Dreven Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 Pictures FirstI'm really sorry, but I did not take great pictures. Hopefully they're good enough to answer some questions. The box came in a thin plastic package that had a hanging tab on it. I'd love to visit the retail store that would stock these!http://img242.imageshack.us/img242/2749/1boxod6.jpg The actual box had the IE's exposed. There wasn't anything covering them (whatever)http://img522.imageshack.us/img522/2558/2box2ic8.jpg Not much to see here... after the box is openhttp://img250.imageshack.us/img250/3176/3box3fa6.jpg Sadly (thanks Newegg!) I got a "used" set. The IE cord's were obviously not factory wound. Also, I was missing the Klipsch tip cleaner (sniff). Maybe if I'm nice Amy will send me one? (wink wink beg)http://img250.imageshack.us/img250/3857/4box4rj9.jpg Small and Large Casehttp://img155.imageshack.us/img155/4475/5carryingcase1zb3.jpg The Small case isn't big enough to hold anything except maybe the IE's and a an Ipod Shuffle or Sandisk Clip. The large case works nice for a 3rd Gen Nano! http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/6776/14caseud1.jpg This is a horrible picture, but it shows were "L" and "R" are marked on these IE'shttp://img250.imageshack.us/img250/1851/13lrqi6.jpg Five sets of tips come in the box, with one of the five already on IE's.http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/4537/15alltipsyr2.jpg The IE's out of the box:http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/2985/6iesalonevw1.jpg Horrible Pic but the connector comes off an MP3 and an angle but has a lot of nice flex to it:http://img522.imageshack.us/img522/6084/11pluggedinok5.jpg The cord has a nice movable piece to change where the split occurs, and the real L-R split area is really nicely constructed to avoid stress!http://img404.imageshack.us/img404/7990/9cord1qa0.jpg What I was waiting to see - Side-by-Side (Bost, Senneiser MX-300's, Sony's, Philips). Notice that the coomon style has a large round are with the speaker 'exhaust' comming off at a 90 degree angle. Not only are the Images small but you loose all that exernal bulk past the 90 degree angle. (nice)http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/8674/7sidebyside1dt2.jpg Side by Side w/ Tips. (The Bose are so massive):http://img150.imageshack.us/img150/2936/8sidebyside2fi0.jpg I had a hard time with this pic but notice how much smaller the tip hole is on the Image's:http://img242.imageshack.us/img242/345/10tipends1rt1.jpg Nasty pic of my ear (sorry), but notice who it almost looks like just a cable is running out? These things slide in like Q-Tips - It was a weird Q-Tip sensation inserting them in for the first time. The felt like they slid in twice as far as anything IE's I've tried before:http://img250.imageshack.us/img250/2479/12intheearuv0.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dreven Posted January 24, 2008 Author Share Posted January 24, 2008 Note: The first thing I did was wet a cloth down with Armor-All and coat the cords. I tell everyone to do it and then every few weeks after. It really helps protect the cords of headphones IMHO. Well, I have to say I'm very happy with my purchase of the Klipsch Image IE's so far. Here's my thoughts so far (2 hours in): 1) These things are freaking tiny! When you stick them in your ears it feels like Q-Tips sliding in and pretty much all you can see from the outside are the cords hanging out. 2) The "comfort" part of these IE's is no joke at all! I've had them in for 2 hours straight now and I do not want to take them out! You can tell they're there if you think about them, but otherwise you do forget they're in at all 3) IE mess: Even at a good volume I can hear my own voice (muffled sounding) and cord noise if the cords bounce around (normal IE stuff - whatever) 4) Sound Clarity - WOW. Much better than I've heard even better than my Sennheiser HD-555 open cans. As an example, I was listening to Metallica's "Tuesday's Gone With the Wind" cover song (Garage Album). At the very beginning of the song a bad member says "let's do it...". At that exact moment someone must have lightly touched/bumped a guitar string. I've never noticed that noise before at all - it was trippy actually. 5) Base - (hell yes) we have Thumping action for sure. The cool thing is the excellent base thumping action doesn't distort the mids and highs. Or, at least it's at least twice as good as anything I've heard before. It's online with the Sennheiser open cans I have 6) Distortion - I heard some on one song but to get it I had the volume up so loud I couldn't take it for more than five seconds - so no big deal to me (and I do listen loud). 