[BloodSugar00]

I ordered these from Amazon UK at their remarkable, short-time offer of 56% off (49.99 marked down from 106.99). I have refrained from trying them out until just now as I have had out and still have in my possession to do more evaluating with 6 DAPs on an extended (due to festive time of year) opened-box returns policy. As I havn't completed my side-testing with those DAPs yet, I wasn't even planning on trying the 2's this early but just got the urge and am givin them a blast now!

Wasn't what I was expecting at all but I'm pleasantly surprised- they provide a fun, enjoyable, lively, bright, musical sound! I have gone from using the triple fi's to these, so don't get me wrong, theres a noticeable differance there, mainly in bass and soundstage and body of sound. The UE's are full and big and provide a weighty, meaty bass as a part of this. The 2's are noticeably tiny in sound size in comparison. The soundstage is alot narrower and concentralised into a small area in front of you and into your head and is not very enveloping around the head, if at all. However, though, in this regard, this is a stark change, I quite like it and find it enjoyable and still highly involving! The sound is noticeably smaller and thinner and reedier but it is crisp, bright and detailed and the instruement separation is still to a high grade! Right now I am getting the impression that their sound is smaller but really acutely resolved, clearer but at the sacrifice of making it smaller in size. It's like listening to the music from a different place, a different perspective, and I enjoy that change. The bass is the most disappointing aspect of their sound so far though, being starved and quite anaemic to say the least. I do like the sound so far though, that's for sure! And another pleasant surprise for me is how complementary to my ear anatomy the fit and comfort of these phones are (given the high levels of criticism the klipsch custom line has recieved in this regard)! Suppose I'm just fortunate, akin to the UE fit and ergonomics, these just meld so seemlessly with my ear shape; they are so comfortable and quick to insert it's unbeleivable! It's almost effortless for me to put them in! I havn't had enough time with them yet to know whether I'm getting a perfect seal yet, however, as watery and anaemic (it's actually seeming to improve as I get used to the phone's presenation etc) as it is, the bass is there.

Yeah, so all in all, I am liking these IEM's and their own brand of sonic delivery

 

[BloodSugar00]

Woah! Wrong forum LOL! Can a mod move this to the portable headphones forum please?

 

[walkingman]

Nice to hear about instrumental seperation as I found those weak on the C-1 (which I got for £18). The Custom-2 for £49.99 is mighty tempting. Perhaps I'll wait for them to cut the price of the Custom-3!

 

[tstarn06]

Funny you should post this mini-review. I recently was lucky enough to get the Westone 3s as a Xmas gift (can't open until them, but I did listen for about 30 mins.), so I decided to put the Custom 3s up for sale (got them via impulse purchase for the $150 price). A Head-Fi'er, a fellow from the UK, asked about buying them, made a lower offer than I would have liked, and also asked if my Sony A818 was enough to power them. I didn't know, so I tried them out with the Sony. I have to say, using the extra pair of medium single flanges, they sound pretty darn good, very warm, not really enough treble for my tastes (but the Sony EQ took care of that pronto) and as is your experience, they fit like a glove.

So rather than sell them for less than they are worth, I decided to hold on and use them a little. I know others have disparaged the Custom lineup (especially the 3s), but I like their detail, and their bass is not anemic at all. I do prefer the X10 sound a little more (have those too), but funny how things work out.

 

[BloodSugar00]

Quote:

Originally Posted by walkingman /img/forum/go_quote.gif Nice to hear about instrumental seperation as I found those weak on the C-1 (which I got for £18). The Custom-2 for £49.99 is mighty tempting. Perhaps I'll wait for them to cut the price of the Custom-3!

Yeah, I'm also hoping Amazon extend that their trend and proffer the Custom 3's at a great, cut-deal price!

