My Klipsch S4i Are Here!

[justin_tx_16]

They just arrived! Super excited, review later today

[RIGID113]

Okay good deal when you get done tell IS THERE ANY SOUND DIFFERENCE BETWEEN S4 AND S4i

Last post Jul 27, 2009 1:30 PM by INDIAN. 0 replies.

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Jul 27, 2009 1:30 PM

INDIAN

Joined on May 28, 2009

Posts 23

IS THERE ANY SOUND DIFFERENCE BETWEEN S4 AND S4i

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IS THERE ANY SOUND DIFFERENCE BETWEEN S4 AND S4i,

does damping system present in S4

me thinks you can help him,later.

[justin_tx_16]

Okay good deal when you get done tell IS THERE ANY SOUND DIFFERENCE BETWEEN S4 AND S4i

Well I've only head the S4 once, and it was a while ago but I don't notice any glaring differences between the two. If I had an S4 to A/B compare the S4i to I would obviously better equipped to answer your questions.

Now for the first impressions: (the more I listen to these, the more I love them)

___________________________________________________________________________

These headphones are specially made for the iPhone 3GS and the latest iPod Shuffle with voice control, as well as Apple's Unibody MacBook and MacBook Pro laptops.  Unlike most iPhone/iPod headsets out there, this one features a remote control and microphone that not only pauses/plays music and answers calls, it adds the ability to change the volume of your music.  This feature works on iPhone 3Gs, the latest iPod Shuffle and the Unibody MacBook/MacBook Pro (volume/microphone).

What follows is my initial review.

___________________________________________________________________________

IMMEDIATE USE AND OPERATION

I've only had a limited period of time listening to them so far but it's pretty obvious, to me, that these headphones are killer.

By far, the most comfortable in-ear headphones (IEMs) that I've ever worn (of course not exclusive to the rest of the Klipsch headphone line which are all best in class for comfort). The stock contour gel tips that ship on the S4i fit my ears perfectly. I did the 180 degree twist method with the wires up and if it wasn't the best headphone seal I've ever had! The sound isolation reminded me of the isolation provided by the triple flanged ear-tips in my Shure headphones.

I haven't tried many of the other tips but plan to try the double flanged tips and perhaps will order the Comply memory foam tips to see how they compare. As it is, these tips not only isolate an impressive amount of noise, they also create the seal required for heavy bass.

Removing the headphones from my ears illustrated just how strong the hold was. I halfway worried the tips would be left behind in my ears! But, as with all the other Klipsch headsets, the patent pending tip design worked flawlessly and stayed in place. Phew!

I placed a call using my iPhone to test the microphone. I worried the headphone's position below my neck would be problematic. To my happy surprise this wasn't the case at all. As an added bonus, I didn't feel the need to remove a headphone from one of my ears during the call. Many IEMs create a bizarre effect when you talk while wearing them. Talking with the Griffin TuneBuds mobile ($20-40) or the UltimateEars 4vi ($79-100) in both ears made your voice sound as if you ear were clogged with water.

Somehow this doesn't happen with the Klipsch buds. That's a welcome revelation.

Looking at the product photos I admit I was a bit skeptical of the control module. I felt it was too long, too low and too awkward for accurate use. Wrong. It picked up my voice perfectly, won't get caught on your collar like may mics/buttons do from competing headphones as they sit on one side or the other near your chin/cheek, and the buttons are much easier to push than the UltimateEars 4vi ($79-100) or Triple.fi 10vi ($400).

The cable is the perfect length, even if it does seem a bit fragile. Walking with the headphones presents limited to no extra noise. Perhaps it's softness of the rubber on the cables paired with the gel ear-tips are the reason for this. The old Shure and Etymotic headphones were pretty awful in this regard.

Wrapping up the cable is a little difficult, due to the long control module. I haven't figured out the best method just yet. The Klipsch bag to hold the headphones when not in use is just short of perfect. Metal bands wrapped in fabric hold the bag closed, a one handed squeeze opens it back up again. This is a big improvement, OMHO, to the tin can case of the S4 which was far too large.

