[Peruvian96]

I've been thinking about buying this IEM for quite a while now. I've heard great reviews on them, but also some bad ones. Both sides contradict each other. one says that the sound is warm and nice, while the other side says that the klipsch image s4 have a harsh sound, especially in the treble area. i want to know, are these IEM's any good? My listening genres stretch a long way. i listen to death metal to trance, hard rock to jazz, hardstyle to punk. what i really love is bass, i cant get enough of it (unless its really muddy. i want tight bass that can also give me a kind of subwoofer effect.). Another thing is clarity. ive had some headphones that were all bass and it drowned out the rest of the music. 
basically : Treble - warm, not ear piercing
                Mids - Voices should sound soothing. i should be able to tell between a man's voice and a female's voice.
                Lows - Strong Bass that doesnt drown out the rest of the music. I should be able to feel the bass, not hear it. 
Other Recommendations for same price range?

 

[Kunlun]

Quote:

I've been thinking about buying this IEM for quite a while now. I've heard great reviews on them, but also some bad ones. Both sides contradict each other. one says that the sound is warm and nice, while the other side says that the klipsch image s4 have a harsh sound, especially in the treble area. i want to know, are these IEM's any good? My listening genres stretch a long way. i listen to death metal to trance, hard rock to jazz, hardstyle to punk. what i really love is bass, i cant get enough of it (unless its really muddy. i want tight bass that can also give me a kind of subwoofer effect.). Another thing is clarity. ive had some headphones that were all bass and it drowned out the rest of the music. 
basically : Treble - warm, not ear piercing
                Mids - Voices should sound soothing. i should be able to tell between a man's voice and a female's voice.
                Lows - Strong Bass that doesnt drown out the rest of the music. I should be able to feel the bass, not hear it. 
Other Recommendations for same price range?

Every earphone has bad reviews. The ones that don't simply don't have enough reviews for bad ones to show up yet.
 
I can't promise you'll like the S4's treble, it can be sharp, depending on the ears of the person listening.
 
Sony Ex500 will have a warm, bassy sound you'll probably like a lot.
 
Monster Turbines will be another good choice in the price range, this might be even better. Those two are good choices according to what you want (many people will suggest earphones without really reading or caring what you are actually looking for. It's a little strange, but it's the way things work here).
 
There are a lot of others that will be harder for you to get (or you'll need to do order overseas--which is risky when they break). 
 

 

[sphinxvc]

The S4s from my experience do bass well but are harsh in treble.  They're a V-shaped sound signature and I wouldn't praise their clarity as the bass sometimes over powers the midrange.  Overall they're fun and can be great to rock out to, but if you stop and really listen, especially if you're used to accurate IEMs you'll notice the flaws easily.  They sound too good for the price I just sold my pair for: $40.  But at the $80 MSRP I would look elsewhere.  

 

[MarkyMark87]

This is a bit late but I have these, but they're my first quality pair of headphones, so I guess I wouldn't be able to give the most accurate description.  It has good bass, but I'm a basshead so if anything I would want more.  I'm not really sure about mids, but sometimes some male voices can sound a bit conjested like Kid Cudi, he seems to be affected the most by this, but only on some of his songs as others are fine.  In general the female voices sound much better than the male voices now that I think of it.  I'll say this, someone with a higher pitch voice such as Drake will sound much better than someone with a deeper voice such as Kid Cudi with these (I'm using rappers but best way for me to describe the sound, sorry).  In terms of treble, now that I read this, I can say its good for the most part but sometimes I guess it could be a bit harsh if the volume is high on some songs.  If this helps, I use them through my laptop which has a max volume 25 but I never go past 7 (10 only maybe like 2 times) because after that its too loud and it feels like they're screaming at me.  I'm listening to Rihanna (Only Girl) right now and it sounds pretty good.I was listening to it at 5, I put it to 10 now and its just too loud, I'm scared she's gonna yell in my ear if i keep it at this volume, ok she is now clearly yelling, putting it back down.  Hope this helps

 

[MarkyMark87]

Quote:

The S4s from my experience do bass well but are harsh in treble.  They're a V-shaped sound signature and I wouldn't praise their clarity as the bass sometimes over powers the midrange.  Overall they're fun and can be great to rock out to, but if you stop and really listen, especially if you're used to accurate IEMs you'll notice the flaws easily.  They sound too good for the price I just sold my pair for: $40.  But at the $80 MSRP I would look elsewhere.  

