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Are the S4s in your post Reference? The reason I ask is that my cable is translucent (the actually wires can be seen through the covering). The cable is also very stiff and retained the zigzag shape from when it was originally packaged. I doubt it will ever straighten out. Sorry if I wasn't clear in my $20.00 comment. What I attempted to say is if Klipsch could see that the cable was going to be almost impossible to get into the tin then supply a case that requires far less effort to use. Klipsch already has a soft pouch that is listed on their site. Substitute that. Supplying something almost useless is worse than supplying nothing at all IMHO.

I am a firm believer in using whatever case is supplied with whatever portable earphones I take with me. To me it helps protect my investment. Having said that, I don't understand the logic of the metallic case. The cable on the Reference S4 is in a permanent zigzag shape. The only way I've been able to use the case is to put the earpieces in their foam cradle then carefully compress the natural folds in the cable. Once this is done, I carefully place the compressed cable in the larger foam section while still holding on tightly and then quickly shut (slam) the lid close before the cable uncompresses and springs out of the case. This is really an arduous process to go through, and pretty ridiculous, just to use the supplied metallic case. Klipsch has soft pouches that should have been supplied instead. This would also justify the $20.00 price increase of the Reference over the Image. The metal can just doesn't work and is pretty much useless.

I also don't believe there is a problem with authentic S4s but with the counterfeits. When I bought mine from an ebay seller, I too would have been fooled if I didn't have my genuine S4s to compare them to. What I find sad is that at the time I informed the seller that he might be selling counterfeits, he had sold 98 including the pair he sold to me. I keep going back checking his feedback for the S4s he sold and all, except for one, rave about great sound and a terrific deal. The one nay also said they were counterfeits. To the sellers credit, after I told him about the dubious authenticity of his earphones, he apologized profusely, gave me an instant refund, paid to have them shipped back to him and pulled the listing. I don't think he knew and was probably as much a victim as the people he sold them to. Unfortunately, there are 96 other people who have probably been duped. I doubt that there is a problem with the original Klipsch S4.Problem is not only fading logo.Having carefully examined my noticed a few differences with genuine.I would describe them but it's hard with my bad English :-)

Hi, I understand the point you're making but keep in mind that Klipsch is known as a premium audio company. I sincerely doubt that they would allow their product to be manufactured by anything less than the most skilled workers that China could offer and under the strictest guidelines. If it were a case of poor QC for legitimate Klipsch products, I'm sure Klipsch would have been aware. As I already stated, Klipsch support person, knew nothing of any issues. Searching the web, it seems that the counterfeit S4 started surfacing at the least, the end of last year. Maybe Klipsch is aware of the counterfeit problem and thats why they will only offer warranty support for products purchased through authorized dealers. If you check their dealer page, you'll see that Amazon is listed as an authorized dealer but not their selling partners. Maybe the mixed reviews were the results of fakes vs real or just varying opinions. Who knows? I guess what it comes down to is that the counterfeiters are getting incredibly good at their game and its becoming increasingly hard to find a good deal on a legitimate product.

Hi, Check out this link: http://www.headjam.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=153 You can see just how much effort the counterfeiters go to in an attempt to separate you from your money.

Hi, I too, took the plunge on an ebay Image S4 from a US seller for $42.00. When the package arrived, all looked OK. Sealed box with the perforated side to open. I put them in my ears and the first thing I noticed was a sound signature of all muddy lows with no definition in the mids or clarity in the highs. When I took them out, I noticed that the logo was almost gone on both earpieces. This was after about 5 minutes of touching the earpieces while adjusting to get a good seal. I purchased these as a backup for my current S4 and neither the SQ nor the disappearing logo was an issue with those. Needless to say, back in the box they went and they are on they're way back to the ebay seller. I called Klipsch and asked if there had been any reports of issues with QC on the S4. He said no and asked me to send them in. Of course, I declined. I have no doubt that the ebay S4 I received was a counterfeit. As meticulous as the packaging and overall earphone appearance was done, they proved to be just a cheap copy. Given all the reports of fake Monster, Sennheiser, Sony............ earphones on ebay, I guess we'll soon be adding Klipsch. This is my humble opinion so if you love your ebay Klipsch, maybe you were just lucky, Rock On. I definitely was not.