___________________________________________________________________________

SOUND QUALITY

Right off the bat, with the factory installed ear-tips on the Klipsch Image S4i's, the sound was great. However, switching to the double-flanged ear tips brought a noticeable increase in isolation and bass reproduction. If these are comfortable to you, use them. If not, I hear the Comply Memory Foam ear-tips bring similar, if not better isolation/bass with remarkable comfort.

The sound wasn't as bright as my Klipsch Heritage speakers and the bass not as punchy as competing headphones like the UltimateEars Super.fi 5 Pro's, though it's pretty darn close. The sound is more natural, a flatter response than many headphones in this class (most push for exaggerated bass and volume before quality of audio reproduction.)

At times it seemed the highs simply rolled off, a bit too early if you ask me. Symbols, trumpets and crackling glass weren't nearly as prominent as they were with my Klipsch Heresy speakers ($1,600 pair), Sennheiser HD600's ($300-400) or the Koss PortaPro headsets. One of the things I've always loved about Klipsch was the bright sound. These headphones don't illustrate the brightness found in their speakers or Custom series headphones.

That isn't to say the bass is lacking, just that if you're a basshead, you might want to look at something like the old UltimateEars Super.fi 5 EB ($140-200), the Beats by Dre ($300-350), or Future Sonics' Atrio M5 earphones ($180-200). A proper seal makes a world of a difference when it comes to bass response. Listening to TheEars favorite bass testing cd, Pomps and Pipes, presented powerful, albeit restrained bass.

If you've heard the S4 you've likely already got an idea of the S4i. As I said in the beginning of this review, I don't have the two headphones to do an A/B test but as I remember the S4 sound, it's very similar if not identical.

I compared the Klipsch Image S4i, A/B style, with the Sennheiser PX100 and UltimateEars Super.fi 5 Pro headsets.

The Klipsch headset was a clear winner compared to the PX100. Famous for it's comfort and sound quality, when compared directly to the Klipsch, the Sennheiser showed its weaknesses. While the Sennheiser is incredibly comfortable, the extra long cable gets in the way quite a bit, the headset falls off your head if you lean down and you are forced to punch up the volume quite a bit to get anywhere near the bass and volume the Klipsch provide. Comparing an IEM to an open-air headphone isn't really fair, some might say, but if you want to compare the S4i to a very popular, and venerable headset, there are few better than this one.

However, when compared to the UltimateEars Super.fi 5 Pro, the sound reproduction, sensitivity, soundstage, bass response... it's all just a little better on the UltimateEars. Again, perhaps an unfair comparision. The UltimateEars cost upwards of twice the price, have two separate drivers and are significantly larger. The Klipsch did cream this competition, however, when it came to comfort and features.

___________________________________________________________________________

OPENING THE BOX

The packaging is pretty, rigid and interesting to open. I'm one of those people that like to save every box in like-new condition. With the S4i box you actually have to rip open the box! All my previous Klipsch headphones came to me in plastic boxes, but then again, those were mostly beta models!

Once I get them unpacked the first thing that came to mind was fear. There are three, in my opinion, design flaws in the headphones, which many other headphones feature.

1. The cord is, as all Klipsch headphones have been, super thin. I'm not worried about sound fidelity, so little power is moving through these headphones, that won't be an issue. I'm just worried about durability. I will say the cables are pretty darn quiet, very little cable movement noise, of course it's not winter yet, no jacket zippers rubbing the cables just yet!

2. The headphone jack sticks straight out, it isn't an L-shaped jack. This is my biggest pet peeve in headphones. An L-shaped jack prevents damage to the jack by creating a better stress-relief point and reducing the chance the jack will break off or short out from getting pushed against in a pocket, etc. It also prevents shorts occurring from pulling the headphone jack out of the iPod/iPhone/etc repeatedly. With an L-shaped bracket, the user is forced to grasp the jack itself to remove from the device. In the case of many headsets, including the S4i, you end up pulling on the cable. The jack is tapered off beautifully into the cable but is so slick that I've found my fingers slipping off the jack and onto the cable as I unplug the cables.

