[mvw2]

Well, I've largely ignored Klipch head-fi products. I'm familiar with some of their home and PC fi products, and they've always had good quality sound but a sound signature I personally didn't care for. After a number of positive reviews I decided to give them a first look. A settled on the Custom 3. Although it is now discontinued (not sure why), they are still widely available on eBay, and their $150 price tag is pretty affordable.

[size=medium]Initial Sound Impressions[/size]

I was initially expecting a Klipsch bass and treble focused sound in all its colored glory. I was pleasantly surprised though. Instead I got what sounded like a very well balanced and extended earphone. There really wasn't any particular coloration either. Everything sounded balanced and natural. Way to go Klipsch.

I kept on listening. I immediately picked up on the level of detail of these earphones. They offer a lot of detail, not just on highs but everywhere. They don't come across muddy or sluggish anywhere. The second thing I picked up on right away was this earphone's ability to portray subtlety. It had a good sense of differentiating quiet information from loud information. Some earphones have a tough time with range and come across a bit monotone. These on the contrary are very good at portraying small details like breath/sigh, little background noises.

[size=medium]Testing[/size]

I decided to do a quick check of frequency response just to see what came up. For this I run a pink noise test and run a software EQ that for a lack of a better description is infinitely adjustable. It lets me do whatever I want to the signal. I've done similar testing with about every earphone I've owned. With just a quick and dirty check, I found the Custom 3 to be pretty much ruler flat across the board. There was really no area that needed any adjustment. I could add a little on the very bottom end (below 40Hz), but that was about it. My limit of hearing is around 15kHz, and these extend well out to that point without rolling off.

[size=medium]A/Bing[/size]

I still own my Triple.Fi 10 and OK1, so I'm pretty much stuck to these as comparison. I kind of wish I still had my UM3X, SE530, and IE8, but oh well. The Custom 3 is very much like the Triple.Fi 10. Both represent some of the more balanced earphones out there. The Triple.Fi 10 represents one of the most refined sounding earphones available too, so it is relatively tough competition.

This is a pretty tough comparison I must admit. These earphones sound pretty similar to each other because they have very similar responses and the presentation isn't terribly far off from each other. I'll also note that the Custom 3 is a lot like the SE530 if the SE530 had a flatter response, although the Custom 3 doesn't quite have as airy nor as dynamic note as the SE530.

Frequency:

Frequency response between both are just about the same. The Triple.Fi 10 does have a little hotter top end. It has a slightly rising top end, just a few dB, but it adds some sparkle and sharpness to the highs. The Custom 3 is more balanced, flat. It's not recessed like the SE530 nor hot like the Triple.Fi 10. It's comfortably in the middle where it doesn't overwhelm or lack. Midrange is largely similar to the Triple.Fi 10, natural, neutral. High bass emphasis is slightly more pronounced with the Triple.Fi 10, but it's not so much a matter of frequency response but rather energy/impact of note. The Triple.Fi 10 does roll off at 100Hz, while the Custom 3 is more extended and doesn't really roll off till around 40Hz. You get a little more sense of depth of note with the Custom 3 from this more extended sensitivity. EQing can make both equivalent though.

Dynamics:

Dynamics is one main area where the Custom 3 and Triple.Fi 10 differ. The Triple.Fi 10 is relatively aggressive. It feels powerful in note. There's good authority and energy. This helps promote a somewhat aggressive bass note, not with sensitivity but with energy. The Triple.Fi 10 does fall a little short in its ability to use dynamics linearly. the Triple.Fi 10 is also somewhat constrained in dynamic limit. Something like the UM3X or SE530 or Phonak PFE have a far more extended dynamic range, a range that sounds limitless where loud can be painfully loud. The linearity can be a problem with portraying subtlety. The Triple.Fi 10 has a hard time showing quiet information. Quiet is medium and loud is high meduim with the Triple.Fi 10. Constrained dynamics means constrained emotional context. It's why things like the UM3X and SE530 are more involving and emotionally driven earphones and the Triple.Fi 10 to many are somewhat...boring. The Custom 3 has the ability to produce subtlety. It's something I really liked from the UM3X as well and ER4S in the past. It's something that many earphones have a hard time doing. The Custom 3 still lacks some dynamic range though. It seems to top out a little early. Loud for it is moderate. It also lacks some energy and impact of note. Because of this, the Custom 3 isn't quite as emotionally involving as some other earphones like the UM3X or OK1 which both are capable of subtlety and effortless explosiveness of energy. I will say that the Custom 3 offers excellent linearity in the range that it does offer, so everything comes across balanced and even, more so then the Triple.Fi 10. It kind of reminds me of the ER4S where it's more subtle then outgoing.