So does V-shaped mean they have strong lows and highs but recessed mids?

 

[vtckf]

I went for the rugged version with thicker cables....think they call it the s5i.  I think they are pretty good and have the klipsch trademark sound.  good bass and a bit bright.   Probably works best for rock.   They sound pretty good to me and don't need an amp.

 

[RBNHIFI]

s4's direct competitor would be thinksound ts02.  In which case for the same price, ts02 seems to be the preferred choice out of the 2.

 

[orrb_05]

With the S4 being in the $70-$80 range, is this your budget or can yo go higher? I ask becuase you state "i want tight bass that can also give me a kind of subwoofer effect." """ 
 
I have the S4s coming on Fri, so I can not provide my point of view. However, I can tell for tight bass with a subwoofer effect, the Monster Turbines and Turbine Pro Copper most definately deliver. If you go this route make sure you by from an authorized dealer, as there are a ton of fakes out there - best warranty as well.

 

[YMark]

I have both the Monster Turbines and the S4s. In the short time I've had them, I think the Turbines have slightly more bass, but not by much. I find the Klipsch a bit more comfortable, maybe because they're lighter. They're both great IEMs in my opinion, but I'm not sure that the Turbines are worth twice the money.

 

[GGXtreme]

 
[size=medium]

I no longer own the S4's, but as far as I remember:
Bass: Decently strong and punchy, bass hump is somewhere above subbass (but not exactly 'boomy'), not overwhelming for my tastes and good impact.
Mids: Slightly recessed, fairly neutral.
Treble: A bit edgy (some would say harsh and sibilant, I found them bearable after a while), not very smooth.
Soundstage: Fairly deep, but also narrow. Positioning is nothing special.
Fit/tips/sealing: It took me a little while to get used to these, but I remember fairly good isolation. Also note that many other people I know did not like the fit with any of the included tips (I have smaller ear canals and the medium tips worked).

You should also watch what you're plugging them into. They pick up EMI, hiss, noise, etc. very easily, even at low volumes through a good headphone jack due to their low impedance and high sensitivity. Hope this helps.
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[ru9]

Quote:

basically : Treble - warm, not ear piercing
                Mids - Voices should sound soothing. i should be able to tell between a man's voice and a female's voice.
                Lows - Strong Bass that doesnt drown out the rest of the music. I should be able to feel the bass, not hear it. 
Other Recommendations for same price range?

My take on the S4--got it from Amazon.
 
Treble: sibilant and harsh
Bass - Muddy
 
I my prefer my Sennheiser IE 6.

 

[germanturkey]

they need to burn in for a while.  it tightens the bass and tames the treble a bit.

 

[GGXtreme]

Quote:

they need to burn in for a while.  it tightens the bass and tames the treble a bit.

^That. After a bit of burn in, the treble became more acceptable for me. Although in the end, I didn't like the bass all too much, too muddy and punchy for my taste (I'd prefer something deeper and clearer, even with less impact).

 

[SupaMario]

I recently got into the whole headphone thing and I'm enjoying three different types. I own the Koss Porta Pro which were my first and then I got the AKG K702 my last are the Klipsch S4 I like you listen to different types of music. And like the music all three of my headphones are different and if you have been on this site for any time you know people have all kinds of opinions on all three of  them positive and negitive. I can say this about the S4 they are the easiest to drive out of my iPod Classic and I have no problem in recommanding them. Just another opinion for what it's worth, enjoy the music !

 

[orrb_05]

Got the S4s today and have listened for a couple of hours. I must say, out of the box I am pretty impressed...especially for the price. The mids are very smooth anf the highs sound like signature Klipsch - bass is tight and puncy, but also pleasantly smooth. From what I've read on this forum the S4s are better with burn in. They can be overwhelming and fatiguing at higer levels - but at moderate to low volumes they are great. They're eacy to achieve a seal with and isolate very well. For half the price of the Turbines, the S4s are a great value. However, the cable is very thin, even thinner than the Turbines - the housing is plastic, while the Turbine's is metal (not that the plastic is a problem).
 
Bottom line - I'd say the S4s definately hold their weight against the Turbines in terms of sound comparison, while the Turbines have the advantage with build quality and warranty - is this worth nearly double the price from $79 to $149? If budget is a concern than the S4s are a perfect choice IMO - if money is not an issue than go with the Turbines, or both!