Mode 40 Sound Terrible

[dtximages]

Nobody here is as big of a Klipsch fan as I am. I just got the Mode 40 in the mail and they sound pitiful. Especially when you turn on the noise cancellation feature. The sound becomes much louder and quite distorted with any decent volume. They sound muddied and very colored in the midrange.

Seriously, these along with the best buy line of speakers seem like some kinda non engineered, made in China junk. It started to go downhill with the Quintets, which I like, but still not up to Klipsch standard by far.

Love the look, feel and the wire on these Mode 40s.

I know ive made alot of you mad by this, but not as mad as me who buys klipsch's best in order to get the "real" klipsch sound.

Just my opinion? Sure maybe. But anyone who has listened to anything near decent headphones can tell a good amount of difference here. Bringing back my Senns.

[tmassey]

I have heard they really need a good burn-in. You will probably need to go as far as having the volume at 75% for about 40 hours. I would just hook them up, turn the volume up on whatever you have them hooked up to, and leave them on overnight.

Let me know if this helps. I have the image s4 which are pretty good for a 100$ pair of ear buds, but I find myself constantly readjusting when I am running, so I have considered buying the Mode40.

[dtximages]

Ive got the Image S4a as well and I love them, especially for the price. Ive heard better, but at much more money.

If you run with them, you MUST buy Comply foam ear tips. I run with mine too. No more constantly adjusting haha.

I got my Comply eartips for around $16 from their website.

I also think they sound better too with the Comply.

I may try the burn in stage, but they will have to make a 180degree change and Ive never heard a speaker do that. Small differences, sure. BUt often a "burn in" phase is nothing more than the listener growing accustomed to the sound.

[tmassey]

Really, I will definitely have to buy those. 16$ is well worth the money if it means they stay in better. I swear there is something wrong with my ear canals as I can't get anything to stay. We have some extremely annoying yappy dogs that come pretty close to losing their lives every night because of the non-stop barking and I can't get any ear plugs to stay in either. They just fall out the second I move.

[dtximages]

Yeah definitely get the comply's then. I ordered the variety pack but I always use the largest so my next set will be only large sized.

[Bluehusky]

I recently purchased my Klipsch mode M40's, and I disagree with you're expierence. I found them very well packaged, marketing did a great job. Most importantly, the sound is clear, rich and fullfilling. I have used them with my Laptop and my Samsung Galaxy/Google phone, listening to Pandora. Granted it was different than my Forte II's and Heresy III's system I have. But they our headphones, they do seem to have much more base with the Noise canceling on. When the feature is on all noise around you, teenagers arguing, and vacumns disapper. Even with no music playing.

This is my experience, I do recall a few postings with some issues. With a reply by Klipsch that an earlier batch had aan issue that they supposely corrected. perhaps that is your case.

Good luck, Jeff

[cause_of_chaos]

Hi,

I have 3 Klipsch phones - Mode M40, Image ONE and Image S4i. I feel that the M40 needs "equalised" to get the maximum from these headphones. After a little burn-in and equalising, these headphones are my favourite of the three. I still use the S4i when dressing formally and Image ONE when working out / training, but I love the M40 for traveling to/from work and relaxing. I have a Droid RAZR, and use the "Incredible Treble" preset equaliser to get the max from these phones - I'd highly recommended that or a reduction of the mids and see what you think. The M40s are the best ANC headphones I've tried... cause_of_chaos

[BLSamuel]

Hi,

I have 3 Klipsch phones - Mode M40, Image ONE and Image S4i. I feel that the M40 needs "equalised" to get the maximum from these headphones. After a little burn-in and equalising, these headphones are my favourite of the three. I still use the S4i when dressing formally and Image ONE when working out / training, but I love the M40 for traveling to/from work and relaxing. I have a Droid RAZR, and use the "Incredible Treble" preset equaliser to get the max from these phones - I'd highly recommended that or a reduction of the mids and see what you think. The M40s are the best ANC headphones I've tried... cause_of_chaos

Chaos,

For formal dress I think the Image X10 would be better but not sure if they have an Adroid version. I hope so by now. Hopefully they'll figure out how to put a detachable cord on the Image line. That's not as easy as it may sound, especially for the x10 given it's very small size.

I've onlly tried the M40 in a pre-production prototype and the only set available had a dead battery so could not try the noise cancelling. I thought the sound was very good and very comfortable for full size phones. I have pretty big ears so am a bit concerned for long term use. But I though they sounded really good. Very good.

[cause_of_chaos]

The sound of the Mode M40 is not as "crisp" as the Image ONE, but it's ANC feature more than makes up for it. Plus, it;s surprising how much bass & treble the M40 can handle by adjusting the equaliser. A slight bass and treble boost, along with a slight reduction in the mids and the headphones sound great. As for the X10, I would love to get a pair, but cannot yet justify buying it whilst my S4i is still working perfectly. And my headphones last YEARS - My pair of Sony headphones lasted 9 1/2 years and my Sennheiser HD595 (home/PC use) is going on 5-years and counting.

[badkin00]

I had the same experience with the M40s I bought them refurbished and received them today. My reference ones blow them out of the water in all aspects except looks. Reference ones are way louder and have better highs, mids, and lows. Also with the noise cancellation activated the sound becomes very distorted. I was wondering if it was because I bought them refurbed but reading your post makes me think otherwise. I contacted Klipsch to get their opinion. What did you end up doing in your situation?

[johnnydrama]

Im in the same boat... bought mine refurbed and not happy with sound when ANC activated. I may try breaking them in and letting them play all night o see if it improves. Quite disappointed. Listened to a lot of headphones and went with klipsch for loyalty reasons and was immediately let down.

[dtximages]

i sent mine back to Klipsch. Bought directly from them.

The Reference One's do sound better on every front IMO. However, if you go listen to them at Best Buy, I personally like the way the SkullCandy's sound right next to them. And they're more comfortable because they surround the ear better for me.

I mean this shouldn't be a huge surprise. klipsch isn't making these to sound good at all, they got into this game to make money. IMO, klipsch ought not even make a headphone under $200 or so.

[gmarcm]

Comply makes a set that is actually longer than their standard set. They stay put very well and they isolate much better than the stock tips. I had been using Shure tips on my S4's and they sound better than the stock tips and stay in better (but still not great), but the Comply tips are a step above even the Shure tips. I actually use them on my Shure SE530 in place of a custom molded set that I paid over $140 for. More comfortable and almost as good of a seal.

[badkin00]

Sent my M40s back to Klipsch and recieved them or a new pair back today. They are about the same as the ones I sent off. Still distortion if you crank up the volume with noise cancellation activated and without it activated mediocre sound. My reference ones are still the better headphones for half the price. This is the first Klipsch product I have ever been dissapointed in. I will be trying to sell them as I will continue to use my reference ones as my primary headphones.