Sound Stage:

This is an area that I think both the Triple.Fi 10 and Custom 3 suffer. The Triple.Fi 10 is slightly closed in sounding where everything sounds stuck in a virtual room of a given size. The Triple.Fi 10 lacks breadth of space. The presentation is somewhat close too, not as in your face as the UM3X but not big and spacious like the IE8. The Triple.Fi 10 wouldn't be bad if it wasn't closed in. The Custom 3 shares some of the closed in sense of the Triple.Fi 10 but is also worse in size with a very small presentation. Because the dynamic range isn't high like the UM3X, the Custom 3 isn't so much in your face, but it remains small, limited pretty much stopping at your ears as the outer extent. The UM3X may be very in your face, but the breadth of space is infinite in distance. It can actually portray a sound (cheering fans) 100 feet away. The Triple.Fi 10 portrays these fans as right by you. The Custom 3 portrays a little bit of distancing but is compacted to within the limits of the entire stage presence which is quite small. I have yet to hear another earphone with the linearity and breadth of the OK1 bud.

Locational cues are mediocre too with the Custom 3. There is some generalized sense of location, but most of the sounds are more so center left and right then some location out in virtual space. The Triple.Fi 10 may be somewhat closed it but it is pretty good about placing sounds in a particular virtual spot. Absolutely nothing beats the UM3X though in terms of locational cues and distancing.

Layering/separation is something that the Custom 3 does fine though. Despite the small space, the Custom 3 has a very clean and well defined sound that doesn't muddy information together. Every sound is its own unique sound not mixed in with other stuff. It may not be particular about distancing but everything doesn't sound cluttered together. Most of the better earphones I've used have been decently well with this.

[size=medium]Construction/Cosmetics[/size]

Well, the Klipsch Custom 3 is half good and half bad. The design is largely clean and functional. The earphone itself fits well and is comfortable. It's light and sized small enough to fit well in the ear. I do kind of wish it fit more in the ear though. There is a short stalk on the nozzle that kind of holds the earphone out away from the ear a little bit so it doesn't sit flush with the ear. I would have liked to see this a little more compact like Westone so the casing actually sits in the ear space. However, this does ensure that it fits most everyone without a fuss. The over the ear section works well.

The cord has minimal or no stress relief. It would be nice to see some at every point that cable meets part. The cord is goofy. It has a cloth covering and the cord itself is pretty tiny. It doesn't feel like it would break on you but it makes for a bit of microphonics due to the hard cloth material, and the small size makes the cord tangle very easy.

Fit and finish is decent for the most art. It doesn't look or feel cheap. I would call it very similar to the Phonak PFE in terms of build, i.e. well done but noticeable cost cutting.

[size=medium]Verdict[/size]

First off, at the $150 price point these go for, these are a killer deal. This was around the price of the RE0 when they first came out, the PFE, SA6, or a host of other decent earphones. For the balance and range, I don't think any other earphone I've used can match the Custom 3 for $150 or under. Even the now cheap Triple.Fi 10 isn't that different. I would slightly call the Triple.Fi 10 better simply because it offers a little more overall, but the Custom 3 is only a small step down and a sizable step above that of the PFE or RE0.

The Good:
-broad frequency response
-linear dynamic range
-level of detail

The Bad:
-limited dynamic breadth, energy, note impact
-small stage size, poor location sense.

