever you listen to, even if it’s just ocean waves from a CD.

The CT6 custom models costs $399.99 and $499.99, and are currently sold out (as is the wireless system) as of this writing), but not to fret. I watched the CES 2011 demo on CrunchGear (thanks guys!) via Ustream.tv, and the demonstration included an explanation. They are sold out temporarily because all the celebrities in music (including celebrity DJ’s) are getting their custom fittings done first, thus the back log. People, if the top in the industry are getting these ordered (and they are paying for them), that’s probably a good indication that the Sleek-Audio earphones really do produce a loss-less sound that we’ve been waiting for (and apparently, will be worth waiting some more after the celebs get theirs).

If that’s too spendy, Sleek-Audio has an in-ear version SA6 with inter-changeable parts that is also getting buzz. At a price point of $250.00 (plus if you pre-order them from Crunch Gear now, you’ll save $30), you’ll still have great sound.

I guess I know what’s on this year’s birthday and/or Christmas wish list. If I paired a customized earphone with the Burson Audio personal amplifier I have in my bedroom, I may never leave my room ever again. Well, maybe just to work and see friends. And dance. Well, you know what I mean.

Have you tried a pair of these earphones? Want? Fail? Let me know what you think. And you know I’m going to try to get a hold of pair of these to review.

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