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Senfer DT6 : at 5 times the price I might complain …

Posted on 9 August 20209 August 2020

I frankly don’t know why Senfer as a company and consequently all its product are severely banned from Head Fi. And I don’t care. DT6 is a jewel product per se, and a monster of performance if I consider its price…

At-a-glance Card

PROsCONs
Spectacular soundstage and imaging. Sub-bass could be (even) better.
Well balanced signature. Lean female vocals and low trebles.
Great bass and low mids. Tangly cable (quite forgivable given the price)
Vivid trebles. 
Good male vocals.

Full Device Card

Test setup

Tempotec V1 + Fiio BTR5/USB / Fiio X3 MK-III / Hiby R5 – Single Ended ports – Stock transparent-grey tips – Lossless 16/44.1 – 24/96 – 24/192 FLAC tracks.

Signature analysis

TonalityWarm L-shape, with a very well balanced overall presentation
Sub-BassVery extended, textured, not particularly fast, more elevated than mid-bass but leaner so sometimes a bit succumbing
Mid BassPresent, punchy, quite fast, unloated, meatier than the sub-bass. Very lightly bleeding on low mids.
MidsA very good balance between warmth and clarity
Male VocalsDetailed, not recessed but not really forward either. Warmened and slightly veiled by the midbass
Female VocalsDetailed and more forward than Males, benefit from added clarity coming from low trebles, making them a bit too lean at times, although never really thin.
HighsBright-ish and sparkly, very fast, almost crispy, not harsh. Snares come accross somewhat too dry.

Technicalities

SoundstageVery extended, panoramic
ImagingVery good, almost superb (actually superb if I factor price in)
DetailsQuite a lot in the highs, much less but still more than average in the bass
Instrument separationVery good layering
DriveabilityA phone is OK

Physicals

BuildVery solid full metal housings with a retro shape
FitVery easy fit if worn cable-down, once the right tips are selected
ComfortQuite comfortable in spite of the relatively high weight
IsolationPoor, mainly due to openback design
CableJust passable considering the price, to be swapped for a continued use

Specifications (declared)

HousingFullmetal, open back
Driver(s)1BA + 1DD + Ceramic Piezoelectric
ConnectorMMCX
CableSilicone-coated, 1.21m, 3.5mm single ended terminated
Sensitivity110dB/mW
Impedance16 Ω
Frequency Range5-40000Hz
Package / Accessories1 pair of M-size proprietary silicone tips, 3 pairs of black softer silicone tips, 3 pairs of transparent/grey stiffer silicone tips, shirt clip
MSRP at this post time$ 19,00

Subjective opinion & considerations

[Haughty mode ON]

They look aesthetically bad (to me at least). The cable’s silicone sheath is just tragic. And they cost less than a pizza and a beer. So when I got them a few months ago, as a owner – and a very satisfied one at that – of much more expensive IEMs I admit my attitude was that of the uplift-nosed, preopinionated individual (“alright let’s see what this hyped kids’ toy sounds like…”, or thereabouts).

Well much of the hype was grounded I must say but hey, after auditioning them well I really must not agree with all this shouting at a miracle product, or even louder stuff.

Let’s forget all the cheap corollary elements (cable, accessories, no carry case… details) and go for the sound.

Yes bass is just great. Better than E3000 to my ears, did I say enough?

Male vocals are also very good.

Treble is also just so great: fast, crispy, sparkling at times even.

But cmon those female vocals… The lowtreble segment is just bad cmon. It digs too much meat out, depriving singing ladies of their correct contralto tonalities. A sort of metallic halo also sometimes appears around snare drums, which come accress kinda similar to timbrels instead.

That’s bad.

Also: treble extension is nice and all, but that sneak peak at 18K – that’s such an obvious mistak cmon. I do get (faint) sibilance to some female sssss and (even more rarely) some very light zing elsewhere, which forced me into another one of those painful tip rolling sessions, which I eventually gave up with (just for boredom), and solved the problem thanks to good ol’ MSEB “Air” slider: 5 ticks to the left cancels all unwanted treble extras for good without apparently compromising anything else.