Should you buy the Custom 3? Probably. Is it the best out there? Nope, but at $150 it is a category leading product. Its faults are only slight, and it otherwise offers so much else.

 

[mugen3]

Great review!

 

[Rip N' Burn]

Klipsch stopped production of the custom line because too many people have had fit problems and they didn't sell too well. The S4 has become their best selling iem.

I had fit issues with my custom 3's. When I finally was able to get a decent seal, my ears would become irritated after 20 minutes or so. The cable was atrocious. I had kinks develop, was very stiff, and it always seemed to tangle horribly. The worst part was the microphonics. I owned many iems and when the cable is wrapped around the ear, cable noise is greatly reduced. As these naturally wrap around the ear, I was amazed by the amount of cable noise I was hearing. It is definitely one of the worst cables out there.

I had my custom 3's remolded by Unique Melody and what a difference! They made two sound bores, one for each driver, and added their own acoustical filters to each bore. Big increase in soundstage and the midrange became incredibly smooth. A real pleasure to listen to, and I use a westone ES cable that is removable!!! I prefer them much more to the X5 that I used to own and the S4 that I still own.

I think that Klipsch should have at least redesigned the custom 3. Provide a much better cable, shorten the length of the nozzle, allow for two sound bores from the nozzle each with their own filter, and provide foam tips. I believe with this combination they would have had a winner.

 

[Kunlun]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rip N' Burn /img/forum/go_quote.gif Klipsch stopped production of the custom line because too many people have had fit problems and they didn't sell too well. The S4 has become their best selling iem. I had fit issues with my custom 3's. When I finally was able to get a decent seal, my ears would become irritated after 20 minutes or so. The cable was atrocious. I had kinks develop, was very stiff, and it always seemed to tangle horribly. The worst part was the microphonics. I owned many iems and when the cable is wrapped around the ear, cable noise is greatly reduced. As these naturally wrap around the ear, I was amazed by the amount of cable noise I was hearing. It is definitely one of the worst cables out there. I had my custom 3's remolded by Unique Melody and what a difference! They made two sound bores, one for each driver, and added their own acoustical filters to each bore. Big increase in soundstage and the midrange became incredibly smooth. A real pleasure to listen to, and I use a westone ES cable that is removable!!! I prefer them much more to the X5 that I used to own and the S4 that I still own. I think that Klipsch should have at least redesigned the custom 3. Provide a much better cable, shorten the length of the nozzle, allow for two sound bores from the nozzle each with their own filter, and provide foam tips. I believe with this combination they would have had a winner.

Wow, you really did that? How cool. How much did it cost and was it easy to work with Unique Melody or were there any problems?
Tell me all about it, if you don't mind!

 

[mvw2]

The drivers used certainly are decent. I could see the same drivers seeing better results in a different package. But yeah, I agree the cable is quite a shortcoming for them in terms of design. I kind of wonder if one of their focuses was light weight. I do like the cable in that it is probably one of the lightest cabling of any earphone I've used. However, something more like Westone's design would be a vast improvement without any sizable cable weight.

I personally like the fit fine. I see Westone's design as being more hit or miss with folks. I think the angling of the Custom 3 is slightly off though, so it can fit weird without getting the cable bent right.

It is kind of unfortunate that they gave up the Custom 3. They could have certainly done a simple redesign. It's not like minor changes the the casing and cabling is a profound cost. They did compare their X10 to the Custom 3 in one of their forum threads. They suggested that they performed similar but with the Custom 3 offering a little less distortion due to the driver surface area.

 

[IpodHappy]

The cable microphonics are the deal breaker for me on these IEMs. They never get used for anything as a result, though the sound quality is generally good. I hate the sound of a cable scratching on my neck every time I turn my head or even breath.

