Klipsch the absolute sound $299 - Manual

Chris Martens
Electronically reprinted from July 2008 Issue 182
Klipsch Image and Custom-3 In-Ear
Headphones
Image, $349; Custom-3, $299
klipsch.com
Ours is an era where, for many music lovers, the most common
“hi-fi system” of all might well be Apple’s ubiquitous iPod. But
as many of you know, box-stock Apple earbuds are at best a
sonic mixed bag (and that’s being generous). How, then, I have
often asked myself, will members of the iPod generation ever be
introduced to legitimate high-end sound? The answer, I believe,
is likely to come through exposure to superb in-ear headphones
drawn from the latest crop of very high performance models
entering the marketplace, two superb examples of which come
from Klipsch. If that last sentence conjures up somewhat scary
mental images of pairs of Klipschorns dangling from your ear
lobes, let me assure you that the models of which I speak—
Klipsch’s new Image and Custom-3 earbuds—are quite light and
physically tiny. But their sound is not.
The Image model ($349) is arguably the smallest and lightest
high-performance earbud ever made, and its sonic goodness
derives in part from its electomechanical simplicity; it’s a single-
armature (or what speaker folks might call a “full-range, single-
driver”) design similar in concept to some of the superb designs
heard in the past from Etymotic Research (e.g., Etymotic’s
critically acclaimed ER-4x Series ’phones). But what sets the
Images apart is not just the quality of their drivers, but also their
comfort factor. Klipsch, bless its heart, has figured our something
most other manufacturers have missed—namely, that human ear
canals tend to be oblong and not perfectly circular in cross section.
Accordingly, the Images feature patented eartips made of a soft,
gel-like rubber material that are oval-shaped, not round. The result
is, hands down, the most comfortable earbud I’ve experienced
and one that almost effortlessly achieves a good, airtight seal in
the ear canal.
The upshot is an earphone that offers quite high levels of
resolution, reasonably neutral tonal balance shaded just to the
warm side, sweet highs, an evocative and at times seductive
midrange, and surprisingly deep, potent, high-impact bass
(perhaps the best I’ve heard from any in-ear headphone). One
point I can’t emphasize strongly enough is that the Images are so
small and light, and fit so beautifully, that you all but forget you’re
wearing them. More so than any other earbuds I’ve tried (and I’ve
tried a bunch), the Images demonstrate the truth of this equation:
good fit = great sound.
But for purists, especially those who favor strict accuracy over
slightly more forgiving tonal warmth, and who really want to push
the high-resolution envelope, Klipsch’s Custom-3s ($299) are just
the ticket. The Custom-3 is a dual-armature design—similar in
concept to Shure’s two-way flagship SE530s—that I would classify
as a true monitoring-grade in-ear headphone. The Custom-3s are
slightly larger and differently shaped than the Images and for
this reason feature small, light, over-the-ear support tubes which
double as wire guides and can be bent by hand to achieve an ideal
custom fit. Again, Klipsch’s oval eartips come into play, helping to
enhance comfort and to foster a good, airtight seal. In an absolute
sense, the Custom-3s offer even higher resolution and tighter
sonic focus than the Images do, and even truer (that is, more
perfectly neutral albeit slightly brighter and somewhat colder)
tonal balance, though depending on the day or the material being
played, I could build a strong case for either one.
But the part I’ve come to love—with both models—is that
these babies are well and truly musically engrossing, much as great
high-end loudspeakers are.
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