This jack design has killed two UltimateEars 4vi headphones, three Griffin TuneBuds Mobile and a handful of others. It's such a simple issue, one that the other Klipsch headphones do not suffer from, including the Klipsch Image S4.

3. The headphones are all plastic. They look great and feel light as a feather but they just don't FEEL high quality. The lightness is much appreciated, you forget they are in your ears in no time, and I'm sure the build quality of the headphones themselves isn't truly questionable, it's just a perception of cheap.

___________________________________________________________________________

CONCLUSIONS

When it's all said and done, these are great headphones. They aren't perfect but they are of course being compared to much more expensive speakers and headphones, which must be taken into consideration.

Physical -

Comfort: 9.5/10

Build: 7/10

Remote: 9/10

Mic: 10/10

Overall 8.75

Sound -

Bass: 8/10

Mids: 9/10

Treble: 8/10

Soundstage: 7.5/10

Overall: 8.125/10

Value - When you compare the headphone audio to competing models (read, any and all headphones on the market), it's not a great value. There are other, better, cheaper headphones out there. The Koss PortaPro ($35-50), the UltimateEars Super.fi 5 Pro ($180-300), Etymotic ER6i ($70-110), etc, are all better sounding headphones (to a varying and small degree.) Other headphones provide a more dynamic sound with greater presence and soundstage along with a more exciting experience. But none of these headphones, and no other headphone in the class of the Klipsch Image S4i, provides all of the features of the Klipsch at this price point.

Flat out, there isn't a better headphone for the iPhone 3GS than the Klipsch Image S4i. Its remote control and microphone put this headset above all others. You'll have to spend a lot more to get an iPhone headset better than this, such as the Etymotic hf2 or UltimateEars Triple.fi 10vi and still sacrifice on features.

___________________________________________________________________________

BONUS FEATURE!

Plus, an added bonus to Apple users, if you have a unibody MacBook or MacBook Pro, the volume keys on the remote control of the Klipsch S4i will also change the volume of your laptop! This is a welcome bonus for sure! Oh and the microphone? It also works, turning off the microphone in the computer as soon as you plug in the headset! No more clicking of the keys as you type away during a Skype call or iChat session. The microphone performed as well or better than my Blue Microphone for vocals, if you choose to use this headset as the perfect, portable podcasting set.

___________________________________________________________________________

As I continue to use these headphones, as they continue to burn in, I will adapt, update and revise my review. These headphones have been used all of 5 hours. If you subscribe to the philosophy of "burning in" your equipment before REALLY taking its performance seriously, as I do, you already understand the importance of this period of time.

This initial review is simply a jumping off point. You likely noted how little time I spent on sound quality and performance, focusing instead on build, ergonomics and initial thoughts. I will elaborate on all of these sections, but especially sound quality, as I continue to enjoy these headphones.

If you're on the fence, and they come in stock, my advice? Buy these headphones. Absolutely buy them. Your ears will thank you, the guy sitting next to you, no longer listening to your music will thank you, and gosh darnit, you're worth it!

[RIGID113]

Hellovadeal!!!!!

[justin_tx_16]

Hellovadeal!!!!!

Yeah, I'd have to agree. If you look at them as simply replacement headphones for your iPod/iPhone, at $100 they provide a pretty good value/performance ratio. When you add the, so far perfect, microphone and remote control with pause/play/answer and volume controls, the value/performance shoots through the roof.

The only other headphone out there that does all of this (as far as I know it) is the Apple dual-driver, in ear headphones. But the bass in those headphones doesn't come near the bass in the Klipsch S4i. Which is amazing considering the Klipsch S4i has a single driver, compared with Apple's dual drivers.

UltimateEars/AltecLansing/Logitech (that's a confusing situation...) say they have a headset coming out that will carry a similar feature set, but that remains to be seen. What it breaks down to is, if you've got the iPhone 3GS, when it comes to headphones, there's no better set out there for you.

