New Klipsch S3: What I Wish The S4 Sounded Like

[glove4]

Got these in the mail today, they just became available on Amazon a couple of days ago. In short, these are easily my new favorite $50 in-ears, totally blow away the S2, and have all the quality of the S4 without the overwhelming bassiness. These are excellent on first listen, a serious winner and should be tops in this price category. Best Buy will probably discontinue the S2 to bring the S3 in, and what an improvement they are over the claustrophobic S2's! Anyone looking to replace their crap freebies, this it. Extremely comfortable, not so great on microphonics but far from the worst I've heard.

[CrowdAds]

[dfkt]

They do look nice as well, less ostentatious than the S4. Are they angled the "right" way, to be worn with the cable over the ears?

Link, for anyone interested: http://www.klipsch.com/na-en/product...e-s3-overview/

[glove4]

Yes, easily worn over the ear, doing so reduces noise when walking. For whatever reason, they didn't include the little slider piece, which also helps reduce microphonics. But they are a steal for $50, surprised me a lot, as the S2 were pretty horrid sounding, these are much closer to the S4 without the muddy/ bloated bass sound signature (at least on some albums). They may be less detailed by comparison with the S4, but they are in a lesser price range, so I am not expecting miracles, but they are perfect for just listening for the hell of it, you don't even notice them in your ears after a few minutes, so the comfort level is on par with the S4. I should say that build quality is a big uncertainty at this point, they feel a tad fragile, cheap plastic and all. But plugging these into my Clip+ on flat EQ, they sounded great. With the S4's, I often have to screw around with the EQ to bring the mids out of hiding, didn't need to do that with these.

Additionally: the zipper case that comes with these is vastly superior to the waste-of-space tin case that ships with the S4. It is not heavy duty by any means, but will fit these and a Clip+ in it with ease, and slips into your pocket without notice, so that's a big thumbs up.

[Adub]

*sigh* They still haven't changed the stress relief plastic entering the housing. That will keep me from buying Klipsch iems when they use this form factor because over time the stress relief splits if you wear them over the ears. This is also apparently a problem with most of their iem models.

[glove4]

Yes, that can be a problem, though I don't wear them over the ear all the time, so all the models I have, the S2, S4 and X5 have all held up pretty well for a while.

[Adub]

I could never wear them comfortably down, they always needed to be over the ear to get the right fit plus the microphonics on the S4 are horrid when worn down. I wore mine daily and they lasted 9 months, and considering the sound they offer in addition to the build quality in comparison with the field i think I'd rather play the field hehe.

[JxK]

adub, do you still use IEMs, or is it mostly your m50 now?

[lestatar]

adub: man, i really should send you a pair of my Maximo i590s for you to sample...

These S3 do look nice indeed - maybe i will grab a pair from a 100% refund place like BestBuy so I can try em out myself

[Adub]

Originally Posted by JxK

adub, do you still use IEMs, or is it mostly your m50 now?

I'm petty much solely using the M50s until i can decide on what to get for a pair of iems. Lately I've been putting off buying any and just banking for some customs.

[JxK]

Originally Posted by Adub

I'm petty much solely using the M50s until i can decide on what to get for a pair of iems. Lately I've been putting off buying any and just banking for some customs.

Well then. Any ideas about what brand to try. The cheapest I know of are from a brand new company based in Portland called 1964ears. Single driver custom for $200. Though for all I know, basshead that you are, you're going for the $1200 JH16s.

[Adub]

Nah i can't justify spending that kind of money on customs or any one piece of audio gear for that matter, i was thinking 400-600 price range. Lots of smaller companies make great customs for much less than the JH/UEs of the industry, and they are generally using most of the same parts.

I will probably go with alienears 3 driver version called the C3pro for $395.