EDIT:
9/12/16
This review was done before I realized I may have gotten a defective pair, and that is why I was experiencing almost a veil like sound from these that makes cymbals and high hats sound distorted. Once I try another pair of X20i's, I will update this review to confirm if I really did try a defective pair.
The Klipsch X20i is Klipsch's flagship IEM, which has a dual balanced armature driver system packed in. Klipsch claims that the addition of a dedicated BA "super tweeter" driver makes these sound like over ear model headphones. That is a bold claim, but I definitely agree these compete with many over ears around this price.
I find the sound of headphones the most important factor above anything else, so if a headphone is ugly but sounds amazing, I will still keep it. However, with Klipsch, these IEMs look stunning, and really look more like a piece of art than an IEM. Build quality alone, these are reflective of their $500 price point. The "surgical grade injection molded steel" according to their website feels so high quality, it feels like a tool. I won't go too much into detail about the build quality, but it is very impressive.
When it comes to the sound, I had an interesting experience. At first, I could have sworn they sounded worse than the Klipsch X10. I was very sad if this was the case, as I thought maybe I got a defective model. But no, what actually happened, was a seal problem. The stock ear tips that were on the X20i's where too big for my ear canal, and didn't get a solid seal, and therefore the treble extension suffered drastically. However, when I installed the small ear tips and got a proper seal, my goodness these sounded fantastic. So make sure you get a good seal well within your ear canal for the best possible sound. The treble extension really does sound like over-ear headphones. And they blow both the Klipsch X10 and the Shure SE-425 out of the water when it comes to detail and realism. The bass is very extended and present but not to the point of being super rumbly and overbearing. These sound very fast in the bass and are very punchy. These honestly sound like a typical monitor speaker frequency response. I guess this is what Klipsch intended, as they are a speaker company. I would characterize these as warm sounding, with neutral mids and treble, and very flat above the initial warmth of the bass and lower mids. According to the frequency graph at Innerfidelity, these extend all the way to about 17 Khz before rolling off. http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/KlipschX20i.pdf
These have incredibly low distortion too, only bad 5% distortion occurs after playing at 100 db, but who the hell would play that loud unless you want permanent hearing loss?
Comfort wise, they are just as comfortable as the X10s, if not more so. The steel housing is shaped like the inside of the ear, and feels much more comfortable than the typical IEM design. They come with 5 different tips including the ones already installed on them. They come with the same tips as the X10: small, medium, and large oval tips, and a small and large double flange tip sizes, except this time they are black colored. For me, the small fits the best, as I have smaller than normal ear canals. Anyone should be able to find a nice fit with one of these tips.
Compared to my Sennheiser HD 650, which are open over ear headphones, the Klipsch X20i is not as open or airy, but that is a typical limitation of IEMs. Given the HD650 and X20i are both around the same price point, the Klipsch's compete very well against open back headphones around their price. For example, these sound more natural and real to life than the Beyerdynmaic DT-880, and the Audio Technica ATH-M50, at least to my ears. In fact, I would say these sound a lot like the Sennheiser HD650, but in IEM form, and they have more bass. However, $549 is a pretty steep price even for the excellent sound these give you. Another con is the cable, which has a volume control that I never use, so it just gets in the way. Luckily, the cable is detachable, and Klipsch has stated there will be more cables available from them in the future. All in all, they are the best IEMs I have heard so far, definitely better than the X10 and Shure SE-425. If you love the X10s, you will definitely love these. At the time of this review, they are on sale for $439 on Amazon and Ebay, and I'd say that is a very fair price for what you are getting. Great job Klipsch!
9/12/16
This review was done before I realized I may have gotten a defective pair, and that is why I was experiencing almost a veil like sound from these that makes cymbals and high hats sound distorted. Once I try another pair of X20i's, I will update this review to confirm if I really did try a defective pair.
The Klipsch X20i is Klipsch's flagship IEM, which has a dual balanced armature driver system packed in. Klipsch claims that the addition of a dedicated BA "super tweeter" driver makes these sound like over ear model headphones. That is a bold claim, but I definitely agree these compete with many over ears around this price.
I find the sound of headphones the most important factor above anything else, so if a headphone is ugly but sounds amazing, I will still keep it. However, with Klipsch, these IEMs look stunning, and really look more like a piece of art than an IEM. Build quality alone, these are reflective of their $500 price point. The "surgical grade injection molded steel" according to their website feels so high quality, it feels like a tool. I won't go too much into detail about the build quality, but it is very impressive.
When it comes to the sound, I had an interesting experience. At first, I could have sworn they sounded worse than the Klipsch X10. I was very sad if this was the case, as I thought maybe I got a defective model. But no, what actually happened, was a seal problem. The stock ear tips that were on the X20i's where too big for my ear canal, and didn't get a solid seal, and therefore the treble extension suffered drastically. However, when I installed the small ear tips and got a proper seal, my goodness these sounded fantastic. So make sure you get a good seal well within your ear canal for the best possible sound. The treble extension really does sound like over-ear headphones. And they blow both the Klipsch X10 and the Shure SE-425 out of the water when it comes to detail and realism. The bass is very extended and present but not to the point of being super rumbly and overbearing. These sound very fast in the bass and are very punchy. These honestly sound like a typical monitor speaker frequency response. I guess this is what Klipsch intended, as they are a speaker company. I would characterize these as warm sounding, with neutral mids and treble, and very flat above the initial warmth of the bass and lower mids. According to the frequency graph at Innerfidelity, these extend all the way to about 17 Khz before rolling off. http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/KlipschX20i.pdf
These have incredibly low distortion too, only bad 5% distortion occurs after playing at 100 db, but who the hell would play that loud unless you want permanent hearing loss?
Comfort wise, they are just as comfortable as the X10s, if not more so. The steel housing is shaped like the inside of the ear, and feels much more comfortable than the typical IEM design. They come with 5 different tips including the ones already installed on them. They come with the same tips as the X10: small, medium, and large oval tips, and a small and large double flange tip sizes, except this time they are black colored. For me, the small fits the best, as I have smaller than normal ear canals. Anyone should be able to find a nice fit with one of these tips.
Compared to my Sennheiser HD 650, which are open over ear headphones, the Klipsch X20i is not as open or airy, but that is a typical limitation of IEMs. Given the HD650 and X20i are both around the same price point, the Klipsch's compete very well against open back headphones around their price. For example, these sound more natural and real to life than the Beyerdynmaic DT-880, and the Audio Technica ATH-M50, at least to my ears. In fact, I would say these sound a lot like the Sennheiser HD650, but in IEM form, and they have more bass. However, $549 is a pretty steep price even for the excellent sound these give you. Another con is the cable, which has a volume control that I never use, so it just gets in the way. Luckily, the cable is detachable, and Klipsch has stated there will be more cables available from them in the future. All in all, they are the best IEMs I have heard so far, definitely better than the X10 and Shure SE-425. If you love the X10s, you will definitely love these. At the time of this review, they are on sale for $439 on Amazon and Ebay, and I'd say that is a very fair price for what you are getting. Great job Klipsch!