2 Years Review for Custom-3

[Enrique Troncoso]

I just want to share with you my 2 years using the Custom-3:

Let me start by saying that this has been MONEY WELL SPENT...yes i have enjoy these earphones all along these years. However there are few observations that I think could help klipsch engineer for future improvements.

Ear Tips: The ear tips although are well designed are not quite suitable during exercising. The soft silicon will make the loose seal when sweating and under constant movement. My solution was to adapt black olives (shure foam tips) that fit well these earphones. Comply tips were ok but once they get ear wax or prolonged use, they must be trashed since over time they loose sealing capacity in your ears. I finding myself to adapt special ear tips made by audiologist (custom mold).

Noise Isolation: One of the reasons why i bought these earphones was due to the fact that I am a frequent business air traveler. On this field, The supplied silicon tips were somehow disappointing. They create some isolation but not enough to minimize the engine roar to a point that the noise is reduced to acceptable levels. Once again, i found that adapting the black olives from Shure helped more on this problem.

Bass: Only if you get proper seal you get nice bass. This apply to all earphones but i found the C-3 to give the enough amount of bass specially when listening to Jazz, Rock and some Classic. In simple words bass does not take over the mid and high end of the sound spectrum. You will see big difference n Bass response depending on the type of music file. MP3 encoding must be at 320 kps to enjoy the richness of sound. For some reason AAC and loosless encoding work the best for me.

Mid and Highs: These earphones really excel here. They give me the full detail of timbals, violins, guitar solos, etc when listening in AAC and loosless audio format. The audio quality is outstanding and they sound good in all type of music genders. Listening Yoyomama with the C-3 is a real treat to your ears.

Quality: These are well made earphones. Congratulation to Klipsch engineers for attention to details. The cable, although has not been an issue for me, have tendency to tangle and you must be careful or you will end up with cut cables or nods all over the place. The construction of the cable insulation is ok but not flexible enough and could lead to short cuts in the wiring if not handle with care.

Comfort: One the strength of these earphones. I find them very comfortable up to the point that i can sleep with them on my ears ( listening relaxation music). I can wear them for hours and hardly noticing they are in my ears. I love the over the ear plastic extension which makes them adaptable to different types of ear sizes.

What is missing? Klipsch is missing the Custom - 4 with triple drive. When is time to get my new pair of earphones i will go for the Westone-3 or UMX3. Hopefully by then Klipsch engineers will have something on that league for real audiophile listeners like myself.

Klipsch really need to improve noise isolation with ear tips, although well designed, that can provide that extra seal for demanding ears.

I will continue enjoying this earphones and regardless of what i found them missing, they are still a great pair of earphones that has given me 2 years of good quality sound in a small package.

Enjoy.

Enrique Rodney Troncoso

[Jay481985]

Two years, and I am on my third pair for the same problem.....

[caalmogu2]

Hi Enrique,

Can you please tell me which Shure tips can be used in C-3 ?... I mean ... Any Shure tip works with C-3 or just several models?

Are Black Olives made of foam or silicone?

Did you really made a special ear tips with an audilogist?.... if yes... Can you upload some pictures or send the to me by e-mail?.... and one morhe thing... How much money did you expend on it?

Thanks in advance,

Carlos Morales

cmorales@imajustadores.com.mx