Bought Klipsch Image S4A II. Disappointed
Apr 15, 2013 at 5:42 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 13

albertocastillo

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Hello
 
I had a pair of AKG K370 (any one had these? what were your impression?) earphones which have been the best In ear earphones I ever had. They broke recently (they broke twice but I had them replaced the first time) and now they are out of warranty.
I kept checking reviews and found the Klipsch Image S4A II and I had high expectations about them. However I wonder if my pair is a counterfeir or if they are legitimate. They were bought on Amazon (sold by one of their sellers)
Everyone seems to be happy about them on Amazon and so many other places, but to me they are just too bassy, the bass is so well defined when there are not other higher frequencies. Otherwise it seems to get muddy, and besides that they have low highs.
 
The problem is I am not sure if I am so used to my old AKG, which seemed to sound bright and I think they were very well balanced and with a flat frequency response. The only problem I had with them is that they were a bit big and used to fall easily.
 
However I am disappointed with these Klipsch, is it me?. I see they are not so well received in forums like this one, but hey... they were 110€..
I must say they have really good things too, isolation is fantastic, the oval tips are just a great idea and they fit so perfect in my ears and they are so light. Seems they are perfect for workout and running too!
 
Would you recommend me to return them? If I do I don't know which ones to buy
I listen to a lot of styles: electronic dance music like house, elektro, hands up, hardstyle, also classical music, rock, soundtracks, chorus, rnb, dnb..
I'm also a music producer in my free time and I try to look for the most balanced flat response to avoid confussion.
 
I tested my earphones with a Galaxy S and Spotify premium mostly.
 
Thank you.
 
Apr 15, 2013 at 6:24 PM Post #2 of 13
I have a pair of Klipsch Image S4s which I really like, for what they are. There are tons of fakes out there, especially on Amazon, and I know this first hand because the first pair I bought were from Amazon, sold by Amazon, and they turned out to be fakes. They were happy to refund my money though. I bought my second pair directly from the Klipsch website and the sound was stellar. Not expensive IEM stellar, mind you, but stellar for £40 pound IEMs. What is scary is that the fake pair actually doesn't sound that bad, nothing compared to the real ones of course, but it sounds passable. I suspect a lot of people on these forums have been unlucky and have been stuck with fakes.
I actually prefer them for daily commutes over my Shure 535s, mainly because I don't have to deal with the stress of carrying £400 IEMs around on the tube, and the S4s are good enough that I don't feel bad for leaving the 535s at home.
 
Apr 16, 2013 at 5:32 AM Post #3 of 13
Hello
 
Thanks for your reply.
 
I've just contacted Klipsch, I am waiting for their comments. If so I might return these to Amazon and buy directly from them.
I really feel these don't sound better than any 30€ earphones..
 
Is there any other suggestion you have for me?
 
Apr 16, 2013 at 7:52 AM Post #4 of 13
How do you identify fake klispch s4

I bought s4i and sold it, bought xba3i and now bought s4a ii for android

At first sounded different to my old klipsch but thats because i was probably used to xba3.

However now its pretty much what it used to be from memory.

They are high on bass but not too boomy

A bit muddy and worm and the highs are abit peercing which you get over in a week.

Overall the sounds is great for the price, no others on market beat it, trust me i tried a lot even yamaha 100.

What makes klipsch the best iem for me is that every time i put my xba3 in my ear i start to remmber how comfortable klipsch are.

I didnt realise this untill i tried other brands and god knows these are the most comfortable.

I would still love to know if mine are fakes just incase i am too used to high end headphones
 
Apr 16, 2013 at 8:18 AM Post #5 of 13
I have Klipsch S4A II, and they sound great.
What I hate about it, is the microphone and the remote.
The microphone is very weak, and remote requires installation of a Klipsch SW to operate, but it wreaks havoc on all audio programs even when I use another headset. Uninstall didn't help! Why can't they use normal remote, like any other headset does?
 
I would recommend to return S4A II and buy S4II instead. it's 20$ cheaper and has the same great sound.
Or you can buy Rockit R-50 for 120$, which supposed to be a significant upgrade.
 
Apr 16, 2013 at 8:29 AM Post #8 of 13
I think it's a matter of expectations. I like my Clips S4. I wear them to the gym, public transportation, working in the yard w/ my Ipod, etc.
 
They were my first real IEMs. Coming for cheaper/generic IEMs and over the ear HP's under $25 at Best Buys or Target they sounded great. Considering a starting point for IEM sound under $100-I think they are a big step up.
 
You just have to realize they are aren't top of the line fantabulous. If you expect the heavens to open and hear angels sing...not so much- but sound a lot better than the lowfi ghetto and maybe the beginning of something new..... 
 
I would say for someone wanting better sound and a good value-they're a good pick-up.
 
Apr 16, 2013 at 8:35 AM Post #9 of 13
Quote:
I think it's a matter of expectations. I like my Clips S4. I wear them to the gym, public transportation, working in the yard w/ my Ipod, etc.
 
They were my first real IEMs. Coming for cheaper/generic IEMs and over the ear HP's under $25 at Best Buys or Target they sounded great. Considering a starting point for IEM sound under $100-I think they are a big step up.
 
You just have to realize they are aren't top of the line fantabulous. If you expect the heavens to open and hear angels sing...not so much- but sound a lot better than the lowfi ghetto and maybe the beginning of something new..... 
 
I would say for someone wanting better sound and a good value-they're a good pick-up.

 
They were my first Hi-Fi IEMs too. I was floored when I heard them.
Of course now I have moved on to better and more expensive stuff - the Head-Fi effect...
 
Apr 16, 2013 at 3:39 PM Post #10 of 13
Make sure you have a good seal and wear them over the ear, in what the manual calls sport fit. Try going to a Klipsch dealer and ask if you can compare, they'll be happy to tell you if you have fakes or not, everyone enjoys a bit of fake vs real detective work
 
Apr 18, 2013 at 5:27 PM Post #12 of 13
These are a dynamic IEM, so they could sound better after 40+ hours of playtime....
 
just sayin....
 

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