Some reviews have criticized the size of these headphones as if they were large. I'm not sure from where this is coming. Yes, they are larger than the world's smallest in-ear-monitor headphones (also made by Klipsch) but they are, by no means, large headphones. In fact, they are so small, they aren't immediately noticeable in you ears, not like UltimateEars Super.fi headphones or Shure's line of IEMs. I even had a bit of trouble a couple of times removing them from my ears, the seal was so tight (a VERY good thing) and the headphones were so small.

So far, listening to them more last night and then again this morning, I'm noticing an overall better sound. Probably the result of a better seal and some time for my ears to rest. Their comfortable enough that you are tempted to wear them longer than you probably should... like when your boss comes into your office to ask you a question about a marketing proposal... oops! They also totally drown out the ringing of phone, which could be a good or bad thing, depending on your job :-P

[justin_tx_16]

Any concern that there was a lack of bass in the headphones, relative to the advertising behind them, was cleared up yesterday. I was doing a photoshoot for a national war museum and decided to drown out the construction and tourists by playing some music through my iPhone + Klipsch S4i headphones.

I'm not sure if I'm simply getting a better seal or if the headphones needed some more burn in time but wow. I'm impressed. The bass was buttery and powerful. Never out of control though, for which I'm thankful.

[Professor Thump]

Justin,

Thanks for such a fine and detailed review of S4i. I am glad you like them.

P Thump

[justin_tx_16]

Two weeks have passed and I've found myself putting down my other headphones in favor of the Klipsch S4i time and again. I think I'd feel just about as lost without my S4i headphones as I would without my iPhone!

The comfort, the sound, the microphone, all are just so stellar. Looking at the Comply ear tips to see if I can squeeze and more out of these already impressive headphones.

[Greenie]

Picked up a pair myself a few days ago. EXTREMELY happy with the overall sound quality, the fit of the large buds is comfortable and snug, and while I'm a bit bummed I can't control volume (using iPhone 3G) the play/pause/skip forward/skip backward/answer call functionality of the remote works great.

Very pleased with the purchase!

[sunnysal]

for us heritage users the lack o fhighs can be a bit problematical.....I am trying to figure out how to get them back...Tony

[TheEAR]

Good description of the Image S4's. I am mighty impressed with the lack of major faults with each new Klipsch in ear I buy,from the less expensive Image series all the way up to the Custom 3.

And as for getting a proper fit with the Custom(2 and 3) series I do not see how can people have trouble with getting a proper seal !

Klipsch has little competition in the market, Shure's in ear are great sounding but the built qiality(mainly cable) is lacking.UE is the othercompetitor, they are mostly known for the custom ubber UE10 and 11.

Now we need some Klipsch on ear,better yet over the ear. But the market here is bloody competitive. []

[sunnysal]

Two weeks with these 'phones and I am still bothered by the rolled off treble. I am fine if I listen to these only but as soon as I hear the same music on my home systems or with other 'phones I am reminded of the lack of treble response. for now I will have to use EQ on my iphone to get it somewhat to where I like it. I hope someone chimes in about this specific topic soon...regards, tony

[Greenie]

I don't quite understand what you mean by "rolled off treble."

Have you tried listening to a source other than an iPod/iPhone with these headphones?

What other headphones have you used with your iPod/iPhone that do not reproduce this treble issue?

I don't have any issues with the treble response on my S4i headphones, in use 15+ hours a week for quite a few months now. At least 1-2 days out of every week I spend my day hearing music on professional studio monitor headphones, studio monitor speakers, the S4i phones, and top-end concert/nightclub installation, and aside from the expected change in sound dynamics, I'm not bothered by any loss of treble, bass or overall response.

For treble specifically, the only headphones that provide me a notable improvement over the S4i is a custom-molded, professional in-ear monitor. Even then it's less an issue of "response" so much as it is overall sound clarity. Which should be expected when comparing a $100 S4i to an $800 UE-7.

Perhaps you've got some bad drivers. Have you tried to exchange them?

[sunnysal]

Thanks for the comments and questions. I have listened to other sources besides the iphone; in my bedroom system which consists of a Mcintosh MA6400 integrated amp with headphone out and a CD source and in my main system which has a headphone out from my vintage Marantz preamp but I use a creek OBH-11 headphone out driven directly from my DAC in that system. In each case the treble sounds rolled off and soft compared to my other phones and the in-room sound with speakers. In my main system I use Klipschorns and in my bedroom system I use Klipsch RB-3 monitors.