7) Sound Quality: For a "causal" listener I'd say they may not actually notice the difference between these and a $50-100 set of IE's. I easily tell the difference and it's a pretty big one to me. I'd say these aren't worth 7 times the price of a $50 set (at all) unless you're really into sound quality. But (good gravey) the comfort factor just makes it worthwhile. The sound quality (compared to the sets I had) is really making me smile big right now though. 8) Sound Isolation: Excellent so far. I can't tell yet if it's better than (say) the Sennheiser MX-300's. I don't really have an opinon yet. Seriously, considering I have music going several hours a day the comfort factor alone is worth the price to me. I'm a technical MGR at a large (massive actually) corporation and spend a lot of time working with data alone in a cubical listening to music. Wow - 2 hours in and I seriously don't won't to take these out. Hehe... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLSamuel Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 I'd think the casual listener would notice the improved sound quality. It might by a moment. What the #@&^ have I been missing all this time. My 13 and 18 year old daughters noticed the improvement of my Custom 2 immediantely but comparing to nasty ear buds or Koss Porta Pro II neither of which is probably close to a $50 to $100 IE. Thankfully they didn't fight over them. Probably have to get them their own Klipsch IE's. And I'm also guessing MUCH improved bass over $50 to $100 IE's. I've not experienced any of the $50 to $100 IE's. Most look like they'd torture my ears. I've only experienced the IMAGE in prototype form last June and they were so easy to forget they're in and so easy to use. Still haven't gotten that level of comfort with my Custom 2s, maybe never will, may find out I still haven't adjusted the bendable wires quite right yet. Probably need to experiment a bit more. But I hear a lot of things I've never heard before with my Custom 2 but my reference is Grado SR60's ($199 IE compared to $69 open cans). And the sound is clearer and more live to me. What else would one expect from Klipsch? Closest I get to distortion in the Custom 2, and I don't listen very loud (most of the time), is some noise when I get flaky stuff (dried lotion more than ear wax) in the tips. Keep 'em clean. Get a nice little flake in there and if you didn't know better you'd think you'd blown a driver. Be carefull not to push it down into the nozzle. I do get some noise from my Creative Labs Zen XTra that I don't hear on the Grados. Thankfully it's worse when not in play mode. Enjoy! Looking forward to more info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dreven Posted January 24, 2008 Author Share Posted January 24, 2008 You're probably right about casual listeners. $59 Sennheiser or Sony's do create pretty good sound though. I noticed it more a couple of years ago - but anywhere I saw anyone listening to an MP3 player all I ever saw were the horrible white buds that came with Ipods. I still need another good long listening session. I'm actually probably going to turn in an hour early just for some extra listening. The Metallica cover song I was talking about (Tuesday's Gone, Track 10 on Garage Disk 1)... I tried hearing it with my Sennheiser HD-555 open cans and I could only *barely* hear it with the sound cranked way up. I'm pretty Amazed. Those can's are old and only $99 now but were $175 when I bought them about 3 years ago. That's a quality set of open cans almost totally missing some detail that I hear crystal clear on the Images. It's just seriously impressive. I can't wait to go through a lot more music to see if anything else like that stands out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Amy Posted January 24, 2008 Moderators Share Posted January 24, 2008 Wow, thanks so much for taking the time to post all the details and your impressions! I'm so glad you are enjoying them so far! (I'll see about that ear tip cleaner!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dreven Posted January 25, 2008 Author Share Posted January 25, 2008 Last night I noticed a couple of things when I went to bed and listened to the for about an hour before going to sleep: 1) I could lay on my side with my ear directly down on the pillow comfortably! I felt the Image's because they do stick out a tiny bit, but it was almost nothing. All other IE's I have drive me crazy because there's too much bulk outside the ear and you really feel it on the pillow. (sweet - I can lay on my side again when listening to music when I go to sleep). I rarely go to bed with IE's in but some nights I just need to go to bed early and get some music in while relaxing. 