Quote:

Originally Posted by tstarn06 Funny you should post this mini-review. I recently was lucky enough to get the Westone 3s as a Xmas gift (can't open until them, but I did listen for about 30 mins.), so I decided to put the Custom 3s up for sale (got them via impulse purchase for the $150 price). A Head-Fi'er, a fellow from the UK, asked about buying them, made a lower offer than I would have liked, and also asked if my Sony A818 was enough to power them. I didn't know, so I tried them out with the Sony. I have to say, using the extra pair of medium single flanges, they sound pretty darn good, very warm, not really enough treble for my tastes (but the Sony EQ took care of that pronto) and as is your experience, they fit like a glove. So rather than sell them for less than they are worth, I decided to hold on and use them a little. I know others have disparaged the Custom lineup (especially the 3s), but I like their detail, and their bass is not anemic at all. I do prefer the X10 sound a little more (have those too), but funny how things work out.

As just said to walkingman, and certainly after sampling the sound of the custom 2's, I'd be very tempted to pounce on the custom 3's if they're to be heavily reduced in price by Amazon Uk i(n keeping with their recent trend of discounting the respective models in the Custom line)! Over the course of time, in the portable headphones thread, I have managed, through coming across and reading a large proportion of your posts, to follow your recent IEM's journey, and so was aware you had the image X10's, and, more recently, had aquired the custom 3's, and, ,then, even more recently, had added the Westone 3's to your collection (maybe not an accurate term as I know you sell on to fund and/or justify other purchases lol). I respect your views and impressions, as you are quite like minded to myself and capture and convey your impressions to a high quality and accuracy (recognising, of course, subjectivity is still at large in this game). Therefore, this, in combination with that I, also, use a Sony DAP (NWZ-A829, in my case), and because there is obviously likely to be an integral shared sonic quality and character between the 2's and 3's, being of the same line and all, I am now more eager than ever to try the Custom 3's! I certainly need a considerable amount more listening time with the 2's, but my initial impressions, with their bass quantity and your endorsement of the 3's bass being more than sufficient (you' ve had experience with bassy IEM's in the Atrios, image X10s and, briefly, the 3's, from the top of my head), then I extrapolate quite a tasty sound sig for the 3's that I will like! Bring em on Amazon....

 

[mark2410]

lol so much for you holding out, but any way i totally agree with you about them being very fun, though i find the 1 even more fun as one review i saw of them said they dont play music they just hurl it into your head, the 2's are much more controlled and detailed and they feel far more detailed than they are. the sound they choose to reproduce i feel they do them very nicely but if there a is a sound they dont like they just wont even try to reproduce it. everything they do do sounds so forward and playful.

 

[mark2410]

hmm been listening to the 2's all morn and put my SE530's in about 20 min ago, it really shows up the 2's inadequacys but for £50 they very nice and oh so much fun

 

[BloodSugar00]

Hey! U found this thread then haha!

We're pretty much in agreement on their sound like. Maybe with more use I'll notice the absence and/or poor reproduction of certain aspects of songs' sounds with more listening. That does sound like quite a tarnishing flaw so i hope I don't discover it for myself! Have you read any other comments or impressions on this IEM that also find this trait? Could be that you've recieved a defective set?

 

[Beyerfan70]

BloodSugar,Do you happen to know how these 2's stack up to the superfi 3/5 pro's in terms of sound quality?

 

[BloodSugar00]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beyerfan70 /img/forum/go_quote.gif BloodSugar,Do you happen to know how these 2's stack up to the superfi 3/5 pro's in terms of sound quality?

Afraid not as I've not owned or had the opportunity to listen to the super fi 3's/5's unfortunately. They're not phones I've read many impressions of either so I couldn't even offer an idea of how I think they compare. My only suggestion is to use the search function or look for both those phones as owned and/or tried in members' signatures.

 

[Beyerfan70]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BloodSugar00 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Afraid not as I've not owned or had the opportunity to listen to the super fi 3's/5's unfortunately. They're not phones I've read many impressions of either so I couldn't even offer an idea of how I think they compare. My only suggestion is to use the search function or look for both those phones as owned and/or tried in members' signatures.

Yeah tried that,unfortunately there isn't a great deal of comparison,and amazon isn't much better,they review the wrong ones lol.
Ok well how bout compared to the Sa6 as i know you have good experience with those.

 

[BloodSugar00]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beyerfan70 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yeah tried that,unfortunately there isn't a great deal of comparison,and amazon isn't much better,they review the wrong ones lol. Ok well how bout compared to the Sa6 as i know you have good experience with those.