Yet, that’s also annoying isn’t it.

And let me be frank: this is basic stuff. I’m sick and tired of finding these elementary “defects” in a product costing … 😮

…oh well…

[Haughty mode OFF]

DT6 is incredibly good. Just that. And darn cheap. The rest is written above.

A few quick ones:

  • The cable does not need to be changed really. It’s just tangly, not bad soundwise. But why not changing it?
  • Those iconic proprietary pyramid-shaped tips are purely useless – to my ears at least. Inside the box I found a set (S/M/L) of ordinary black silicone ones. Outside the box, I received a further small bag with a set (S/M/L) of stiffer grey-transparent silicone tips, more or less the same length as the black ones. As always, softer ones ofter a tad less bass and more treble – which is already on the verge of being too much on DT6 so I preferred the stiffer ones.
  • Neither stock tips are actually perfect to tame that little sibilance DT6 puts out every now and then. Getting a deeper insertion would be key for that, but as I mentioned above I did not roll enough of my other models for that (or I didn’t just yet), and I applied a different solution.

Comparisons

Senfer DT6final E3000BGVP DMGShuoer Tape
Driver(s)1BA + 1DD + Ceramic PiezoelectricSingle Dynamic Driver4 BA + 2 DDSingle DD + Electret tweeter
TonalityWarm L-shape, well balanced overall presentationWarm open-V shaped, mildly bass-centered. Personal timbre.V-shape, with midbass emphasis. 3-filter system offers modest, undecisive signature variationsWarmish V-shape
BassExtended, textured, not particularly fast sub-bass and present, punchy, fast, relatively lean mid-bass. Very light bleeding on low mids.Clean, fast, rolledoff sub-bass. Less fast, mildly punchy, elevated midbass, quite invasive vs sub-bass and lower midsExtended, rumbly, very good sub-bass. Exhalted, slow, almost boomy, mid-bass veiling sub-bass but surprisingly not the midsVery elevated, fast, clean sub. Less elevated, clean, fast, lean mid.
MidsBalanced warm clarity. Unrecessed, good, slightly veiled male vocals and good, forward, somewhat lean females.Full, not excessive, detailed but rounded. Great vocalsRecessed and a bit lean. Unbodied male but decent male, too lean almost thin and often sibilant female vocals.Recessed but well detailed. Female better than male vocals. EQ correction is well received.
HighsBright and sparkly, very fast, almost crispy, never harsh. Low trebles like snares are too lean at times.Average extension, relaxed, lightly airy. Efficiently counterbalances lows in a greatly calibrated ensemble.Extended, present, detailed, not piercing. Actually very good.Elevated, almost bright, high texture, quality and details. Sibilance tameable by tips selection. Zing on top octave reduced by cable selection, removed by EQing.
SoundstagePanoramicQuite extended, wider than deeperAbove averageBig, around the head
ImagingVery good, almost superbPrecise and consistentAccurate and consistentVery well distributed, and consistent
DetailsQuite a lot in the highs, and above average in the bassQuite good considering the overall warmthVery good in the mids and highs, lacking in the bassTop notch both for quantity and quality, both in trebles and sub-bass
SeparationVery good layeringQuite good in all sections.Very good when and where midbass-timbred instruments are not involved, otherwise shadowedVery good layering and separation
DriveabilityA phone is OKLight amping recommendedA phone is OK in spite of the 4BAsA phone is hardly enough. Amping required if EQing is applied.
Fit & ComfortEasy fit (cable down) and very good comfortExtremely easy fit, subjective comfortVery easy fit and comfortFit is a win or lose. Comfort is OK when fit is easy.
Other notesSpectacular soundstage and imaging, well balanced signature, great sound quality at a supercheap priceWarm, musical, almost lushy strong identity in a vast soundstageUncontrolled invasive midbass on one end, remarkably good trebles on the opposite of a typical V-shaped chifi IEMSpectacular and hyperdetailed bass and treble rendering
Economics$ 19,00$ 53,00$ 99,00$ 128,00

Interesting links

  • NOBS Audiophile review
  • AudioBudget review
  • Audiofool review

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