 

[mark2410]

nice review even if i was disagreeing with big chunks of it, mostly about the tf10. the custom 3 ive always thought is a great little IEM, for me with olives on the fits perfect but that cable!!!!!

why klipisch changed to that super stiff cable that kinks if looked at i shall never understand

 

[mvw2]

Feel free to clarify on the TF10 if you want. My discussion was more a relative reference more so then an absolute reference. I've reviewed and commented on the TF10 thoroughly it a couple of my other threads. This was more so a comparison between the two and how they varied in little ways. Some of my comments were a little subjective, subjective to what I've used and to my personal preferences. I can also be quite hard on small details in my reviews. Really, once earphones get this good, they don't really do anything significantly bad. The only things you can dig into and complain about are the small details and generally small variants in those details. Sometimes it's not a matter of being good or bad from a raw sense. Sometimes it's a matter of another product existing that offers more or a better implementation. If I complain about something relatively small about the linearity of dynamics, it's because there isn't much else to complain about. On the flip side, there is so much these earphones are NOT doing wrong that these are the only things I can discuss.

Most of my TF10 comments revolve around comparing it to the other main competitors like the IE8, SE530, and UM3X. I could compare the TF10 against the Nuforce NE-7M and declare the TF10 an absolute god, but relative to its rivals, there are some shortcomings that the competitors do better. I'm also comparing the Custom 3 to the TF10 because they are surprisingly similar in sound whereas the IE8, SE530, and UM3X are vastly different in sound signature. This sort of gives the Custom 3 a tough crowd to work with.

We've both shared an array of earphones(C751, TF10, ER4S in my case, IE8, UM3X, RE0), and I'm familiar with your amps too. My bro owns both the Icon and XM5 and I've used the FiiOs but now a 2Move which is quite similar to the XM5.

 

[Rip N' Burn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kunlun /img/forum/go_quote.gif Wow, you really did that? How cool. How much did it cost and was it easy to work with Unique Melody or were there any problems? Tell me all about it, if you don't mind!

At that time it was $80 USD without shipping but now it's around $120 which includes shipping. I had to communicate with Sam directly from UM. He usually responded to my emails within a day or two. There was a time he didn't respond after a few days but when I sent him another email, I got a quick response. English communication is not the greatest but I didn't have any problems in this area. I grew up around a few people who learned english as a secondary language, so I don't have issues with understanding broken english. I got the custom 3 remolded and got them to build their flagship custom iem, the Mage. The Mage fit me perfectly but I had to send back the custom 3 for a refit. I didn't need to send them new ear impressions. At the same time, I got some TF10's when they were on sale and got UM to remold and upgrade them to 6 drivers. 2 for highs, 2 for mids, 2 for lows, 3 way crossover, and 2 sound bores. They pay for shipping back to you when you send them in for a refit within 30 days. They sent them back and now they fit perfectly. Overall, I would say i am very happy with the experience. Excellent quality of work. My custom iems look like polished gemstones.

 

[mark2410]

mvw2 mostly i disagreed about the tf10 being balanced and even, i find them really quite treble happy. the custom 3 is if anything a tiny bit treble shy but very smooth

 

[lucozade]

Fantastic detailed review on the custom 3, one of my faviorate iems(yours is a much better review than the one i did on them)

,we seem to have the much the same thoughts in general about them, with just a few difference of opinons.

I was suprised they dont fit flush to your ears,i have no problem with the fit and find the custom 3 sits flush to ear ,in the same way my westone 3, You do need to push them right into your ears and they do go in quite deep which can be a little disconcerting at first,but you get used to it after a while, i do agree that that the angle of the sound tube is a bit off which results in a finaky fit that requires a few minutes to get the sound tube in your ear at the right angle to achieve the best possible sound and maximum soundstage presentation.

I can't agree that the c3 has limited dymanic's ,energy or note impact,i dont find them lacking in those areas and they are more than capable of producing spontaineuos bursts of energy.

I also would not say they have a small soundstage or the triple fi 10 for that matter,i think both of these have a resonably large sound stage for iem's,granted not as large as the ie8 but not closed in ,narrow or small .

Ive also never had eny diffcuties in perciving the location of the instrements within the soundstage.