I have other phones I use as well; sennheiser HD580 (the phones closest to the new klipsch in the treble range), Grado SR60 and SR225 and sony EX71SL in ear phones. In all cases my new Klipsch phones have less treble content and air than I am used to hearing.

Perhaps the drivers are screwed BUT since I live in El Salvador it will hard for me to return them in an economical fashion.

I also note that the original poster noted a difference in treble response versus his Klipsch heritage based system, hence my posts regarding this issue here as a follow up. I know how any seemingly negative comments always gather doubts from board members but I had to comment, as a die hard Klipsch lover and user I feel it my duty to give feedback and ask for help from the community.

In my pair there is definitely a difference in the treble response versus my other systems, a difference not as notable with any of my other phones. I still use the S4i's because there is nothing else out there with this feature set (the controls) I needed and I am not willing to lay down big money for "better" earphones since they do tend to only last a couple of years and frankly the Sony phones sound surprisingly good for less than $100 (no controls).

Regards,

Tony

[BLSamuel]

Tony,

In case this hasn't been addressed but I think you'd have figured it out by now.... try rotating the nozzle at different angles if you've not done so as it's possible to get a GREAT seal and GREAT bass but the nozzle is pointed straight at the wall or one's ear canal and the highs don't really bend like the lows.

I thought the very early (maybe prototype) S4 and S2 phones I listened to sounded very good considering their low price. Though in all fairness it was only a quick couple of minutes with each... (amazing HT with 7 split La Scalas etc was being fired up 15 feet away......)

Good luck!

Ben

[sunnysal]

I will try the rotating thing this weekend Ben and report back, thanks. Any chance it is a break-in thing? (not breaking in my ears to like them but loosening up the drivers?). regards, Tony

[BLSamuel]

If the breaking in would help I would think it would be more in the bass region and not the treble?

Rotating isn't really the best term but what you want to do is change the angle the nozzle is entering the ear canal ie aim it more up or something like that. That can make a HUGE difference.

Ben

[BLSamuel]

Tony,

I think there is a nice illustration or two in Professor Thump's blog which may show what I'm talking about. http://forums.klipsch.com/blogs/markb/default.aspx

There is probably also something here in the Headphone forum. Be sure to select options and then select show all as it defaults to most recent 2 months.

Good luck,

Ben

[sunnysal]

Well I took a few hours and tried all the rotating stuff, while it helped a bit I find the treble/mid balance on these phones are just a tad recessed versus my other phones and speakers. Not that they are lacking in detail, or even possibly treble extension but the bass definitely leads the way here. I will try using "bass reducer" or "treble booster" EQ setting when using these on my iphone in the future. Thanks for all the help folks, I may leave them on a few days to see what break in might do. warm regards, Tony

[sunnysal]

My last update for this thread/issue (I suspect).

Action:

I have left the phones burning in for 96 hours now with the volume set pretty high and with a variety of music.

Results:

I find some improvement in the treble (yeah!) but still with a gap between my other phones/speakers and these S4i´s. The best way I can describe it is by mentioning a specific passage of music that demonstrated what I am hearing. On Miles Davis´s Kind of Blue, the first track "So What" at about 1:25 the cybals come in, from 1:29-1:49 one hears a light crash and some ride on the cymbals. With the S4i´s I find the sound to be somewhat more hissy, less metallic, also I also here some smearing of detail in the cymbals and loss of "air" the concept of the space. With my other phone and speaker options I hear more of a brassy sound, more defined, metallic character to the cymbals and a less hissy kind of effect from them, more sense of the space and air. Not huge, not annoying, but with music I know well I feel the treble difference.

Conclusion:

I plan to use the S4i´s as I originally planned; for travel. At home, etc. I will probably stick with my other hpones for now. I hope they make an X5 with this apple control setup soon!

warm regards,

Tony

p.s. sorry Justin for hyjacking your excellent review thread with my whining