2) I turned off the lights and laid down. Then I realized I had no idea which one was the left and which was the right. By using my Ipod as a light and holding one image piece right up to it (and squinting) I barely made out the "L" on the left one. Maybe there's a way to make the "L-R" letters a little bit more visible - or reflective. It such a minor thing though. Happy Friday everyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baglunch Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 For left and right, my Senns have three tiny bumps on the armature for the left earcup. Perhaps a teensy spot of epoxy /glue /something or other on the left earpiece somewhere near where the cord connects, so you can tell by feel but would be subtle enough to not mar the looks? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dreven Posted January 25, 2008 Author Share Posted January 25, 2008 Oh that's a good idea actually - it would be easy do drop a spec of glue on one of the armatures for a bump. Thanks! OK, I'm thinking I did not get a "used" pair now. I did find the cleaning tool (opps). From the manual I was expecting a white round tube object. It's a very tiny and thin black tool. It was at the very bottom of the small black case and stuck there I guess. I put all my ear tips in that and this morning I tapped the bottom of it to get them to all fall out and the tool came with it. Also, the box was factory sealed. There's no way anyone opening it could have done so without making an obvious mess. It just looks like now that for some reason at the Klipsch factor (or where-ever, the cords were wound by hand (and rather sloppy actually) - which is no big deal. I've just never seen cords for anything (power, whatever) not look perfectly wound/bound from a machine winding. So, pardon! I took all my tips to work today and let a three people listen to them (I just cleaned them in mild soap water when I got home). Two of the guys have Bose In-Ears and were pretty amazed out how "clear" these are and that the bass was so good at the same time. One guy told me not to leave them lying around or he'd steal them (lol). '------ Bass - I felt the need late in the day to turn "Bass Boost" on - on my Ipod. I need to really pay attention to this tomorrow, but right now my opinon is sliding to me thinking the Image's do not have the very "thumpy" natural base of Bose. I've just been wanting a little bit more Bass since I got home. I always left "Bass Boost" on with my Seenheiser MX-300's for the same reason - but man those were unclear (muddy) IE's. I was totally impressed withthe Bass yesterday - I don't know why I'm feeling like it's a bit short tonight. Figuring this stuff out is like an art or something. Clarity - Still freaking me out. The clarity is so excellent there's no room to be confused about how much better it is. It's amazing really. I can't imagine the sound getting any more clear. I need some other high end IE's to compare with really. But, I'm not wasting anymore money. I don't care how much better they may sound - there's no way it could outweigh the comfort of the Images. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Amy Posted January 25, 2008 Moderators Share Posted January 25, 2008 I've just never seen cords for anything (power, whatever) not look perfectly wound/bound from a machine winding. Actually, I believe these are all built and packaged by hand, so it makes sense. Prof Thump can confirm this. I'm so glad you found it, and I'm equally (well, maybe more!) glad you are satisfied with your purchase! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Professor Thump Posted January 26, 2008 Share Posted January 26, 2008 Clarity - Still freaking me out. The clarity is so excellent there's no room to be confused about how much better it is. It's amazing really. I can't imagine the sound getting any more clear. I need some other high end IE's to compare with really. But, I'm not wasting anymore money. I don't care how much better they may sound - there's no way it could outweigh the comfort of the Images. Glad you found the cleaning tool Dreven. That is funny! We made a slight change since then with a bag around it to make it more obvious but I can see how you may have overlooked the tip cleaner. Your comments about the sound are music to my ears. I am glad you are experiencing the detail of sound with our IMAGE headphones. As far as the cable this would have been hand wrapped. There is very little automation on any of the IEM products. It sounds like you are experiencing a good seal especially since your voice sounds much louder. That is the best test. Tom Gospel the Director of Program Mgt experienced a good seal for the first time with this design. He couldn't believe the difference in bass because he has never had a seal with a silicon ear tip. IMHO It is hard to have too much bass. I would rather have this than not enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLSamuel Posted January 26, 2008 Share Posted January 26, 2008 Too much bass? Is that an oxymoron? Enjoy your IMAGE Dreven! I was able to try the IMAGE as a prototype and the seal was way too easy - turned the