Klipsch IMAGE earphone review

[Professor Thump]

Originally Posted by onlychild

That is the main reason that I just ordered the Images from Klipsch today (getting them tomorrow).

A co-worker has them, and I tried them out and they are so much more comfortable than my Denon AH-C751K. I find myself wearing my headphones when I am reading or doing work just to block off outside noises. Most of the time, I don't even have any music playing.

The Images are comfortable to wear 4-6 hours at a time with no fatigue.

It has been fun developing this product with Dr. Cochlear, but even more fun watching the expressions on peoples faces when the first stick IMAGE in their ears. I realize you are going to be skeptical but what can I do? When you hear me say they are more comfortable you are so use to hearing hype that you probably imagine this as a slight improvement over your past experience with IE's. But I am hoping you will have the same experience that many of my colleges BETA testing have had. The improvements in comfort are a 5 or 10X better than most. So tell me your experiences once you test them. Everyday is like a Birthday for me when I hear that people are ecstatic about their first Klipsch IE experience.

Stick it in your ear!

[onlychild]

I got them yesterday and put about 8 hours on them. They truly do sound amazing for how small they are. Do you think I need to do a burn-in on these?

[soozieq]

I've been using mine for about 10 hours on and off since yesterday. They go really well with the Zune (which has no EQ so I find the extra bass on the Klipsch a welcome addition.)

I prefer my Denon C700 with my Sony A808 and the Klipsch with the Zune. The one problem I'm having is with comfort!!

I know how to get a good seal - that's not the problem at all. But I'm finding it uncomfortable to feel them jammed up against my ear canals. It's like I've physically stuck my fingers in my ear and the pressure is difficult to adjust to. And my ears itch when they're in. I'm hoping it's something that will pass, because they really do sound very good with the EQ-less Zune.

One other thing - there was a card inside the package for 2 pairs of free gels if I registered with the website. So I registered and filled in all my details, then I lost the page and couldn't find it again.

Now when I log on to my account on the Klipsch website - I don't get the option to order my free gels

Oooh, look how tiny they are compared with the Denons.

[HeadphoneAddict]

I thought the Klipsch ear tips were supposed to totally eliminate itching and discomfort, due to their oval shaped tips?

Bummer.

[soozieq]

Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict

I thought the Klipsch ear tips were supposed to totally eliminate itching and discomfort, due to their oval shaped tips?

Bummer.

No one else has said anything negative about the comfort at all, so I'm hoping it's just that my ears aren't used to having anything pressed up so close. The itching could be down to having to get used to another material?

Either way, I hope it passes. These headphones have the most amazing soundstage I've heard, it's huge - and the bass. . . well, words can't describe it. It kind of 'bounces' if that makes sense?

Funnily enough, the difference when paired with the Sony A808 isn't nearly as big as when paired with the Zune. Just goes to show that headphones can really shine with the right dap.

The Denons with the Zune didn't give me enough bass (probably because I'm so used to the Sony bass!!!) - but the Klipsch > Zune is a whole 'nother world! I guess I should get off my petite derriere and go write a comparison in the Denon thread!

I thought I might have problems with the volume since the Denons are 16ohms and the Klipsch 50ohms. Weird thing is that I'm using the same volume (maybe slightly lower), with the Klipsch as I do with the Denons (around half way), but when I had the E500 (36ohms) I used to have to turn the Sony louder. That's why I figured the Klipsch would be no good with the Sony but the volume's fine.

[pretzelb]

Originally Posted by soozieq

I thought I might have problems with the volume since the Denons are 16ohms and the Klipsch 50ohms. Weird thing is that I'm using the same volume (maybe slightly lower), with the Klipsch as I do with the Denons (around half way), but when I had the E500 (36ohms) I used to have to turn the Sony louder. That's why I figured the Klipsch would be no good with the Sony but the volume's fine.

Do you think you're getting a better seal with the Image? I am also surprised to hear you say you're not adjusting the volume up and wonder why that could be.

[truejoker]

Originally Posted by soozieq

I thought I might have problems with the volume since the Denons are 16ohms and the Klipsch 50ohms. Weird thing is that I'm using the same volume (maybe slightly lower), with the Klipsch as I do with the Denons (around half way), but when I had the E500 (36ohms) I used to have to turn the Sony louder. That's why I figured the Klipsch would be no good with the Sony but the volume's fine.

could you tell as if you comper the e500 to the image ? and what is the diffrence between them ?

[onlychild]

Hi Soozie,

For the last 3 days I have been comparing the Klipsch Image with the Denons. I am fairly new to head-fi, and probably do no have the trained ears you do to pick up on certain sound differences, but this is what I have found so far.....

My DAP is a Sprint Touch with 320K MP3's (not sure how the sound quality on the phone compares to other DAPs).

For some reason I find the Denon's to have more bass than the Klipsch, but the Klipsch's soundstage is like nothing I have ever heard. The vocals and mids are so up front and pronounced, that when I switch to the Denon's it almost seems like the vocals are muted on them. I only have about 10 hours on the Denons so I am not sure if I need to burn them in.

