[KLJTech]

I'm looking for a new pair of earphones that sound good yet are comfortable to wear. I'll be using them with my 8GB Sansa Clip, I was very happy with my iGrado's but my son was home from college for a week and liked them as well so I gave them to him. For serious HP listening I use my main stereo rig,  the cans that get the most use right now are my AKG 701's and Grado 325i's powered by a Benchmark DAC1. I've heard that the Klipsch S2's are comfortable which is important to me as I may use them to listen to music while falling asleep at night....something I couldn't do with the iGrado's. I'm mainly wonder if the S2's are comfortable but are also lacking good sound. Sorry for any typos'...trying to type this with my 4 year old on my lap.
 
Thanks in advance for any feedback.

 

[blackzarg]

I saw two professional reviews of the S2, and both very different:
http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/equipment/0210/klipsch_image_s2.htm
http://www.whathifi.com/Review/Klipsch-Image-S2/

 

[KLJTech]

Thank you for the links to the reviews.
Has anyone hear actually heard the Klipsch Image S2's?
The only IEM's I have on hand are the inexpensive Philips SHE9550 and I'm curious if the S2's would be a nice step up or not so much. I don't expect world class performance for $50 but I'd like to know if these are at least very competitive at that price point.
Thanks!

 

[kjk1281]

Quote:

Thank you for the links to the reviews.
Has anyone hear actually heard the Klipsch Image S2's?
The only IEM's I have on hand are the inexpensive Philips SHE9550 and I'm curious if the S2's would be a nice step up or not so much. I don't expect world class performance for $50 but I'd like to know if these are at least very competitive at that price point.
Thanks!

Here's a review thread with some more opinions on the S2: http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/450907/.  Not sure if there are any comparisons in the thread that may be helpful.
 
Quote:

I saw two professional reviews of the S2, and both very different:
http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/equipment/0210/klipsch_image_s2.htm
http://www.whathifi.com/Review/Klipsch-Image-S2/

 
Indeed.  One review is quick and to the point, while the other is absurdly verbose.

 

[ljokerl]

I don't think the S2 are suitable for sleeping and they are not the best $50 IEMs I've heard. They are above average for sure but not mind-blowing. If you would consider other options I would highly recommend the Soundmagic PL50 for sleeping. Very tiny/comfortable/unobtrusive. Other options that I personally can sleep in would be the ThinkSound TS01, Meelectronics M6, Maximo iM-590, mp4nation M1 and so forth. There's a lot of great $50 phones out there these days.
 
Edit: I was planning to post a review of the S2 today and might still get around to it.

 

[tlau1125]

Quote:

For serious HP listening I use my main stereo rig,  the cans that get the most use right now are my AKG 701's and Grado 325i's powered by a Benchmark DAC1. I've heard that the Klipsch S2's are comfortable which is important to me as I may use them to listen to music while falling asleep at night...

I recently got a pair of S2M, which is the S2 with a microphone.  I have not heard other IEMs (this is my first) so I do not know how it compares with similar priced IEMs.  It is much more comfortable than I expected (I have trouble with ear buds in general and only decided to get this because I need noise isolation and Klipsch claims that the oval tips are comfortable).  It isolates well but makes quite a bit of cable noise if you move. 
 
Sound wise I found that bass is emphasized and treble lacks some sparkle.  In comparison, Alessandro MS1i (based on Grado phones) provides significantly more clarity and is more engaging, though it may be more fatiguing for long listening.
 
As for using it for sleeping ... if you sleep on the side it will not work as the earphones stick out quite a bit. 
 

 

[KLJTech]

I picked up a pair of the S2's last night at my local Best Buy and will give them a shot. Right out of the box they are very comfortable (more so than any other IEM's I've tried) the sound was so-so until I plugged them into my DAC1 and then they seemed to show a lot more promise....maybe they just need to be broken in before I make any final judgments. I'll mainly be using these (or whichever ones I settle on) when running around but sometimes I'll wear them when I crash and I sleep on my back so it shouldn't be a problem. I have a feeling that once these are broken in a bit that they will sound very nice....we'll see.