music down to whisper quiet and still had to pull 'em out a bit to listen to the normal conversation in the room - or that Colter guy noticed what I was doing and only pretended to talk except when I pulled them out. And with no effort it was easy to forget I'd just stuck something in my ear, except for the amazing sound. Most other such devices are torture by comparison. A lot more effort to get that kind of seal with the Custom 2 I "settled" for when they were 1st available. Not as amazing as the IMAGE, but still an awesome product. I have a bad habit of eating at my desk and well, crunchy foods are way too loud. I also have to break the seal so I can hear what coworker who come to my desk are saying or need to learn to read lips. I hope to able to try and compare the final production IMAGE and the Custom 3. And the Custom 1 too for that matter alongside the Custom 2 The Ultimate Sound Experience that fits IN one's ear. How cool is that. (though I think more the Legendary Sound of Klilpsh that fits IN one's ear) I'm surprised I've not yet lost my cleaner. I'm planning on putting a little strip of velcro hook on it in hopes it stays somewhat attached to the inside of the case. So stick 'em in your ears and enjoy! (Like that's not going to happen) p.s. Just keep those tips clean - a very small flake of foreign matter in the tip is REAL annoying - klutz that I am pushed it into the nozzle the 1st time I found such a thing. I'm very careful in cleaning the tips but they do seem a LOT more duable than they look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Professor Thump Posted January 26, 2008 Share Posted January 26, 2008 That's a great idea Bsam to put velcro on the cleaner so it doesn't get lost. Our first prototype had a neoprene foam instead of the pockets, but we decided that the pocket would be more versitile. Amy, Maybe we need to give him a discount on IMAGE when he is ready to buy for such a great idea... Just Stick It! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pretzelb Posted January 26, 2008 Share Posted January 26, 2008 Clarity - Still freaking me out. The clarity is so excellent there's no room to be confused about how much better it is. It's amazing really. I can't imagine the sound getting any more clear. I need some other high end IE's to compare with really. But, I'm not wasting anymore money. I don't care how much better they may sound - there's no way it could outweigh the comfort of the Images. I think this is what is driving me nuts. I've sometimes thought that something could not be any clearer and then I've been proven wrong time and time again. In this case I wonder if the dual driver of the new Custom-3 will be what makes the Image seem "unclear". If you read reviews on any similarly priced IEMs that have been around a while you will eventually start to see a patern that usually justifies a price difference. But you don't know until you compare. Please do post more or as much as you can. It would be great if someone with some other IEMs would buy a pair and write some comparisons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLSamuel Posted January 26, 2008 Share Posted January 26, 2008 I like that idea. [] Tax refund is coming up so I might actually have a few $... probably not as it's looking like braces for our youngest daughter and wisdom teeth removal for the oldest but if the discount is big enough ... I still like that idea though. Thanks professor Thump. Now to find that velcro for my cleaning tool before I lose it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dreven Posted January 26, 2008 Author Share Posted January 26, 2008 Prof Thump - As far as ideas go.. I really liked the one about a drop of glue or something on the armature of one side - so in the dark you know L from R (out of the box). My current state of mind (day 3 is it?): I have to say if I lost these tomorrow, I'd order another pair ASAP (seriously). As far as comfort goes - I don't think I could stand anything else now. And, comfort level of these is equaled by how easily they form a good seal. I'd love to also try the Custom 3's and the Shure SE530PTH's against the Images. I noticed in the last couple of days the SE530PTH's have dropped down from $599 to $459 on Amazon.com for some reason too. Those SE530PTH's seem to be regarded as the best sounding IE's for under $1000 (that aren't custom fits). I really want to know first hand by I doubt I'll order them. If they do sound a lot better than the Images I'd bet totally torn between sound quality and perfect comfort. And, I doubt the would have such an easy and perfect seal. The small size of the images seems to be what makes that perfect/quick seal possible. I'm going to start getting redundant. My main thoughts again: -Sound Quality (clarity) obviously much better than anything at or bellow $100 (Bose, Sennheiser MX-300, Sony) - that's all I have to compare to right now -Bass excellent, sometimes I've been wanting a little more and have used (Ipod) bass boost a bit -Up to a 4 hour listening session with no ear soreness or discomfort at all, and you do forget they are physically in -I can lay on my side in bed with my ear to the pilllow and there's no discomfort -Ear Tips seal perfectly and effortlessly - 10x better in this department than anything else I've tried -Moving around (walking, exercise) does not cause the seal to break (which happened with every other IE I've tried except the Bose which doesn't seal anyway). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baglunch Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 Amy's helping me find out whether there's a distributor somewhere around me, but I'm still hoping to jump on the Image bandwagon. And now my wife is talking about "waiting for my birthday" which isn't till the end of March. Suffering succotash. I've already posted a notice on my company's forums about selling my Senn595s, so now I have to kind of hope the people that have already responded to that fall thru, or I'm going to be reduced to using my little Koss KSC75s as my primary headphones. Which are fine for what they are, but they ain't no 595s... and they certainly aren't Images. This post has been almost entirely content-free. And low in sodium. So this is me just piping in to say: keep the info coming, it's all I have for now. [8-)] Oh yeah, and would it be possible to add a little bump to the mold for the casing, Thump? I don't know how hard / expensive that would be... could someone just take a hammer and a nail and pop a little dent in the mold or something? Bound to be better / nicer than glue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Professor Thump Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 Hi Baglunch, Thanks for the low sodium but I am not sure about the content free dialog. You must have high BP or cholesterol...Now it is time for all you jelly bellies to have your morning stretch, especially if you have been blogging all night long. I will talk about the speed bump on IMAGE at Klipsch. I am concerned that most adhesives will not pass our reliability tests when glued to the anodized aluminum. That surface is very slick and when the material shrinks and swells the blue bond may break. But there are certainly other options. I just thought that seeing the L/R as it is now would be acceptable for most users. Thought for the day: If your IMAGE image was backwards while you were resting on your back would sleeping on your stomach solve this problem? ...Don't think about it too hard. Have a great day! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLSamuel Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 Professor Thump, Couldn't you mold a small ridge or bump on the cable strain relief coming into the aluminum body? Being able to identify which side was which in the dark would be great for all models (probably can with the Custom once remember how the wires connect but that'd require some thinking). I'd think a small bump or ridge in the molding would do the trick, strategically placed but still easy to identify as the left (or right) in the dark. The drop of glue, while a workable idea could also damage the finish or the strain relief I suspect if it wasn't compatible with the materials or cause discoloration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baglunch Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 I was thinking something like this: Click the image for a larger version... the forum is shrinking it down. Keep the bumps on the inside of the curve to maintain the exterior aesthetic. Or have them on the rear-facing side wall of the IEM (don't have a suitable image for that, but the side that faces the back of your head whene you have them on, instead of the underside). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLSamuel Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 I suspect a small little ring molded around the bottom of the strain relief would work well also. I think it could be small enough so that it wouldn't interfere with the exterior aesthetic. The Klipsch logo could be molded in on one side but that might interfere with the aesthetic as one would look different but it could be subtle enough to be better noticable. I kind of like the small ring around the black cable strain relief - I think one could feel it no matter what angle the IMAGE was picked up to insert into the ear. One might have to feel for the bumps or the ridge though I think either on the head side would work better than the bottom or top and maintain the aesthetic better. With the IMAGE, LOOKS are VERY important and need to be maintained. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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