Review: Klipsch Image S4 Earbud Headphones

My second pair of Sony ear buds have failed me and I was in the market for a new pair of high end earbuds. I ran across an article on CNET that featured their top 5 best pairs of headphones. Two different earbuds made the list, the $450 Shure SE530s and the less expensive $80 Klipsch Image S4s. I chose to go with the latter as I couldn't bring myself to drop 450 dollars on a pair of earbuds I only use every now and then at work. Read the review after the break.

Build Quality: Out of the box the build quality of the S4s is pretty solid. It's made of black hard plastic with silver highlights and clear ear plugs. It comes with three different sizes of ear plugs, the larger ones I found to be the best for me which could be a bit concerning since I consider myself to have fairly small ears. The medium size fit ok but I found that the large just filled up my ear better. These rubber plugs aren't as good as the foam ones that come with the Shure SE530s but they do just fine. Also included is a small tin storage case and a necessary earwax removal tool. These earbuds have a unique curved design to better contour to your ear and I have to say, these are so much more comfortable that my old Sony ear buds even with regular rubber plugs.

Performance: I used the S4s with the iPod on my iPhone since thats the only device I use headphones for anyone. Sound quality is superb. Very crisp highs, although I though certain songs sounded a little more muffled than I was used to but overall very good. Crisp clean mids and very precise tight bass. One thing that I did notice was that these earbuds are very good at noise cancellation. When your listening to your music at a normal volume you will not hear anything else, and that is a very good thing. Lets run through some specs:

Specs:

• DESIGN                                    Dynamic Moving Coil Micro Speaker
• FREQUENCY RESPONSE     10Hz – 19KHz
• SENSITIVITY                          110db SPL/mW
• NOMINAL IMPEDANCE      18-ohm
• DRIVE COMPONENTS         Full range KG 25
• INPUT CONNECTIONS         3.5mm
• DIMENSIONS                         8.0 mm diameter
• WEIGHT                                  11.9 grams
• ACCESSORIES                       3 different-sized ear tips, ear tips cleaning tool, Steel storage case
• FEATURES                              Noise Isolation: -16

	Conclusion: For 80 bucks you can't beat the quality and performance that Klipsch delivers with the S4s. If your in the market for a cheap pair of high end ultra portable headphones, the Klipsch S4s are for you. Compare prices.
	Score: 4.5 out 5 Stars