XGC75
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jan 22, 2011
- Posts
- 6
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Ever feel like you have something very special but it's just not for you? Like driving a classic 'Caddy when what you needed was the Lotus. This is my relationship with the Klipsh C3.
The Klipsch. Where to start? Well first of all, they are very inconvenient for me if simply because they're a pain to get in/out. The kit tips never quite fit my canals well so I sprung for some foam tips. Still, getting them in or out is like surgery without the drive to the hospital. When they're in, however, they're invisible. I can even eat comfortably with these in. Their inconvenience just means that I'm in for long jaunts of listening when I pull 'em out of my desk.
My setup is simple, nothing expensive. I listen predominantly through my Touchpad via the E5. The Touchpad doesn't need too much help driving these so I keep the E5 volumes low to reduce their hiss (it comes through so easily, though), but I do need that E5 to get any sort of soundstage from them. And therein lies the problem I have with my C3's.
Now I'm no expert reviewer of sound - I know sound well but I don't know english well enough to express the fine details of these phones. So I'll be speaking in metaphors. Where the Klipsch excel is in painting the image of the sound. Chello's can be identified as composite or wood (sometimes even the type of wood can be felt out). You'll hear whether a vocalist smokes. Heck, you'll know if they smoked in a previous life. You'll hear individual drunk teenagers at the Metallica concert chant profanities as Kirk's subtle sloppyness and rough pick mark his unmistakable style. And when James joins his melody, heaven has found a home between my ears.
Yet as brilliant as the Klipsch can be, I can't get "into" my music much. They're not fun, they're serious. They don't have pronounced detail in the highs, the bass doesn't reach into your brain, and there's a veil over the whole experience that, while easing the listening experience, is separating me from being with the music. There's little soundstage. The signal sits right between your ears and won't venture far beyond. They're not forgiving with lower quality music - you won't hear aberrations, but there will be so much less to enjoy from an already paltry offering.
That's my final conclusion about these phones. I wear them to understand my music better, not to enjoy it better. That's so damning to me because I bought them expecting to gain a better relationship with my music! What I really need is a pair of s80 or M40. Over-ear and open. I'll keep them simply because what they do they do so well, but I won't reach for them very often.
The Klipsch. Where to start? Well first of all, they are very inconvenient for me if simply because they're a pain to get in/out. The kit tips never quite fit my canals well so I sprung for some foam tips. Still, getting them in or out is like surgery without the drive to the hospital. When they're in, however, they're invisible. I can even eat comfortably with these in. Their inconvenience just means that I'm in for long jaunts of listening when I pull 'em out of my desk.
My setup is simple, nothing expensive. I listen predominantly through my Touchpad via the E5. The Touchpad doesn't need too much help driving these so I keep the E5 volumes low to reduce their hiss (it comes through so easily, though), but I do need that E5 to get any sort of soundstage from them. And therein lies the problem I have with my C3's.
Now I'm no expert reviewer of sound - I know sound well but I don't know english well enough to express the fine details of these phones. So I'll be speaking in metaphors. Where the Klipsch excel is in painting the image of the sound. Chello's can be identified as composite or wood (sometimes even the type of wood can be felt out). You'll hear whether a vocalist smokes. Heck, you'll know if they smoked in a previous life. You'll hear individual drunk teenagers at the Metallica concert chant profanities as Kirk's subtle sloppyness and rough pick mark his unmistakable style. And when James joins his melody, heaven has found a home between my ears.
Yet as brilliant as the Klipsch can be, I can't get "into" my music much. They're not fun, they're serious. They don't have pronounced detail in the highs, the bass doesn't reach into your brain, and there's a veil over the whole experience that, while easing the listening experience, is separating me from being with the music. There's little soundstage. The signal sits right between your ears and won't venture far beyond. They're not forgiving with lower quality music - you won't hear aberrations, but there will be so much less to enjoy from an already paltry offering.
That's my final conclusion about these phones. I wear them to understand my music better, not to enjoy it better. That's so damning to me because I bought them expecting to gain a better relationship with my music! What I really need is a pair of s80 or M40. Over-ear and open. I'll keep them simply because what they do they do so well, but I won't reach for them very often.