Do you see the same thing with the bass when comparing the denons and Klipsch. Maybe its my DAP that's causing me to hear less bass in the Klipsch then the Denon's.

Comfort wise, I find both very comfortable, but I can not wear the Denon's as long as I can the Klipsch. I also find that I need to turn the volume lower with the Klipsch than with the Denon's (weird, no?)

I would love to see a review between the two headphones by you. (also, any thoughts on the Klipsch vs. se530s)


Thanks.

[HeadphoneAddict]

Some of that less bass in Klipsch and less forward mids in Denon could be your DAP and lack of burn-in. My experience is the Denon are NOT muted with vocals, but are warm and up front, but I have hundreds of hours on them.

A poor fit, or air pressure build-up in your ear canal (or behind the ear drum if your eaustacian tubes are blocked) can also affect the sound of the Klipsch and Denon, so that they sound like what you describe.

[spraggih]

A to double-U to the E to the S-O-M-E-- Image is my new Apple Jacks!

I do not know why I love them I just do!! We eat what we like!!

I cannot think on one thing they do spectular ... wait... the drum ... the thump.thump.thump they do well.

(sidebar)-- I think audio web sites should be prefaced with thumpthumpthump versus www-- or at least ttt, e.g., ttt.head-fi.org. wow that sounds bad and a poor design.
(sidebar over)

I have never owned IEMs before and hesitated greatly because putting something in your ear sounds so uncomfortable and intrusive. But I wanted some really cool portables with better (more full sounding) than my Sony Eggos (who I love dearly) and are the only pair I still have since joining Head-fi (see my sig to see all the headphones I have parted with...) IEMs are like eye contacts to a guy/person who shudders at the idea of

Here are some of my 1st hour of listening findings...

Overall
A winner. Dosen't try for being a details leader or trebler uber shiner or a sterile but trusted studio advisor but plays well with all the kids in the sandbox. The Image wins the "nice guy" award. You can place the Image with any of your music and the Image will play nice.

4+ stars out of five.

Soundstage
Really strong 360 degree feel but not too deep front or back or left or right-- a lot of the music is central and ambient sounds circle all around. Reverb is pretty cool on songs where the digital damper pedal is pressed. There are some angles seemingly missed - Assuming 360 degree field then these angles have limited sound:
40 - 55
220 - 230
300 - 315

Possibly a seal issue? I don't know. Perhaps it is the music also. Perhaps it is the listener?

The ambient sounds come in and are times a little shocking-- I guess at least for a IEM noobie. Sometimes if even feels like the music is persisting like a real speaker system.


----------> No I am not comparing the Image to a speaker system
--> Just making a reference -- nothing more


Sound Signature & Quality
Can't place it-- definitely reminds me of the Audio-Technicas W11JPNs-- not in SSig but in terms of being a little hard to call out. But very fun to listen to. Perhaps decay is a hair longer than on "fast" phones (I am not even sure this is true-- that is that some phones are faster or slower than others but) the Image's a little slower *OR speed neutral* -- nothing in a bad way. The Sony CD3000s are my baseline and they are faster than most. I do think these are faster than the K701s so perhaps they are speed neutral.

Certainly a midrange and lower bias. I would not call it a treble veil or dark in any way but rather no treble shimmer. I have briefly heard the Senn 650s (no amp mind you) and they do not sound like the 650s.

thump.thump.thump - Bass is a powerful drug.

Epilogue
Like any good phone it makes you rediscover your music collection. Well I am listening to songs I have not heard since the 701s (still a favorite but a) too slow on some music and 2) needed to isolate the music from people near me). Really fun and enjoying old tunes.

A tad expensive-- who knows perhaps a $90 IEM would sound as good? Since I have not heard one I cannot say. It would be cool to save $200+ bucks-- perhaps I should find out.

Yes they are comfortable-- but compared to what?? Well compared to my expectations.

And yes they do very well with acoustic music -- focus on guitar and drums. Good on women sopranos and dudes. Not too sure on altos given my comment about the lack of treble shimmer. Also they resolve OK-good and never come across as muddy.

Also I purchased the Custom 3s --- +2 weeks until arrived. So I could compare. I may cancel that order.


Looking into the mirror...
I feel like I have not said anything-- it feels like I tried to cover the musical bases but ended up saying little other than--

• thump.thump.thump
• they are like Apple Jacks and
• they are all around good phones.

Well one thing-- I am listening to songs I have not listened to for a long time.

Like all things caveat empor - or YEMV (Your Ears May Vary).

[soozieq]

Originally Posted by onlychild

For some reason I find the Denon's to have more bass than the Klipsch, but the Klipsch's soundstage is like nothing I have ever heard.

Do you see the same thing with the bass when comparing the denons and Klipsch.

Maybe its my DAP that's causing me to hear less bass in the Klipsch then the Denon's.

Hi. Maybe it is your dap. I find the Klipsch bass (with the Zune) about twice as forceful than with the Denons + Zune. Not necessarily more bass - but more impactful. It really slams. And the soundstage is as if I'm in a disco, standing between the speakers! It's eerily lifelike.

