Klipsch Image S5i

Jooles said:

http://www.klipsch.com/na-en/products/image-s5i-rugged-overview/

Spoke to a Klipsch customer service rep, these are going to be released as soon as next week.

Anyone else looking forward to these bad-ass IEMs?

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Look, I'm as much of an audiophile as anyone, however I would not pay $130 for a pair of earbuds when you can get very good sets for 50 bucks. Klipsch, B and O etc you're paying an AWFUL lot for the name.

bighabeeb said:

Look, I'm as much of an audiophile as anyone, however I would not pay $130 for a pair of earbuds when you can get very good sets for 50 bucks. Klipsch, B and O etc you're paying an AWFUL lot for the name.

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I guess you haven't seen earphones that cost 10x as much. $130 is mid range in price.

Regardless, I love the sound I get from my ~$60 Skullcandy in ears. Every time I get the urge to spend more than that on in-ears, I lay down until the feeling passes.

bighabeeb said:

Look, I'm as much of an audiophile as anyone, however I would not pay $130 for a pair of earbuds when you can get very good sets for 50 bucks. Klipsch, B and O etc you're paying an AWFUL lot for the name.

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Funny, my Ultimate Ears are RRP $499, and whilst I didn't pay that, they are worth every penny with a noticeable difference in output from mid-range sets.

OP: check to see if iLounge has reviewed them yet?

bighabeeb said:

Look, I'm as much of an audiophile as anyone, however I would not pay $130 for a pair of earbuds when you can get very good sets for 50 bucks. Klipsch, B and O etc you're paying an AWFUL lot for the name.

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If you wouldn't pay $130 for a pair, you're clearly not an audiophile, not even close. And no, you're not just paying for the name and $130 isn't even considered midrange, its pretty low end. When you get to $200 and up, maybe you're talking midrange.

Just like you have a million iphone cases, many wouldn't consider wasting money on that. To each their own is the theme here.

Outrigger said:

If you wouldn't pay $130 for a pair, you're clearly not an audiophile, not even close. And no, you're not just paying for the name and $130 isn't even considered midrange, its pretty low end. When you get to $200 and up, maybe you're talking midrange.

Just like you have a million iphone cases, many wouldn't consider wasting money on that. To each their own is the theme here.

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I'm not saying that it's a waste of money - the OP asked if people were excited...I answered that for me, the response is a resounding no.

Also, don't judge based on my headphones - I happen to have a pretty stellar set up at home - however for me, who commutes on the train and subway every day and tends to rip through earbuds like they're packs of gum, no, I wouldn't pay that much. I too use around a 60 dollar pair and they work great - is there a sound difference? Sure - but for my commute they're just fine, sound good, feel good, and I don't feel like jumping out a window when they break which can, does, and has happened (gotta love getting your headset cord tangled on someone's bag as they go running across Penn station - that ******* still owes me 60 bucks)

I have a set of Klipsch ear buds that I spent a hundred on and I have to say they are worth the money. They are a awesome set, but I had a hard to spending that, anymore than that would just be to much for me. These things sound great and have a all around great sound.

Outrigger said:

If you wouldn't pay $130 for a pair, you're clearly not an audiophile, not even close. And no, you're not just paying for the name and $130 isn't even considered midrange, its pretty low end. When you get to $200 and up, maybe you're talking midrange.

Just like you have a million iphone cases, many wouldn't consider wasting money on that. To each their own is the theme here.

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I agree on the "not an audiophile" part of this. $130 isn't even getting into the beginner range on true audiophile quality headphones/IEM's. And to some people, high end audio equipment is certainly worth the money. I have a set of custom Westones that I initially thought I was batsh** crazy for spending $900 on, but now that I've had them for a year, I'm so glad I did. The difference in sound is amazing. And that's after going through all the $300-$400 sets of UE's, Sennheisers, etc that I now have laying around because I don't use them much anymore. That being said, I am excited these new Klipsch's are coming out, as I need a new kick-around pair that's actually durable for running and gym use. I use the Klipsch s4i's now, but am constantly worried that sweat will short them out (read about this happening to quite a few pair). These new rugged ones (essentially the same internal components as the one's I'm using now) are supposed to be able to take moisture contact pretty well.

I'm happy that these are finally being released. I've been avoiding picking up the S4I seeing as these were going to be released. I'm sure Amazon will have them around $100.

These look sweet. I have the Si and love them. The remote works great and the sound quality is very good.

I will wait to see some reviews from forums like http://www.head-fi.org/ there are some true audiophiles over there. I like to think I am but those guys put me to shame. think of a forum like MacRumors but only talking about EMI's and headphones as well.

My review of Klipsch S5i rugged in ear headphones.

S5i Rugged earphones are too rugged for me..

First of all let me declare that, I am no audiophile.....having said that,

I got the Klipsch Image S5i Rugged yesterday, and the moment i put them on i realized that this is the best earphone i ever had. I love the sound and the fine details int the music and everything. And i listened to it nonstop, trying out a variety of music.

If you play a bassy number then you would love what this small thing can perform its like walking around with a surround sound taped around your head. Its that good. instrumentals/indian classical music are ok, but still very very good.

Pros...
1. The remote works well with my iphone. The keys on the remote respond well and are easily pressed ..
2. The headphone jack is gold plated.
3. Sounds amazing. (i was considering BOSE on ear before and i gave it a shot in the Bose store here (BOSE is also very very good but bulky and is not water resistant may be i will go for them sometime later.), but Klipsch earphones produce very good quality and cost less and are water resistant (not waterproof so don't drop them in water!).)
4. Value for money.
5. Cable is rugged like it is advertised.

But but but.....i am going to list out some cons here.

Cons........
1. The design is absolutely no no for me, the cable is too long.
i like the length of the cable when it is same as the original iphone earphones but this cable is at least 2-3 inches longer than that.
2. The remote which has the buttons for controlling the volume and the ipod are too big and it moves from side to side while i am walking, i wonder what will happen if i run with these. Its inconvenient.
3. The carrying case is too big to put in my pocket.

Conclusion:
Given another chance then i would go for Klipsch S4i. I saw the packaging of that, the cable is just a little low quality as compared to S5i, but the point is it must be light weight compared to the S5i. I do recommend stay with the S4i and wait for S6i, by that time the cable on S4i will wear out anyways. I regret sometimes why i didn't go for the S4i. If possible try both of them out before you make a purchase.

Who should actually go for S5i ?
If you are an outdoor person / if the weather in your area is harsh, then go for S5i.

What ever model you go for i think Klipsch makes brilliant headphones.

These are my personal opinion, so try it out for yourself.

Sound & Vision recently printed a review of 10 mid level head headphones, 5 in-ear and 5 ear pad design, starting at $99 to about $500.

Anyway, they also said if you're an audiophile you're not going to be listening to an iPod. So maybe the extra money spent on phones is wasted if you're gonna use on an iPod.