For me ive never had a problem with the way these sound or how the present the music, i find them to be the most musical of all my iems

The only bad points i can fault these for are as follows

the angle of the sound tube, making them time comsuming to fit to get optimon sound possible
thin fragile looking cable ,that you need to treat with kid gloves to keep it perfect condition and it tangles easy

microphonics make these not really sutable for using when on the move.

 

[jleewach]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rip N' Burn /img/forum/go_quote.gif I think that Klipsch should have at least redesigned the custom 3. Provide a much better cable, shorten the length of the nozzle, allow for two sound bores from the nozzle each with their own filter, and provide foam tips. I believe with this combination they would have had a winner.

I've talked to prof thump @ Klipsch on their message board, and he's mentioned several times that the custom 3 is his favorite of their offerings. I believe he even mentioned re-introducing them as a heritage product, so maybe they'll make these improvements & have a real winner. I'd buy them again in a heartbeat.

 

[mvw2]

The dynamics are more of a relative scale. For example, something like the PFE, the SE530, the UM3X, and OK1 that I've used all have more dynamic breadth then the Custom 3. What I mean by this is the relative scale between quiet and loud, the raw energy of note, explosiveness, yada, yada. It's sort of that pow factor. This isn't just volume level either. It's the ability to play music at a medium volume and have the energetic sections of the music really stand out, to really carry the energy it should. An earphone with a lower dynamic range will come across more relaxed, subtle, laid back. High energy sections just don't carry the same emphasis. The Custom 3 is not bad. I wouldn't call it lacking either. There is enough there not to desire more. But I also know there are other earphones that offer more of it. It is middle of the road when it comes to portraying raw energy within the music. Middle of the road isn't bad. It's a place where a lot of people will feel content with the amount. What the Custom 3 does really well is portray great linearity in the dynamic range where you get a great sense of quiet information, medium level information, and louder information. It's just that the loud information simply doesn't carry quiet as much energy as some other earphones like the UM3X. A highly dynamic earphone should have a sense about it that there is no limit to the output. It should sound like it could hurt you if it were given the wrong information, i.e. will rip your head off. The Custom 3 is not like this.

I'm quite picky with sound stage. This is something I became very fond of after owning the ER4S. I have found few earphones to portray a great sound stage. By sound stage I don't only talk about size. I talk mainly about locational cues, the ability for an earphone to place a singer, instrument, or sound in a very exact spot on mental space. With a good earphone, I should be able to say the singer is straight in front of me and 5 feet away, the guitarist is 30 degrees to the right and 10 feet back, and the audience member screaming in the background is 100 feet away and off to the left. This isn't a vague sense either. The sound exists solidly in space as if I could actually see it in real life. It should be as good as you looking into a forest and picking out the specific spot of every single tree in relation to your position, distance and angle, and every tree exists in its own spot and that you can perceive this spot as separate from the tree near it. The Custom 3 isn't this great. It isn't even al that good. I don't really get any sense of the sounds existing in a mental place. I get some sense of direction and some sense of distance relative to other sounds there, but the sounds don't exist in their own space. Rather they simply exist relative to other sounds there. Mind you it's not horrible, but it is far from great.

I do find the angle off, at least as being able to get them to stick way in my ears. I'm using the Shure Olives now, and I don't wear those deep in the ear. I don't mind the deep in ear concept. The Sleek Audio SA6 is like that. Those things go way up the ear canal. They pretty much have to be deep in the ear to sound correct. Otherwise the frequency response is kind of messed up.

 

[jleewach]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mark2410 /img/forum/go_quote.gif why klipisch changed to that super stiff cable that kinks if looked at i shall never understand

I honestly don't think they purposely changed the cable. I'm thinking there was some kind of manufacturing defect that Klipsch didnt really want to own up to.

 

[Enanthate]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jleewach /img/forum/go_quote.gif I honestly don't think they purposely changed the cable. I'm thinking there was some kind of manufacturing defect that Klipsch didnt really want to own up to.

LOL.

I really have to wonder if anyone from klipsch tried walking with these phones on pre-production. Microphonics are really awful

. It's a shame they didn't correct this issue and continue with a triple driver custom.