S4i Overly Bright

[Eli.P]

After reading reviews on the S4i and knowing Klipsch I ordered the ear-bud and expected high end sound. I am very disappointed, I really wanted to like these, maybe I received a defective product but this ear-bud does not live up to all the hype. It's extremely bright sounding, as though the treble has been set to +10, bass is OK, not bad but nothing close to clean deep solid bass. Most disappointing were the MIDS, no warmth, no body, no soul. This might be good for techno kids who like bass and treble but I am an audiophile, my home equipment runs over $25000 and I remember how well Klipsch speakers sounded in the listening room. I will be looking to replace these, I am hoping that my item is defective. I am willing to try out the X10, a more expensive model, they say you get what you pay for, I hope this will be true on the X10 cause in my opinion the S4i received overly exaggerated reviews. It's good, it's above average, and yes, its better than the Iphone/Ipod earpiece but its not what Cnet,and other reviewers are posting. I wonder if these posters are for real.

[bliss53]

Sounds like a bad fit or seal. I have the X10s and they are great but if they are in wrong or have the wrong size tips they sound bright.

[justin_tx_16]

I don't have a $20k sound system but quality of product doesn't require an extreme quantity of price. My Klipsch Heresys are my speaker reference and my Sennheiser HD600s/UE ifi 5 Pro are my headphone references. My Klipsch Heresys, hell, my Klipsch ProMedia 5.1 Ultras or Klipsch ifi beat out multi-multi thousand dollar systems, easily.

I understand that since you're even at the Klipsch site, you probably have a good or great or life changing sound system, just pointing out that price doesn't mean it's better than something else out there.

I did not find the S4i overly bright in any way, in fact, compare them to the incredibly popular consumer computer speakers from Klipsch, the ProMedia line, and you might argue that they weren't bright enough. I think I might have even said that in my review of the Klipsch S4i a few weeks ago.

http://bit.ly/4tmbP

Sounds like a bad fit or seal. I have the X10s and they are great but if they are in wrong or have the wrong size tips they sound bright.

bliss53 is right, a bad seal can make even the best IEM sound terrible, in so many different ways. Try different tips, maybe you need a Comply insert instead... Otherwise maybe it's an EQ thing (I do boost a bit in my iPhone, use the popular contour eq, "Loudness") or perhaps you have a bad set, though that is highly unlikely.

There is a post here by ProfessorThump, which I'm sure you've seen, that illustrates how to properly insert the S4 headphones. Check that out and let us know.

[Professor Thump]

I suspect you didn't get a seal which is why you are complaining about it being too bright. If anything this model is a little dark copaired to Image X5 or X10. I suspect you are going to like X10 a lot more because it is hard not to get a good fit.

For those who have questions about S4 or S4i they can go to Professor Thump Blogs and read the one on "Getting the most from your S4's".

[Eli.P]

Tried all the seals, if I push the buds deeper into the ear canal it rounds off the high frequencies a bit making it more musical. The headsets sound great at low to moderate levels, once you crank the volume the high frequencies are overly bright, after 30 minutes it's unbearable. Unfortunately the iphone does not allow you to manually adjust the EQ settings, their programmed EQ settings either boosts the high frequency even more or kills the Bass.

I know expensive equipment does not always solve everything but in my 20 years experience as an audiophile it usually is the case.

I'm going to try out a pair of X10, I hope this will take the experience to the next level.

It's possible I cant get a proper seal on these buds or maybe I got a bad pair, considering all the reviews on this earbud I expected a little more. I want to be able to listen to music at high levels without feeling knives going through my eardrum. The highs the S4 exhibits are very clear and sharp, a welcoming sound indeed, If I could get them down 3-4 decibels it might of worked out.

[glklipsch1]

Man, I just posted to another website with almost the exact same opinion! I was hoping that my headphones were broken because I really want to like these. There's so much to like -- nice bass, mids, iphone control, and comfy earbuds. However, the treble is just really, really, really, bright! Here's my post from the other site:

I decided to pick up the Klipsch s4i's based on a few scant reviews and some favorable reviews on the s4's. Anyway, surprisingly, I was quite pleased with the bass, but the treble is so bright that it is borderline what I would consider harsh! For instance, if the volume is raised to any level above 50%, there are many songs that just make the letter S sound almost like a hiss! Not what I expected from Klipsch.

