Do you find yourself whipping about earbuds like
boleadoras when you're bored? Here's a pair that can take your abuse. The long-awaited successor to Sleek Audio's
famous SA6 'phones -- dubbed the SA7 -- have the same adjustable bass / treble ports and removable cords of their predecessor, but in a case machined from solid aluminum with a carbon fiber shell and titanium screws. Inside, the drivers are cushioned by shock-absorbing silicone that lets them take a 14,000 G beating, which Wikipedia tells us is roughly the same rating as a navigation chip inside
an artillery round. The company told
Popular Science the SA7's thin aluminum shell lets listeners hear a whole extra octave; if that tempts you, you'll only have to cough up $400 and change (plus an extra $100 for a
wireless Kleer kit) for the privilege.
Update: Sleek Audio pinged us to say that the SA6 is still hanging around; the SA7 is simply the new flagship. It'll be shipping at some point in 2010 -- we'll keep you posted.
posted April 15th 2010 9:15AM
Um...why?
@CRA1G in case someone is sending artillery rounds your way.
@CRA1G
I wonder if I can use these while riding my motorcycle? If they don't get pushed out of my ear canal when I put my helmet on, I'm set!
@CRA1G Um...because they can?
@CRA1G
I hope your not American, if you are you should be ashamed.
@CRA1G
Also, for lolz, what happens if you search for "sa7" on the googles..
http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/missile/row/sa-7.htm
You get a missile launcher. the perfect compliment for your missile launcher resistant earphone.
@Daverator I hope _you're_ not a native English speaker; if you are, you should be ashamed. ;-)
@Atkins Or the case where you find yourself being shot out of a howitzer...
@r34p3r
I suspect these won't work well under your helmet at all.
I just picked up some Klipsch S4i to use with my iPhone. Has in-line controls and everything. Awesome setup for music on a motorcycle commute, they fit under my helmet great.
I don't see the point of my headphones surviving something that I can't.
@strawe For the future generations! Imagine the savings.
@Atkins
I was just gonna say the same =)
@strawe: My Ultimate Ears that cracked at an obvious weak point see the point in these headphones.
@Ruben my ultimate ears say don't test them at 1,000 Gs and they should be just fine.
BAD ASS !!!!!
but dang.......$400 ?
OK, but when the hell are the iPhone-controlled SA1's coming out :(
@Uncontrol 'bout 2 weeks after the matching nuke-resistant iPhone case gets released
Excellent, now I can listen to 'Eye of the Tiger' when I take a joyride on the space shuttle next month
Yes, u need to get this along with an ipad the best accessory to go along with it.
Why would I ever need my headphones to withstand 14,000 Gs?
@Prevacator So they can be delivered inside an artillery shell instead of explosives?
Sound quality will tell in the end. These aren't your average earbuds - dual amatures IIRC
@YpoCaramel I meant that you don't buy these only because they're tough, but because they sound as good as other $400 (MSRP) IEMs like the SE530 and triple.fi.
@YpoCaramel Actually you buy them only if you want to look cool and have $400 for it. Triple.fi has 3 armatures, not 2. Though I can't tell which one is better, my super.fi 5 pro satisfies me completely.
@Shinigami yep, the triple.fi has 3 drivers (naturally :p The prerelease name was XXX actually XD). I don't know what you mean by wanting to look cool... More drivers don't equal better quality, necessarily, the Ortofon E-Q7 has one driver but its supposed to sound amazing.. The Sennheiser IE8 has one dynamic driver but also sounds great... I sure hope these SA7's can improve on the existing cans...
If you're happy with the 5pro's, I won't tempt you :p
Why?
@Don Corleone: why not?
This is designed so you can travel through a black hole in Mass Effect 2.
@mps ...like in...
all you guys going "but why" and "what's the point if the phones survive but i won't" are missing the point. i thought you were gadget freaks. i love stuff like this, unnecessarily military grade but for the consumer. it's just cool. it's part of the whole aesthetic of certain gadgets. just throwing some cool shit in there just for the fuck of it. that said i can't afford these, but i just like the fact that they're out there. that there is a ceo somewhere that said "you know what we need? we need a pair of earphones that can survive machine gun fire. get me batman"
@vanglorious
Seems to me the point is you build them as strong as possible and they won't break for several years. You'd upgrade not because you need new headphones, but because you want new headphones. I've bought several headphones only to have them break or short out in some way and then I would be left with a hunk of junk.
These things would probably be able to withstand anything from falling while snowboarding to being tossed into a booksack. And if any of you are college students, you know you don't put small but valuable objects in a booksack without protection. (R.I.P. Worms DS cartridge)
As long as the sound quality isn't subpar, I see no reason to question a set of well built headphones. Honestly, I'm more disappointed more headphones aren't built this well.
@BigJayDogg3 Their predecessor, the SA6, was a good sounding IEM but apparently outclassed by the top IEMs. I have high hopes for the successor.
Why ask why? These are expensive, but they are also made to last (virtually) forever. Break your cord? Get a new cord, it's easily replaceable. Something inside breaks? Guess what? They are built to allow opening and replacing internal components. The idea is that these could, quite literally, be the last earpieces you ever have to buy. Emphasis on EVER.
Provided, of course, that the sound rocks. Crappy sound in an amazing shell is still just crappy sound.
@Vrmithrax
Earpiece breaks, you can even replace the entire assembly. That's awesome if you ask me.
Woah...I have the SA-6's and they are pretty damned good, but now I Want these..lol!
i can't possibly survive 14000 g's of force, and i doubt i'd plug these headphones to an artillery round, either.
but, then again most people with pimped up SUV's don't drive them on anything more difficult than wet tarmac, and i don't take my watch down to 200 meters under the sea - even though it's capable of that - but i still have one that can... so... it's probably one of those "you know, just in case" things.
I've looong since learned that you get what you pay for. Headphones display that to a degree that few other do.
There is a focus here on the durability, and that's great - but people miss the other detail about the adjustable ports and additional audio range.
My last headphones were 200$. I could EASILY see blowing 400$ if these headphones sound great and aren't likely to fall apart. In fact, I was thinking it was time for headphone upgrades!
Yeah, but do they run Cry... wait.
Hope they fixed the cables - my SA6 sound great but the cables.. oh the cables. (esp if you're going to talk about how tough these are)
@bpm2000
although to be fair they are extremely awesome about replacing them.
the design looks poor, these like ultimate ear univerals will prob pop out of your ear if you move around alot, only Westone seems to know what they are doing when it comes to universals, better quality wires and a more custom like snug close to your ear fit.
SA7? Where is the N7 model?
Where in the Universe is this useful? A Blackhole?