Yeah, I anticipated as much and Amazon lumps all reviews for any Klipsch IEM in the reviews on a specific model so I know what you're on about there!

The SA6? Interesting one really. Again, I should say I've not listened extensively to the 2's (and have actually put them away again now as I continue side-testing the DAPs I've got out atm). However, I'd say they quite reminiscent of the SA6 sound. Both sound like a one driver IEM in the body and depth of their sound but the Klipsch are much smaller again and more concentralised in the space in front of you and into your head. It's almost like your looking down on the sound, at a 30-40 degree angle from a great height! However, the sound is extremely focused, defined and detailed- its acutely resolved. Its odd, because the instruemnt separation is very good so, though the soundstage is very narrow and concentrated, the sound doesn't seem congested. It is congested in comparison to the SA6 though and the illusion of clarity and resolution in the 2's may come from the fact that all elements of the recording come from, pretty much, the same little space and so you're seeing them all together and not having to pull them out from a spacious arrangement and presentaion, which, by comparison, is what the SA6 deliver. The bass on the SA6 is criticised- though I find more than sufficient with certain measures and/or mods in place (I'm sure you're aware of these!)- but I would say the 2's bass is about the bass you get on the bass = setting from the SA6; ie I find it pretty weak and anemic (I certainly can't feel it but can visualise it). The SA6 sound just has more soul to it also. The Klipsch are fun but quite articficial sounding to my ears, being overly bright and glass-like.

Hope that helps a bit! As I say, my impression of the 2's is by no means conclusive.

 

[Beyerfan70]

Thanks loads for that man,i get what you mean about the looking down at the music.
So fun and musical,artificial and glass like....if memory serves me correct thats just how the audio technica Es7 sounded.
Thank you very much bud,its extremely helpful.

 

[BloodSugar00]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beyerfan70 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks loads for that man,i get what you mean about the looking down at the music. So fun and musical,artificial and glass like....if memory serves me correct thats just how the audio technica Es7 sounded. Thank you very much bud,its extremely helpful.

No worries man

Glad I could help you out

 

[tstarn06]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BloodSugar00 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yeah, I'm also hoping Amazon extend that their trend and proffer the Custom 3's at a great, cut-deal price! As just said to walkingman, and certainly after sampling the sound of the custom 2's, I'd be very tempted to pounce on the custom 3's if they're to be heavily reduced in price by Amazon Uk i(n keeping with their recent trend of discounting the respective models in the Custom line)! Over the course of time, in the portable headphones thread, I have managed, through coming across and reading a large proportion of your posts, to follow your recent IEM's journey, and so was aware you had the image X10's, and, more recently, had aquired the custom 3's, and, ,then, even more recently, had added the Westone 3's to your collection (maybe not an accurate term as I know you sell on to fund and/or justify other purchases lol). I respect your views and impressions, as you are quite like minded to myself and capture and convey your impressions to a high quality and accuracy (recognising, of course, subjectivity is still at large in this game). Therefore, this, in combination with that I, also, use a Sony DAP (NWZ-A829, in my case), and because there is obviously likely to be an integral shared sonic quality and character between the 2's and 3's, being of the same line and all, I am now more eager than ever to try the Custom 3's! I certainly need a considerable amount more listening time with the 2's, but my initial impressions, with their bass quantity and your endorsement of the 3's bass being more than sufficient (you' ve had experience with bassy IEM's in the Atrios, image X10s and, briefly, the 3's, from the top of my head), then I extrapolate quite a tasty sound sig for the 3's that I will like! Bring em on Amazon....

Thanks, and we do seem to have similar tastes. I do feel the Custom 3s are very, very decent phones, but they are worth the $150 I paid, but not $300 (especially in light of the fact I got the W3s for $260). If you don't have the X10s and they become available for a good price, you might enjoy them even more than the C3s. Very close to the SA6s, but so much more comfortable for me (as are the Custom 3s with those new single flange sleeves I tried yesterday). I sold my SA6s, in fact. But it was not an easy decision.

Anyway, either the Custom 3s or the X10 will make you happy. But save up your money and get the W3s if you can. As you note, I only got a brief glimpse (or hearing), but I can't wait to open that box come Xmas day. Cheers.