Just to head off any obvious questions - yes, I know how to place the earbuds in my ear canal correctly (by the way -- the reviews are correct - they are by far the most comfortable earbuds out there). Also, I own both Klipsch multimedia and stereo speakers, so I know that they generally have a bright sound. But, I think there's a big difference between bright and harsh!

Has anybody else who has tried or who owns these had a similar experience? Is it possible that I just have a bad pair? I somewhat doubt that they are broken or anything, since all sounds other than those in the treble range sound fantastic, and there is no crackling or anything like that.

Also, I was wondering if this sort of thing could improve/go away over time? From what I've read IEM's generally don't need burn in or burn in really doesn't apply to IEM's. Thoughts?

Looking forward to any replies...

[Oblio]

Just got mine last night so I've only got a few hours on them. I don't have an iPhone but I find the EQ on the iTunes (playing through a HP Elitebook 8530w) set on Rock about right (inverted bell curve with~4dBboost at 16K, 3dB at 8k). Very impressive. I'll see if I can scare up an iPhone here at work to test with.

Added: I've got S4s but should be the same as the S4i.

- Chris

[BLSamuel]

Be sure to test with a good source. My experience with Custom 2 and Image X10 has been that if the source is noisy you will hear the noise. IE, if you have relatively low bit rate mp3 files you may be hearing some extra hissiness in your source file.

I listened to the S4 for a very short time and don't remember that they were overly bright but it was a very short audition. I presume I was listening to a very good source provided by Professor Thump.

Just a thought. If your source material is top notch might not be an issue. Minimally mp3 files should be encoded at 128kbps but that may be too low of a bit rate for discerning ears. And it's possible that they are just overly bright to your ears? Maybe more so compared to what you were listening to?

Good luck.

[glklipsch1]

Well, I tried breaking them in for several hours over the past couple of days. I think they've gotten slightly better, but they are still what I would consider overly bright.

I compared them with Shure SE102's and I like the bass on the Klipsch better, but the treble on the Shure's blow the Klipsch away! It's really not even close. I also compared them to a pair of cheaper headphones which have practically no bass, but once again, their treble is preferable to the Klipsch's.

I compared the same song using the same source (first the iPhone 3GS, and then a PC with a XFi Soundblaster card) and the results were the same.

I'm hoping that additional burn in is required because I do like everything else about the headphones, but I am doubtful at this point. By the way, I didn't need to burn in the Shure's, which also makes me doubtful.

[glklipsch1]

Oh yeah, as for the source material -- I've tried various quality sources and various music types. All give the same result -- treble that is overly bright, resulting in fatigue after listening for any good length of time.

[Eli.P]

I believe I know what it is. For those of us with a trained ear and an instinct for high end sound, the Klipsch custom 3 is most likely going to provide. The S4 uses a single driver making it smaller and lighter. The Custom 3 uses seperate drivers just like Shure and Eytomic earbuds.

The S4 sounds better than the average earbud that comes with an Ipod but it will sound overly bright to Audiophiles. Some people like bright high trebles and Klipsch has always maintained a forward sound especialy for those who like in your face sound that tends to be bright. Others, like myself enjoy a more laid back sound with smooth high's. A good speaker can be played for hours without causing a headach.

It's a matter of taste, when I was younger listening to House, Trance, Techno these would be ideal.

[glklipsch1]

So, it sounds like the Custom 3 is a better fit for me? That stinks because I got the S4i's because I can control my iPhone 3gs with them. Does anyone know if Klipsch has other earbuds in the works that can control the 3gs?

By the way, on another forum, it was suggested that these need at least 50 hours of burn-in. I have burned them in for at least 10, but only hear minor improvement. Do you think burn-in will improve them?

Thanks!

[scarletfever]

I have the opposite problem - the treble isn't bright enough on my S4's