But if I put the Klipsch with the Sony, the bass isn't as noticeably different as it is with the Klipsch/Zune. I think that's because the Sony is 'warmer' than the Zune anyway, and has more bass - so the sound signature is already similar. In fact, the Klipsch + Sony is how I imagine a Denon C951 would sound (if it existed), weightier bass, bigger soundstage etc.

The Klipsch + Zune is in another audio universe entirely. For my ears - this combo is very satisfying. I liked the Denon + Zune, but despite the Denon bass, I still wanted a touch more (I guess because I'm accustomed to Sony bass!!) and because I can't EQ the Zune, the Klipsch suits it perfectly. Not a single yearning to adjust anything.

By the way, re: the Denon vocals, I agree with HeadphoneAddict. They're very upfront and not muted at all. But the midrange/vocals on the Klipsch is even more forward than the Denons (to my ears) - and it sometimes sounds as if the vocals are really 'shouting' at me if I put the volume up. Mind you, it's only apparent on some albums, not all. I personally prefer the midrange on the Denons, since I don't experience that issue at higher volumes and I just prefer the vocal 'tone' with them.

As far as treble is concerned - so far, I'd say they both have the same amount of detail, but my personal preference is for the Denon treble. I've always loved it and the 'twinkle' I really enjoy is missing from the Klipsch.

But. . . when you're in that soundstage, it's easy to forget all that because it's very very involving, like being in a mini studio. I can't comprehend that these tiny things can deliver that kind of sound. The soundstage itself is just trippy!

Sadly, my enjoyment is being slightly marred by the high price. They're $140 more here in the UK (quite a hike from the US price) and the last time I spent that much on headphones was for the Shure E500, which I bought twice (to give them a second hearing in case I'd been wrong with my first impressions) I ended up selling the Shures after a couple of weeks because I didn't like them enough to justify the high price. The Klipsch sound perfect with the Zune, but I still feel sick that they cost so much!! I'll see how I feel about them in a few weeks

As far as your dap is concerned, I don't know about the technicalities of it at all, but it's very strange that you're hearing more bass from the Denons when I am hearing so much more slam with the Klipsch. Daps really play a part I guess. The 50 ohms is no problem for either of my daps. I was very surprised about that.

Anyway, now I have a Sony + Denon and Zune 80 + Klipsch Image package, and I'm really happy with both of them.

EDIT: Spraggih:

thump.thump.thump - Bass is a powerful drug.

That is some bass!!! It's like mini speakers. I love how it seems to 'bounce' in and out. It's very enjoyable.

[PeterDLai]

Originally Posted by soozieq

As far as treble is concerned - so far, I'd say they both have the same amount of detail, but my personal preference is for the Denon treble. I've always loved it and the 'twinkle' I really enjoy is missing from the Klipsch.
...
Sadly, my enjoyment is being slightly marred by the high price. They're $140 more here in the UK (quite a hike from the US price) and the last time I spent that much on headphones was for the Shure E500, which I bought twice (to give them a second hearing in case I'd been wrong with my first impressions) I ended up selling the Shures after a couple of weeks because I didn't like them enough to justify the high price. The Klipsch sound perfect with the Zune, but I still feel sick that they cost so much!! I'll see how I feel about them in a few weeks

In the brief period of time that I had the Shure E500, I felt that it was lacking detail and treble energy in the top end. How do you feel the Klipsch IMAGE compares to the Shure E500 in this regard?

[soozieq]

Originally Posted by PeterDLai

In the brief period of time that I had the Shure E500, I felt that it was lacking detail and treble energy in the top end. How do you feel the Klipsch IMAGE compares to the Shure E500 in this regard?

I haven't had the E500s for a few months - but I remember being vaguely disappointed with the treble, and I found that eq didn't help enough. I'm not disappointed with the amount of treble the Image outputs at all - it's certainly enough for me - but I do miss the Denon 'twinkle'.

[onlychild]

Soozie and Headphoneaddict,

You were right. Wow!!! What a difference. The issue for me was my DAP. The Sprint Touch just doesn't cut it. I borrowed my friends ipod and spent about 3-4 hours and I now hear the same things Soozie does between the Denons and Klipsch.

I can't believe how much the Sprint Touch sucked compared to the ipod. The Klipsch and Denon both sound like totally new/different headphones.

The Klipsch does have more bass than the c751 and I do prefer the warmer sound of the Klipsch over the C751. For me the C751 are too bright (too much treble) and my ears get tired of listening to them after an hour. This probably is because I have not burned them in (less than 10 hours on them). But the soundstage and bass from the Klipsch is amazing for how frekin' small they are.

Considering I paid list for the Klipsch ($350), the Denon c751 are now going up for sale without a doubt (if anyone is interested $140 shipped to CONUS).

Now the hunt for a good DAP starts, then after that a DAC/amp. My wallet is going to take a beating from all of this.

[anadin]

Could anyone with a klipsch image please post some pics of them actually fitted in the ear, I would like to see what they look like.

I have trawled the whole net and can't find anything.

Many thanks.